> They look like ordinary bad keyboards. They aren't (in my opinion, and by basis of the construction thereof). The keyboards they carry are japanese imports

> They look like ordinary bad keyboards. They aren't (in my opinion, and by basis of the construction thereof). The keyboards they carry are japanese imports most of which use Cherry switches. They also, unlike the Das Keyboard, have well built controllers. Pricey, but worth it. I adore the Majestouch Click Otakus that I got from Elitekeyboards. Contoured keyboards are in some cases an acquired taste, in others unusable. I have an old hand injury that makes it tough for me to use something like the Kinesis which puts my hands in awkward positions. I've been forced to find decent standard keyboards, which have consistent keystrikes [which a membrane won't provide]. For what it's worth, I find this article to be a good read on what the deal is with quality keyboard switches, including Cherry and Alp clones: http://hothardware.com/cs/blogs/mrtg/archive/2009/03/09/mechanical-key-switch-keyboards-demystified.aspx http://hothardware.com/cs/blogs/mrtg/archive/2009/03/09/mech... There's another article and I believe it was on my bookmarks at the last job and I didn't copy it over, but if I find it i'll add it in. EDIT: Keep in mind also good switches only take you so far - the problems the Das Keyboards [which use Cherry switches] have had is poor controllers. BUT, even with a good controller, my understanding is USB has a limitation on N-Key rollover to a low number of simultaneous key presses. Most of the quality keyboards come with PS2 adapters and recommend using PS2 if you want full bandwidth. ANOTHER EDIT: This I believe is the "other" guide I was thinking of. It gives an overview of several "mechanical" keyboards which may be useful for those looking for an alternative to the $20 freebie their computer came with: http://www.overclock.net/computer-peripherals/491752-mechanical-keyboard-guide.html http://www.overclock.net/computer-peripherals/491752-mechani... ... Personally, since I've started using mechanicals I've had most of the end-of-day wrist pain I used to experience disappear.