3 ms·
Agreed about the zoom knob :-) I probably have high standards. I really tried to use the 4000, on several occasions, but it just felt horrible every time. I ha
by kabdib 11y ago
Agreed about the zoom knob :-)
I probably have high standards. I really tried to use the 4000, on several occasions, but it just felt horrible every time. I had high hopes for it, but something about the key travel kept tripping me up.
Best keyboard I ever used: Knight keyboard on the Lisp Machine. Xerox Alto a very close second (it had some bad layout issues, but the keys were wonderful). And pretty much nothing has captured the feel of IBM Selectric, which is probably good because your office mates would kill you.
But none of those are split. Sigh.
Runner-up: The original Microsoft Ergo keyboard. I know some people who still use these. They usually have them in reserve, in closets. On mine I rewired caps-lock to be another control key (well, you have to muck with conductive traces on the plastic membrane, but it's not hard).
Microsoft hasn't made a great keyboard in over a decade. They're "meh, yeah I can type on that if I have to" and I'll use an Apple chicklet style keyboard over one of them.
The Kenesis Freestyle is pretty decent, though they decided to spend real-estate on some useless special keys for "web" and cut/paste, etc. -- if these had been programmable (or even absent) it would have been a better keyboard.
I just did a quick summary of all the keyboards I've spent significant amounts of time on (probably missed a few), and here they are in decreasing order: Knight (Lisp Machine); Xerox Alto; Digital Group (capacitive, N-key rollover); Microsoft Ergo; Kenesis Freestyle 2; IBM-PC original clacky keyboard; Apple Ergo; VT100; Microsoft Wireless Multimedia; Atari Mega ST (prototype); Apple ADB (several types); ADM-3A; Ohio Scientific; Macbook Pro; LA36; IBM Thinkpad; Data General MV/8000 terminal; Atari ST; Atari Mega ST (production); Kenesis "scooped" keyboard (hands did not fit); Atari 800; Apple II; Apple "chicklet"; VT220 (ick); Microsoft 4000; Many laptop keyboards of no special distinction (Apple / Dell / Asus / ...); IBM 3270 terminal circa 1980; AT&T 3B-1; Various VT100 clones; Dell, Gateway, etc. white-box PC keyboards; TRS-80; Omron (forgot model); Fingerworks (capacitive); Teletype; Atari 400 (membrane); a nameless graphics workstation I will never forget (and wish I could); IBM PC-JR; Vanilla Keypunch (ugh).
- noir_lord 11y agoMy favourite keyboard of all time was a variant of an IBM Model-M which was awesome, the nearest I've gotten to it in type feel was the Cherry G-80 which is somewhat strangely one of the cheapest mechanicals out there that has MX Blues, build quality is merely adequate and it lacks the "In the event of Zombie Apocalpyse use as club" steel backplate but it was a joy to type on but it was those I ended up replacing with 4000's because of postural issues.