For people who are into this kind of thing but don’t want to spend a small fortune, there are a lot of actual Model Ms from various eras for cheaper on eBay. I’m kind of tempted to pick one up now, as I broke the spacebar on mine a few years back.
I don’t know if that was aimed at me, Linoleum. I have no problem with paying a chunk of cash for a good keyboard. In fact, further up the thread I list 2 >$100 keyboards I bought earlier. My issue is buying one that I don’t know if I’ll like, a problem that stops me regardless of how expensive it is. The Cherry MX Black switch suggested by r_______, for example, is non-tactile. Would I like that? I suspect not, but I can’t be sure. And I won’t hazard money on it just to play with it for 5 minutes then slap it onto the pile of unused keyboards in my closet.
Maybe you could brave the used market on eBay to try out some switches cheaply and see if you like them. For instance, there is a Compaq MX 11800 (Cherry browns) with a BIN price of only $19.
So I’m thinking I don’t have room for a huge keyboard here at work. What do you guys think of this? The smaller size is appealing, and as a Model M fetishist, so is getting the modern incarnation of that (and this is a real one, right?). Plus, I actually kind of like the black and grey one.
I saw those, but I do actually use the numpad from time to time and would definitely miss it. I’m not super concerned with saving space, though; any of those Majestouch ones would be fine in terms of size. It’s just that the original Model Ms are super-huge.
Ok, yeah, that’s the Unicomp boards. People in the know seem to really dig those. Buckling springs have some fascinating feedback properties. You know what you’re getting into there. I say go for it! (And report back with results. I want a box opening vid on Youtube!)
I think I probably will. My only concern is that I might get complaints from my coworkers… have you ever used an awesome keyboard in an office setting? Like you, I’ve definitely been made to relinquish and awesome keyboard by an ex-girlfriend, but then again there’s like sleeping involved there, so it’s hopefully a little different.
Unicomp keyboards are, under the hood, virtually identical to the old Model M keyboards. I’m sure you’ll enjoy one, but I did need to stop using mine a few years ago when my office was right next to my bedroom - wife couldn’t sleep.
My Filco arrived on Friday and I’m very, very happy with it. I’m surprised, however, my how much I miss the numeric keypad enter key - I use it as a flourish quite a bit, it seems. Other than that, the action is a bit higher-pitched than my Model M, but it definitely requires less force to activate each key. It isn’t by a lot, but it’s enough that it feels more “fun” to type with.
I ordered a Das Keyboard Professional Silent today (with Cherry browns). You can currently get any of them for 24% off with code “BTSS2010” currently direct from the manufacturer. Came out to $103 with free shipping - a lot cheaper than a comparable Filco with NRKO.
Really looking forward to having a tactile keyboard. I miss typing on Model M’s, but I really couldn’t buy blue switches and expect my wife to tolerate it.
Clearly you should be splurging for the Optimus Maximus to thwart all those evil game villains in style.
As an added bonus, you can crash the other keyboard topic about back lit keys.
Coincidentally, I just received my Filco Majestouch keyboard today, which also uses Cherry Browns.
While researching which mechanical keyboard to buy, I discovered that the Filco and the Das Keyboard are manufactured by the same company (Costar), but the Filco has a somewhat higher-quality build.
How are you liking it?
Also, just an overall build quality difference? Reviews on geekhack.org made it sound like going Filco or Das had little difference. Ah well, in any case the Das cost me $30 less and will be a zillion times better than my crappy Dell keyboard.
So far so good. The Cherry browns feel very similar to rubber dome, but with more travel of course. There’s a slight “scraping” sound as each switch depresses, which I hope I’ll get used to.
Oh, does that exist finally? I feel like they’ve been talking about it for years.
Yes, and apparently it sucks. Flat, non-sculpted layout, heavy key feel, ridiculously expensive. Bleah.
Hey, I have a Model M, and I got a mini cherry keyboard. Unfortunately, it has the laptop-size keyswitches, which are rather annoying to press down(*). If given the choice between laptop-depth cherry keyswitches, and a Model M, I would definitely choose the Model M.
(*) By annoying, I mean they are kind of mushy, they have slight tactile feedback when the keypress is detected, but no auditory feedback. But all in all, it tends to be sort of… mushy… compared to the Model M.
Alas, no one seems to build an ergonomic keyboard with clicky keys. :-(
Everyone who did was beaten to death with his own keyboard, by those who were forced to listen to its key clicks. >:]
Thanks a lot for making me buy expensive keyboards, jerks.
I’ve had the Filco brown for a few months now and I love it. I also picked up a Topre RealForce at about the same time for work. They’re both great but I think I prefer the feel and sound of the Filco slightly.
Sadly, I am now ruined for normal keyboards. Logitech keeps making these things with ridiculous LCD displays and I am all about ridiculous features but typing on them for five seconds makes me sad. I wish they’d just sell the cool little LCD so I can clip it onto my Filco.