What is your preferred keyboard?

[Jaysen]

Moog

I have been resisting this post for days. But I can't. Being on topic is killing me. I can't just sit here and let information flow uninhibited. I just feels wrong.

ok, I am done and it is out of my system.

And yes I know it is a synth not a keyboard. leave me alone.

[ptram]

Jaysen,

You're kidding, but I'm aware I have the same attitude with computer keyboards and music keyboards alike. I design synths, and I know the difference between a 'meaty' keyboard and a 'light' one. Some of my customers like light keyboards better, and these are like the Apple Aluminium. Others, like me, love to feel something under their finger, to really be in control of their music. I guess it is the same when writing a novel, and needed a more solid-feeling link with the words.

Paolo

[tannie]

My favourite keyboard (bar the old Apple Extended II, natch) is actually the new MacBook/Apple Aluminium style, which I love.

But check this out for the mother of all ergonomic split keyboards; I don't use one myself, but I know someone who does and swears by it:



From SafeType.

I have looked at this one, but one thing that bugged me was the slanted keys (like on a regular keyboard, the keys lean to the left). On that vertical keyboard it means typing downwards with left and upwards with right, which I can only imagine causes you to slightly rotate your wrists in those ways.

It does look better than a regular keyboard and I'm sure it works a lot better than the regular flat keyboards, but it just seem to miss that last bit to make it perfect.

I wonder why ergonomic keyboard manufacturers stick to slanted keys...

Tanja

[ptram]

Well, in the end I bought a Metadot Das Keyboard III Ultimate. The one with the Cherry Blue MX mechanics, and no labels on the keys.

http://www.daskeyboard.com/

A very pleasant keyboard. One can type very lightly on it, since the click is heard very soon in the key's run, and is easily perceived. By recalling, it is a bit lighter than an IBM Model M, and even of an Apple Extended Keyboard I, but I don't have the originals handy to do a comparison.

Compared to my Apple Extended Keyboard II, this one is way more clicky - so much, that I now believe the AEKII has a linear mechanism, not a clicky one. I don't know which one is more precise, but this one is very much so.

I'm happy to having got rid of the Aluminium, and of all the mushy keyboard of the past years.

Paolo

[AmberV]

A recent TidBITs article covering the Model M, and its Unicomp progeny:

http://db.tidbits.com/article/10101

[Wock]

The one that trumps all others.

Go ahead admit. You miss mashing that red button until your thumb cramped so hard you funny bone ached.

[Sam]

I've tried a lot of keyboards, but the one I finally settled on is the Microsoft Wireless Desktop for Mac. I haven't tried Das Keyboard or the Tactile Pro, but I'm not a big fan of Apple's aluminum keyboards. I quite like the keyboard on my 12" iBook, but the Microsoft keyboard takes top prize of the ones I've tried. I don't use any of the extra keys, but the standard keys strike just the right balance of travel distance and buttery goodness.

[Eldritch]

Does anyone, perchance, know of a decent backlit keyboard?

[Tanith]

I just used a bit of my tax refund to replace my ancient Dell keyboard (it used to serve as a gaming keyboard and some of the letters were worn completely off) with a simple little AmazonBasics keyboard. Inexpensive, compact, and most importantly...quiet.

[pigfender]

Moog

I have been resisting this post for days. But I can't. Being on topic is killing me. I can't just sit here and let information flow uninhibited. I just feels wrong.

ok, I am done and it is out of my system.

And yes I know it is a synth not a keyboard. leave me alone.

More a fan of the Rhodes myself. Although the Vox Continental is also pretty cool.

For typing, I actually really like the Smart Keyboard for iPad Pro. A surprisingly pleasurable experience, and much better (for me) than their current laptop keyboards.

[Sagarika579]

I like Lenevo Type Keyboard.

[Orpheus]

Though I have a MacBookPro I prefer external mouse and keyboard, for the latter I use an external blue tooth Apple Magic keyboard. I have had mine for 10 years without a problem. It uses (rechargeable) batteries, but new have built in batteries.

[brett]

For typing, I actually really like the Smart Keyboard for iPad Pro. A surprisingly pleasurable experience, and much better (for me) than their current laptop keyboards.

Well, based on pigfender’s comment, those of other users, and Target’s recent half price sale on the 10.5” iPad Pro smart keyboard, I picked one up, intending to try it out for a week or so and return if it didn’t work out. I’m going to keep it — but for the most part, not really for Scrivening.

This is such a polarizing keyboard! I realize that keyboard preferences are notoriously idiosyncratic, but it seems like most commenters and reviewers I’ve seen either love it or loathe it. Count me in the former camp. It has a solid feel that I really like. The fabric is a little slippery but no prob typing so far. I agree with the criticisms about lack of backlighting and function keys and adjustable angles, but none of those are really important in my use.

My biggest worry was whether it’d work in my lap — a major complaint of many users. But for me, it’s surprisingly stable, either when I use my lapdesk or just on my thighs. I don’t mind the low travel — it’s better in that regard than my logitech keys to go, whose fabric covering is beginning to detach from the keys. It’s a bit noisier than that one, but not enough to disturb anyone in a library.

I’m actually using it with my 9.7” ipad pro, so the cover extends a bit beyond the ipad’s edges, but that doesn’t seem to affect my use, and the bigger, wider spaced keys compared to the smart cover I tried out for the 9.7 in ipad pro make a big difference. Some buyers apparently got models that didn’t sit flush on a desk, but mine does.

The real advantages are portability (thin and light) and easy detachability. I’ve realized that there’s no ideal keyboard for the iPad because of its flexibility. If I’m doing extended Scrivening or other typing, I don’t want to use the Smart Keyboard or a Brydge or even a laptop keyboard, because of the danger of ‘laptop neck.’ In that case, I mount the ipad on a stand that brings it to eye level and use my excellent Apple Wireless bluetooth keyboard on my desk. When I’m just reading on the iPad, which is most of my use, I use a yohann stand or just hold it in my hands.

But when I’m just banging out a quick email or, ahem, forum post, or editing a document or typing in notes at the library or a meeting or cafe or on the train, this Smart Keyboard works a treat. It’s easier to haul around than my wireless keyboard and origami case, easy to fold back or detach when not using it. This ability to easily switch contexts makes the ipad pro and smart keyboard combo a winner for my use, because when I’m not Scrivening , I’m frequently shifting between reading and writing short items .

I can’t speak to its durability yet, and I’m guessing that the next version of iOS will introduce mouse/trackpad support, and that therefore new ipad keyboards with trackpads won’t be far behind, so maybe that’s why the big sale discount, which brings the price down to almost reasonable. But it will work with the new ipad Air, which is probably my next ipad as the new pros are just too pricey. I’m keeping it.