The Joys of Unix Keyboards

Re:The Joys of Unix Keyboards by barbs on Monday December 30, 2019 @08:23PM (#21918228)

Are common keyboards really that bad? I don't really think there's enough benefit in investing the time and effort and money in working out and purchasing your absolute perfect layout if it only deviates from the standard by a small amount. Even the keyboard in the article only deviates from the standard by a few keys.

It's all subjective of course, but personally I'd prefer to be able to use any keyboard anywhere without much drama. I don't feel like I'm suffering much, even if it's not my "perfect" layout.

That said, I do have caps lock remapped to escape on all my personal devices. The muscle memory isn't so bad that I don't remember to hit the ESC key on keyboards that aren't mine though.

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Re:The Joys of Unix Keyboards by radeklew on Monday December 30, 2019 @08:56PM (#21918375)

The way I see it, common keyboards are underpriced due to extreme competition, and top-shelf keyboards are overpriced because they're a niche market. So common keyboards aren't that bad, even if they're very cheap, but I think it's definitely worth it to spend ~$100 on a keyboard, which I think is a lot more palpable to people whose job involves typing.

I'm going to make up some arbitrary numbers, hopefully they'll make it more clear. I use a Planck, which cost about $110. Looking at Amazon, I found an alright-looking Logitech for ~$15.

Is typing on the Planck 7x better? Probably not. Is it 2x more enjoyable? I'd say so! Unfortunately, there are no $30 keyboards that are as good, but I'm fine with paying the big premium because the cheap version is already so cheap.

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Re:The Joys of Unix Keyboards by LudwigNagasena on Monday December 30, 2019 @09:16PM (#21918470)

It doesn’t matter per se that it isn’t 7x better. What matters is that there is nothing else that would improve your experience more for extra $95 you spent on your keyboard.

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Re:The Joys of Unix Keyboards by j74k on Monday December 30, 2019 @11:16PM (#21918909)

Bloomberg keyboards have no competition, but I understand that enormous energies are expended on their design.

I order HPE workstations for the front desk, because they invest in the thermal fluid dynamics and sound energy diffusion of their cases. The default benefits are tangible.

Keyboard quality is a factor more when it is the standard you encounter. High quality consistent keyboard experiences would be significant in broad effect, at least I'm convinced that would be the case.

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Re:The Joys of Unix Keyboards by ianai on Monday December 30, 2019 @09:34PM (#21918523)

I’ll never leave my kinesis keyboard. It has multiplied how useful my thumbs are by placing more useful keys near them than just space (but including space). It’s great for rsi too

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Re:The Joys of Unix Keyboards by rovr138 on Monday December 30, 2019 @11:44PM (#21919013)

I’d only consider upgrading to the new Kinesis due to the mechanical F keys. The previous ones feel really weird.

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Re:The Joys of Unix Keyboards by kod on Tuesday December 31, 2019 @09:54AM (#21921330)

Kinesis led to thumb strain for me. I ultimately settled on a traditional tenkeyless with mechanical switches.

Different strokes for different folks.

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Re:The Joys of Unix Keyboards by knorker on Tuesday December 31, 2019 @06:08AM (#21920236)

You could also go your entire life wearing underwear that chafe you, just a little. Or you could choose not to.

> I'd prefer to be able to use any keyboard anywhere without much drama.

I have no drama using other keyboards. Just like I have no drama sitting in chairs just because I have a good chair at home.

Hell, I've switched to Dvorak about 10 years ago and have been surprised at how rarely I type on other people's keyboards.

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