4 ms·

Keyboards are an endless money pit for me. Every year or so I’ll randomly get dissatisfied with my setup and seek to somehow upgrade it. At some point I’ll have

Keyboards are an endless money pit for me. Every year or so I’ll randomly get dissatisfied with my setup and seek to somehow upgrade it. At some point I’ll have to admit that it’s because I just like playing with new hardware… but maybe not today :)

tommiegannert 3y ago
I take it you have experience. What are you looking for in a good keyboard? (As someone who's always dissatisfied, but don't like shopping. ;)
- fanf2 3y ago
  If you don’t like shopping, it’s fun to build your own keyboard :-)
  - tommiegannert 3y ago
    Agreed! Built a LilyPad kit. I found it too tall for my liking, so went back to my old Dell keyboard. I have parts for a low-profile Bluetooth keyboard laying on my desk. I couldn't find an existing design I liked. Just waiting for inspiration/time to design the PCB... It'll come.
jseliger 3y ago
Funny, I wrote this the other day on HN: I eventually wound up with Kinesis ergo keyboards and stopped being much "into" keyboards; they are a means to an end: https://jakeseliger.com/2011/07/17/further-thoughts-on-the-kinesis-advantage-unicomp-space-saver-and-das-keyboard-two-years-later https://jakeseliger.com/2011/07/17/further-thoughts-on-the-k... Now I have an Advantage 3 with Box White switches, after admittedly talking to an Upgrade Keyboards key switch sommelier, which I somewhat undercuts my first sentence in the preceding paragraph. New hardware is fun but, simultaneously, keyboards are fundamentally means to an end, more than ends in themselves. Then there are people like Stapelberg, who produced the stapelberg for the Kinesis keyboards, and who I have to admire for their obsession with modding and their fortitude: https://michael.stapelberg.ch/posts/2020-07-09-kint-kinesis-keyboard-controller/ https://michael.stapelberg.ch/posts/2020-07-09-kint-kinesis-...
- vehemenz 3y ago
  Exactly my thoughts but with the HHKB. I can't imagine another keyboard surpassing it in terms of usability or thoughtful design, so shopping around for new keyboards isn't interesting anymore. However, I still like enjoy looking at keyboard designs and am always interested in novel layouts, so the book appeals to me. $150 on a book is certainly a lot cheaper than $1000 a year on keyboards.
- tiltowait 3y ago
  That tracks with my experience. There's just not much in the full ergo market (though there's plenty in the faux-ergo market ...), so once you find one you like, there's very little compelling you to switch. It's an incredibly fad-driven market, and full ergo is "weird enough" that it doesn't have nearly as much widespread appeal (despite being inarguably superior for preventing RSI).
intrasight 3y ago
Not "endless" - I won't live that long :( But once every three or four years, I try replacing my Model M. I'll try the new one for a week, and then switch back to 35 year old Model M. I now have half a dozen high-quality $200 keyboards that go unused.

tommiegannert 3y ago

I take it you have experience. What are you looking for in a good keyboard? (As someone who's always dissatisfied, but don't like shopping. ;)

fanf2 3y ago
If you don’t like shopping, it’s fun to build your own keyboard :-)
- tommiegannert 3y ago
  Agreed! Built a LilyPad kit. I found it too tall for my liking, so went back to my old Dell keyboard. I have parts for a low-profile Bluetooth keyboard laying on my desk. I couldn't find an existing design I liked. Just waiting for inspiration/time to design the PCB... It'll come.

jseliger 3y ago

Funny, I wrote this the other day on HN: I eventually wound up with Kinesis ergo keyboards and stopped being much "into" keyboards; they are a means to an end: https://jakeseliger.com/2011/07/17/further-thoughts-on-the-kinesis-advantage-unicomp-space-saver-and-das-keyboard-two-years-later https://jakeseliger.com/2011/07/17/further-thoughts-on-the-k... Now I have an Advantage 3 with Box White switches, after admittedly talking to an Upgrade Keyboards key switch sommelier, which I somewhat undercuts my first sentence in the preceding paragraph. New hardware is fun but, simultaneously, keyboards are fundamentally means to an end, more than ends in themselves. Then there are people like Stapelberg, who produced the stapelberg for the Kinesis keyboards, and who I have to admire for their obsession with modding and their fortitude: https://michael.stapelberg.ch/posts/2020-07-09-kint-kinesis-keyboard-controller/ https://michael.stapelberg.ch/posts/2020-07-09-kint-kinesis-...

vehemenz 3y ago
Exactly my thoughts but with the HHKB. I can't imagine another keyboard surpassing it in terms of usability or thoughtful design, so shopping around for new keyboards isn't interesting anymore. However, I still like enjoy looking at keyboard designs and am always interested in novel layouts, so the book appeals to me. $150 on a book is certainly a lot cheaper than $1000 a year on keyboards.
tiltowait 3y ago
That tracks with my experience. There's just not much in the full ergo market (though there's plenty in the faux-ergo market ...), so once you find one you like, there's very little compelling you to switch. It's an incredibly fad-driven market, and full ergo is "weird enough" that it doesn't have nearly as much widespread appeal (despite being inarguably superior for preventing RSI).

intrasight 3y ago

Not "endless" - I won't live that long :( But once every three or four years, I try replacing my Model M. I'll try the new one for a week, and then switch back to 35 year old Model M. I now have half a dozen high-quality $200 keyboards that go unused.