Slashdot Mirror
A Glance At 24 Keyboards & Mice
robyn217 writes "Hey, KBs and mice aren't the most glamorous hardware in your system but there's no reason for them to be dull. I spent the last month testing out a new keyboard and mouse every day; covering everything from strange one-handed KBs to cool gesture-sensing pads to tacky ball-based mice. Check it out if you're thinking about trading up." Strictly one-paragraph blurbs here (I wish she'd talked about each keyboard's tactile feedback, and long-term comfort on the oddball designs), but if you need to do a visual scan of current offerings (many wireless), you can work toward a new mouse by clicking your way through. Update: 01/21 21:58 GMT by T : Errr, Robyn's a He, not a She -- many apologies. That hasn't happened in years!
Seriously the best keyboards are the new Sun Type6 USB keyboards. They are sturdy, have the right "click" and since they are USB work with everything. Plus the control and capslock are in the proper position.
You know, the real world tests, like how does the keyboard perform after spilling a Red Bull all over it?
I hate short-life batteries and I hate losing stuff. I can hear it now... "Mommy, where's the mouse?"
Wireless keyboards and mice aren't going to find their way into my den any time soon.
Speak truth to power.
While I have no complains about Wireless mices (bluetooth, 443Mhz, whatever frequency), I can't get my head around the number of people that purchase Wireless keyboards. Some have better encryption than others, but why in the hell would you want your passwords or credit card number fly though the air using a 40$ keyboard/receiver ? Do people seriously think that those credentials cannot be captured ?
Hi, I'm the guy who wrote the Bluetooth HID (keyboard/mouse) driver for Linux so that I could use the M$FT Bluetooth desktop. More recently, I've picked up an Apple Bluetooth keyboard. I really like it a lot, and prefer it to the M$FT keyboard. And not just because you can rearrange the keys into a sane layout (Dvorak) without ending up with a mishmash of different key heights; more important, the Apple keyboard actually has an ON/OFF switch, so you won't have to pull out the batteries when you're done using it for the day.
"Skill shows through where genius wears thin." -Wittgenstein || Religion: uniting aviation and architecture.
So far I have yet to see a keyboard truely optimized for programmers. I don't want all the multimedia and email crap keys. The best keyboard I've used to date is the Sun keyboard (that Front key is extremely useful).
What I want is a keyboard:
1. Get rid or move the fscking capslock key out of the way. It's a waste of prime real-estate.
2. Make another row of keys so I don't have to keep hitting shift for all the symbol keys. This is really useful for C, C++, Java, Perl, and script programming, and probably a bunch of other languages as well.
3. If you split the keys like the MS Natural Keyboard, I think a few additional keys could be moved to the center to reduce stress on the pinky. I.e. shift and possibly Return.
4. Implement keys on the side like the Sun keyboard. Sun has a reasonably good selection of keys to the left where the function keys used to be on old keyboards. Front, cut, copy, paste, and find are quite useful there.
5. Move control back where it belongs, where they now place the CAPS lock key. Caps lock is only good for AOL users and should be eliminated for the most part. Or else, move it somewhere out of the way.
I shouldn't have to keep hitting shift for common keys when programming like () & # - + | ? < > : " { }. As a C programmer I often use the shifted key far more often than the non-shifted (i.e. () {})
I'd pay good money for such a keyboard. Maybe since Logitech's headquarters is next door to where I work maybe I should walk over there and suggest it to them.
-Aaron
This post is encrypted twice with ROT-13. Documenting or attempting to crack this encryption is illegal.
It's spread over 4 pages in print. That's much more condensed.
I own 3 Kinesis keyboards myself. I recently got an Advantage USB for my Mac at home, and I use a normal essential at work. I have an essential at home that I used for years, but now needs a good cleaning before it'll work reliably again.
There are lots of people that swear by them, and I'm one of them. However, I'll tell you the real secret of the Kinesis keyboards:
Ctrl, Alt, PgUp, PgDown, Home, End, Backspace, Delete, Space and Return are all thumb keys. That's right, there're 12 keys that are actuated with your thumbs, and they're keys that you use all day long. Once you learn the joy of never having to hit the return key with your pinky, or being able to backspace quickly with your thumb without moving your hand, you'll never go back. Personally, I think it would have been cool if one of the thumb keys had been a shift key, but that probably would have been a bit cumbersome.
I bought a kinesis after someone talked about it on slashdot in the comments. Hopefully, someone out there will also visit www.kinesis-ergo.com and give one of their keyboards a try. You won't regret it, despite the price. If you spend all day typing, you owe it to yourself to have a keyboard that's comfortable and ergonomic. Seriously, I enjoy typing now more than I ever have in the past.
Best mouse alternative I've found:
http://www.contourdesign.com/rollermouse/
Elimminates moving your hands off the keyboard to use the mouse.
i use several keyboards quite like the kinesis maxim one mentioned. only mine are by siemens.
been using them for years.
best keyboard ever.