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Ask Slashdot: Which Laptop Has The Best Keyboard?
Slashdot reader Rock21k is thinking of replacing an old laptop. But...
All newer laptops seem to have wide spacing between the keyboard keys, which I hate... At one time, this used to be for consumer laptops but most major companies have done it for business laptops as well... Probably over time I might get used to it, but definitely not the first choice. I understand I can use an external keyboard but that defeats the purpose of a laptop!
Do you also hate wide spacing between keyboard keys? Which brand do you find least annoying? Leave your best answers in the comments. Which laptop has the best keyboard?
IBM ThinkPad 701c "butterfly" keyboard
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
I second this. I hated the new MBP keyboard style. And I forced myself to get used to it since I do all of my development on OSX (now Mac OS), and with the new keyboards, the writing is on the wall. Penalty for the walled garden I suppose.
However, after using it for about a week almost exclusively, going back to the 2012 MBP I used to have is TERRIBLE! I couldnâ(TM)t believe how confounded my expectations were. I also ran through a typing test, and Iâ(TM)m faster on the new MBP vs the old one. When I returned to my office from onsite at a client, I headed strait for the nearest Apple store to pick up one of the new keyboards so it feels consistent. I donâ(TM)t know why, but the change is hated, even when itâ(TM)s significanty better, and I donâ(TM)t understand why. When I upgraded from one resolution to the next over the years, each time I felt better for it immediately. Iâ(TM)m not sure why the keyboard progression doesnâ(TM)t âoefeelâ the same way. My typing speed and accuracy is higher, my fingers are fast getting used to shortcuts on the touch-bar, and yet, I hated moving to it, and saw it as a necessary evil! Why do we get used to resolution and dimension changes easier than keyboard mechanical changes?
Gotta be those classic Thinkpads with the best keyboards
Although, I'd love to use a laptop with a built-in IBM model M buckling spring "clicky" keyboard - just to annoy everyone in the coffee shop.
Pity we'll probably never see one.
READY.
PRINT ""+-0
I am FAR more productive with a ThinkPad X220 or T420 than I am with more modern laptops, because I can touch-type without ever looking at the keyboard. This is achieved by having various key sizes and spacings, which tell me exactly where on the "map" I am at any given moment. Lenovo shit the bed by switching to the 6-row keyboard with equally-spaced function keys and non-discoverable special characters, but they may be now going back to the old-and-awesome 7 row classic keyboard. The T25 is a fist step, here's hoping all their new models will have it.
Of course, if you're a donk that needs looking at his keyboard every 5-10 seconds, then you won't understand what's all the fuss about. I notice that those same donks need shit like backlit keys, because without them they are utterly lost while typing in the dark. And spend lots of time looking dimwitted.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
There’s a thing where, wearing shoes which have more paddimg, actually causes the foot to hit the ground harder, because your body is trying to find something solid to hit. So ironically, more padding causes more force to travel up your leg and causes more damage than non-padded.
I find the very flat keys cause my hands to have to re-figure out what they are aiming for, but then there is a more definite point of contact. Going back to the earlier keyboards now, they feel all squidgy.
Only thing is, the tiniest spec of a grain of something, caught under a key, disables the key. I was getting a faulty enter key, until I blasted air under it.