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The 10 Worst PC Keyboards of All Time
Kabz found the 10 Worst PC Keyboards of all time which leads off with the Commodore 64 and takes a trip through PCjr country. Might trigger some nostalgia, or some sort of flashback wrist strain.
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Apparently PC manufacturers have figured out the keyboard, given that the newest keyboard on this list is the #1 ranked IBM PCjr debuting in 1984.
I got about 10 of these old IBM 10 lb keyboards in reserve that sound
like a jack hammer while typing on them...
Best keyboard ever made!
Got Code?
Surely the ZX series must top the list with their rubbery, totally overloaded keyboards!
Loved my C64 warts and all.
Never had a problem with the VIC-20 keyboard, which was the same as the C64 one. It was well spaced, comfortable to type on, and the keys were generally in the right positions. The two inch height may have annoyed some people, but over-all it was a good design. I thought the article was bizarre for that.
I'm glad they pilloried the habit of many 1980s home computer manufacturers of integrating a dangerous key with all the others. One of the bizarrest examples I can think of is the BBC Micro's. This had a reset key (called Break, IIRC), on the main keyboard itself and it was very easy to hit by accident. Acorn, who designed it, recognized the problem and put in a little screw you could use to lock the key so it wouldn't press.
This is the kind of hack that usability gurus get very excited by. Why not just move the key? Would it seriously have cost more to put a switch at the back of the computer, or to change it from a key to some other form of button, than it did to do the "screw" hack? And what were they thinking anyway? "Hmmm. People generally divide into two groups: those who want to lose their work regularly by accident, and those who never want to reset their computers. We should cater for these two groups by allowing them to customize their Reset button."
The worst of it was that, minus the Break button, the BBC keyboard was excellent.
Oh, and while we're on the subject, why do we still make CAPS LOCK a large, easily pressed by accident, key? And why do Windows and most GNU/Linux system treat it as an "Invert Case" lock rather than "Caps Lock"? The former is almost entirely useless, if you type at speed you're likely to instinctively hit the Shift button every time you start a word that would normally be capitalized, so once depressed (deliberately, that is), typing with caps-lock engaged requires thinking about.
Can we just start making keyboards without caps lock? It'd be easier. Or, hey, maybe we could put a little screw in it...
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
I'm writing my own article on worst navigation by a Web site. This PCWorld page will clearly be number 1 on my list.
Shouldn't they have gotten an honorable mention or a life time achievement award? Yes all the ones on the list are worse but the point is even Mac users complain about typing on Mac keyboards. They're okay for software use and basic data entry but have you ever tried typing for hours on one? Tired sore fingers. PC keyboards in general have a nice snap and you can tell when you've hit a key. Mac keyboards are always too small and cramped. I hated the previous one which was stiff, thick feeling and far too small so it was easy to hit two keys at once, I have big hands. Ironically I like the new design better but I still go back to my PCs for real typing and I even hate e-mailing on the Mac. Stunning hardware in general but their keyboards and mice suck. I use an after market mouse on mine but I couldn't find an after market keyboard that worked. They also tend to be frail. The Mighty Mouse I got with my last Mac died in a week that's why I got the after market wireless, works great. Also the previous keyboard design I found died every time I used dust off on one. I killed the first one and thought it had to be a coincidence or a freak piece of dust getting in the wrong place. Nope. Second keyboard I got after a while I tried dust off and it stopped working. I got it working again after a few hours. Needless to say I never used dust off on it again.
Ah, a fellow caps-lock hater. I customarily pop off a bunch of keys on my keyboards. It gets me a few odd looks at work, but it saves me lots of hassle. If I truly need one of those keys I can use a pencil to activate it. Here's the rest of my hate list:
Insert - I've never had a use for "write over mode." Has anyone?
Windows - Almost useless, squeezed between useful keys. Fortunately my Linux systems ignore this key.
Menu - I'll just right-click, thanks.
Num lock - Why won't this go away? Why do I need a way for my numeric keypad stop to working? Are the arrow keys hard to find?
-Jon
"To those of us who have learned to type blindly at a decent speed, the big layout, clicking sound and unmistakeable tactile feedback are actually pro's"
Amen brother. I can't use any other keyboard. When you've hit a key on a model M, baby you KNOW you've hit a key. There's just neevr any question. It takes up too much space on a desk? Oh. 1) Tough 2) So? 3) get a bigger desk ya pansy.
Plus they're $2 in thrift shops. Hell, sometimes if I'm in some funky computer store and see one tucked away and ask they'll often as not say "it's too old to be useful just take it". Yeah baby, score.
Plus you can take them apart eight ways from sunday and they're nearly impossible to kill. And how many other 25 year old computer products are still usefull today?
Come to think of it my car and microwave are also 25 years old and better than any of the crap found new today.
Huh, they really were the good old days.
I do take the caps lock key off though. It's annoying to HIT IT INSTEAD OF TAB.
Need Mercedes parts ?
That keyboard has problems, but none of them are on this list. Who cares if it's from Microsoft. And if you don't like the split, you wouldn't be using the keyboard in the first place (duh...)
a) The keyboard is a monster. Just forget about having desk space.
b) The function keys aren't grouped in the usual sets of 4, so the correct key is harder to locate.
c) The special keys above the function keys are largely useless, and don't always work
d) The 'Sleep' key is large, raised, and right on the corner of the keyboard. What were they thinking? Disabling this key is essentially required to use the keyboard.
The white keyboard coming with the first generation G5 Power Mac was the worst I've ever used. It had hardly any space between the keys, and I constantly pressed more than one key. Apart from that, it was super elegant and didn't have any cover. So huge amounts of dust, dirt and food collected over they years. And as with many things coming from Apple, it was almost impossible to open up and clean.
While the C64 keyboard was somewhat unpleasant to use, it didn't have any of these problems.
I think companies put out keyboards without doing any research these days. I have had nothing but grips about Apple's last two keyboards. Their new thin keyboard, while stylish, has flat keys with tick marks for the home row position that can only be felt with the delicate hands of a surgeon. I constantly lose the home row position.
I gave up on it and went back to their prior version that is famous for collecting every crumb that gets near it. And it suffers from sticky keys. It sucks when style is the only criteria for a keyboard these days. I'm old-school in this regard and I'am most proficient on the old IBM Model M.
Windows - Almost useless, squeezed between useful keys. Fortunately my Linux systems ignore this key.
You can bind it to something useful like META.
Menu - I'll just right-click, thanks.
And take your hands off the keyboard?
Num lock - Why won't this go away? Why do I need a way for my numeric keypad stop to working? Are the arrow keys hard to find?
How do you move diagonally with the arrow keys?
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
I agree that it is easy to shoot yourself in the head with Vim.
PC World is a good candidate for one of the '10 worst web pages' about the '10 worst keyboards'. What a piss-poor stupid clunky 'having to scroll everywhere' web page.