Unpopular Keyboard Opinions

[ergonaut]

People who obsess about keycaps and switches while they're still typing on a row-staggered QWERTY board need to get their priorities straight.

[GLaDOS]

The Capslock icon of arrow pointing down looks incredibly stupid next to the shift key and ruins the whole aesthetic. Not that capslock has any place in the top layout anyways.

One of the most easily accessible mod keys dedicated to a function most people have zero use. What a damn waste. And it's not just useless, it actively hampers your typing flow when you accidentally happen to press it. Win key has nothing on this guy. Cultured people swap it with control or function key, anything really.

I know people (older especially) who will use Caps Lock every time they want to type a capital letter - CL on, letter, CL off. It makes me want to gauge my eyes out when I see it.

[TuCZnak]

Right top blocker is ugly and doesn't need to be on literally every second new keyboard introduced this year.

[tobiasvl]

People who obsess about keycaps and switches while they're still typing on a row-staggered QWERTY board need to get their priorities straight.

Ouch...

[Doluded]

People who obsess about keycaps and switches while they're still typing on a row-staggered QWERTY board need to get their priorities straight.

Most ergo looks disgusting so no thanks

[jamster]

Right top blocker is ugly and doesn't need to be on literally every second new keyboard introduced this year.

What is a top blocker? Haven't come across this term before.

[SpAmRaY]

Right top blocker is ugly and doesn't need to be on literally every second new keyboard introduced this year.

What is a top blocker? Haven't come across this term before.

checkout the OP of this thread https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93134.0 it shows an example of a top right blocker

[appaboy]

Not sure if I've already posted this or not but stock topre feels better than lubed topre

[appaboy]

People who obsess about keycaps and switches while they're still typing on a row-staggered QWERTY board need to get their priorities straight.

People who use Ortho are awfully vocal about it , and there isn't really actually well made Ortho boards like there are for staggered. Qwerty isn't the best but it's so standardized that I use it anyways because whenever I use something new or something public I have to adjust between Dvorak and qwerty and that's just a hassle I don't wanna deal with

[SixtyLife]

can't stand 65% layout

[vegs]

Right top blocker is ugly and doesn't need to be on literally every second new keyboard introduced this year.

For me this is necessary to make 65% usable.
Having a key to the right of backspace throws me way off.

[rxc92]

Right top blocker is ugly and doesn't need to be on literally every second new keyboard introduced this year.

For me this is necessary to make 65% usable.
Having a key to the right of backspace throws me way off.

 
 
Obvious solution is just remap backslash.

[tobiasvl]

Assuming ANSI, split backslash is the correct solution.

[vegs]

Assuming ANSI, split backslash is the correct solution.

ISO

[HoffmanMyster]

Right top blocker is ugly and doesn't need to be on literally every second new keyboard introduced this year.

What is a top blocker? Haven't come across this term before.

checkout the OP of this thread https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93134.0 it shows an example of a top right blocker

Huh.  I don't love it, but I see the appeal.  And vegs' comment makes total sense.  Still seems just slightly off though.

[jamster]

checkout the OP of this thread https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93134.0 it shows an example of a top right blocker

Maybe I'm being dense, but the 'blocker' is having a bit of plastic filled in at the top right of the keyboard, instead of a key?

[SpAmRaY]

checkout the OP of this thread https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93134.0 it shows an example of a top right blocker

Maybe I'm being dense, but the 'blocker' is having a bit of plastic filled in at the top right of the keyboard, instead of a key?

Yup

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk

[audiosl4ve]

The Capslock icon of arrow pointing down looks incredibly stupid next to the shift key and ruins the whole aesthetic. Not that capslock has any place in the top layout anyways.

One of the most easily accessible mod keys dedicated to a function most people have zero use. What a damn waste. And it's not just useless, it actively hampers your typing flow when you accidentally happen to press it. Win key has nothing on this guy. Cultured people swap it with control or function key, anything really.

I know people (older especially) who will use Caps Lock every time they want to type a capital letter - CL on, letter, CL off. It makes me want to gauge my eyes out when I see it.

i know way to many people who do this... It just hurts 

[AJM]

I fully agree ! .... yet, Sean Wrona - one of the fastest typists - uses caps lock in that way. 
So .... if it's stupid, but it works, it's not stupid .... I guess. 

[tobiasvl]

Would probably be even quicker to use Caps Lock as a one-shot Shift key then, so you don't have to turn it off again!

[rxc92]

I fully agree ! .... yet, Sean Wrona - one of the fastest typists - uses caps lock in that way. 
So .... if it's stupid, but it works, it's not stupid .... I guess. 

 
 
It's a little easier on the hands if you're used to it especially on QWERTY, so you don't have to strain your hand by reaching as far. I asked him about using StickyKeys as a faster alternative (tap for Shift to apply to the next letter) and he said it was a good idea and that he might've used it if he continued to type significantly.

[Venaros]

I hate the sound of NK Creams. So damn hollow.

[appaboy]

The "classic" way of doing the legacy key legends (prtscr scroll lock and pause with all the front legends) looks a million times better than the new modern approach of single line legends on those keys . This is about as nitpicky as I get , as I sold my gmk 9009 after being annoyed by it for a while. I understand the thought behind it but in practice I'd rather have the classic style.

[wholypantalones]

I don't know how unpopular this really is, but I'm not a fan of just icon mods on keysets anymore. Especially "realigned" icons and the down arrow for caps lock. *shudder*

[tp4tissue]

I don't know how unpopular this really is, but I'm not a fan of just icon mods on keysets anymore. Especially "realigned" icons and the down arrow for caps lock. *shudder*

Blank is the way to go, don't let icons and letters tell you what to do. They're like handcuffs.

Qwerty would've been long replaced by more efficient arrangements had we not had the letters printed on every board.

[EMC Labs]

I don't know how unpopular this really is, but I'm not a fan of just icon mods on keysets anymore. Especially "realigned" icons and the down arrow for caps lock. *shudder*

Blank is the way to go, don't let icons and letters tell you what to do. They're like handcuffs.

Qwerty would've been long replaced by more efficient arrangements had we not had the letters printed on every board.

Well then.

[SixtyLife]

I don't know how unpopular this really is, but I'm not a fan of just icon mods on keysets anymore. Especially "realigned" icons and the down arrow for caps lock. *shudder*

Blank is the way to go, don't let icons and letters tell you what to do. They're like handcuffs.

Qwerty would've been long replaced by more efficient arrangements had we not had the letters printed on every board.

you're delusional if you think the general public would have accepted blank keyboards with their computers. even now after decades of qwerty standard the majority of people need letters on their keycaps to type.

[tp4tissue]

you're delusional if you think the general public would have accepted blank keyboards with their computers. even now after decades of qwerty standard the majority of people need letters on their keycaps to type.

That's the failure of public education.  Providing label handcuffs to the pleb masses,  The goal has always been to keep their minds empty while extracting their raw physical labor.

[Kevadu]

Familiarity with the layout is even more important when the keycaps are blank though, not less.  Making keycaps blank does nothing to help people touch type DVORAK or whatever...

Besides which keycaps just look better with legends (totally objective statement).

[tp4tissue]

Familiarity with the layout is even more important when the keycaps are blank though, not less.  Making keycaps blank does nothing to help people touch type DVORAK or whatever...

Besides which keycaps just look better with legends (totally objective statement).

Don't think they look better or worse. They certainly look more familiar with legends, but hitler looks familiar, still a bad dude.

Dvorak isn't a very good layout. Many premises of its construction is wrong.  for example, the fingers do not naturally rest on the home row asdfjkl;,  it rests on awefjio;.

My point about label vs blank is merely that the label cuffs the majority of all people to learn a bad system, and its ubiquity is a primary blockade to innovation.

[xtrafrood]

Kinesis Advantage keyboards house much sex appeal.

[RominRonin]

1. Model M/Fs sound horrible
I dislike the buckling sound.

2. Most switches are too heavy
Love my 30g Topre. Anything heavier requires too much effort to press imo

3. Japanese keyboards shouldn't have kana legends
No secret only 5-10% of Japanese use kana input method anyways.

4. SA (or any other spherical high profile keycaps) are not for 'real' typing
They are nice to lay your fingers down though. Just not optimal for moving between rows.

5. Custom built cases.
Don't like metal cases; they feel too cold to touch due too great thermal conductivity.
Polystyrene case might be a better idea I guess:P. Warm, light, quiet and inexpensive.

I agree with all except 1 and 3 - I haven't used model m/f boards long enough to comment and Ive never used a Japanese board.



Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[TuCZnak]

Familiarity with the layout is even more important when the keycaps are blank though, not less.  Making keycaps blank does nothing to help people touch type DVORAK or whatever...

Besides which keycaps just look better with legends (totally objective statement).

Don't think they look better or worse. They certainly look more familiar with legends, but hitler looks familiar, still a bad dude.

Dvorak isn't a very good layout. Many premises of its construction is wrong.  for example, the fingers do not naturally rest on the home row asdfjkl;,  it rests on awefjio;.

My point about label vs blank is merely that the label cuffs the majority of all people to learn a bad system, and its ubiquity is a primary blockade to innovation.

Godwin's law is still in effect. You've now lost the argument, congratulations.

[appaboy]

Aeks are horrible keyboards with good switches

Gmk q:01 is one of the best looking sets

[Rob27shred]

The bandaid mod does nothing for feel or functionality & just adds a bunch of board chow magnets under your stabilizers.

[The_Boom_Boy]

Icon mods are ugly

[audiosl4ve]

The bandaid mod does nothing for feel or functionality & just adds a bunch of board chow magnets under your stabilizers.

and sound wise it's worse

[fanpeople]

keebs are for dweebs

saying keebs is also for dweebs but this is a popular opinion.

[Rob27shred]

The bandaid mod does nothing for feel or functionality & just adds a bunch of board chow magnets under your stabilizers.

and sound wise it's worse

Agreed!

[BitterMango]

While I had an IBM Model M as a kid, and used it extensively, I do not miss it. The keyboard was unbreakable and built to standards we can only dream of today (that part I miss), but the actual tactile experience of the buckling springs is somewhat overrated in my opinion. I recall mine requiring pretty heavy presses and I, from today's perspective, don't appreciate the actual sensation of feeling the spring collapse under my fingertips. It was somewhat too sharp to be pleasant.

Great keyboard, just not the pinnacle of typing experience it's sometimes presented as.

[rxc92]

I fully agree. And honestly, despite enjoying the feeling of beam springs myself, I couldn't ever see myself wanting to type on them for more than a few minutes at a time. 
Regarding build quality, though, Model M's can be a bit overhyped.

[BitterMango]

I understand it from the perspective of a time in which people were moving from typewriters to a new input device. Progress is iterative and the Model M is quite clearly that. Nowadays we have more comfortable typing experinces. I just wish we had the old case sturdiness as well, outside of custom builds.

[rxc92]

I find it strange that people ask for Model M build quality when far superior (in build quality and sturdiness) boards exist in the form of almost any metal-encased mechanical keyboard today. Being heavy does not a quality keyboard make.

[Polymer]

While I had an IBM Model M as a kid, and used it extensively, I do not miss it. The keyboard was unbreakable and built to standards we can only dream of today (that part I miss), but the actual tactile experience of the buckling springs is somewhat overrated in my opinion. I recall mine requiring pretty heavy presses and I, from today's perspective, don't appreciate the actual sensation of feeling the spring collapse under my fingertips. It was somewhat too sharp to be pleasant.

Great keyboard, just not the pinnacle of typing experience it's sometimes presented as.

Agreed....M/F both get a lot of love...but when I was a kid I thought they felt cheap...and today I still think that's the case...

To be fair, they've stood the test of time...but they're so clunky feeling and sounding....they feel like something is wrong and if you actually look at the mechanism and how it works, it definitely doesn't look like something you'd intentionally design that way now...

[no, the other guy]

I don't think the F feels cheap.

[fanpeople]

I don't think the F feels cheap.

Yeah but you also like rusty spoons so....

[no, the other guy]

I see. Then I must leave.

[fanpeople]

I see. Then I must leave.

EH! Hubert Cumberdale you taste like soot and poo!

[BitterMango]

I find it strange that people ask for Model M build quality when far superior (in build quality and sturdiness) boards exist in the form of almost any metal-encased mechanical keyboard today. Being heavy does not a quality keyboard make.

It surely doesn't, but most modern plastic cases feel really flimsy, especially with a floating cap design. It screams cost saving (to me). That's the mass market keyboard, not a metal encased one. Those are, for the most part a premium.

Of course the heaviness and thickness of the plastic case have very little practical function - even my Ajazz AK33 doesn't slide around and the case is not likely to break during its lifetime. So it's just about the subjective feeling of quality associated with solidity and weight, i.e. heavy = substantial.

[ideus]

I find it strange that people ask for Model M build quality when far superior (in build quality and sturdiness) boards exist in the form of almost any metal-encased mechanical keyboard today. Being heavy does not a quality keyboard make.

It surely doesn't, but most modern plastic cases feel really flimsy, especially with a floating cap design. It screams cost saving (to me). That's the mass market keyboard, not a metal encased one. Those are, for the most part a premium.

Of course the heaviness and thickness of the plastic case have very little practical function - even my Ajazz AK33 doesn't slide around and the case is not likely to break during its lifetime. So it's just about the subjective feeling of quality associated with solidity and weight, i.e. heavy = substantial.

It's true that industrialization drives some things, like kb, into unacceptable borders for some. But it is also true that kb aficionados pay insane prices for over-engineered cases and kb construction. I like this forum's drive for creativity and innovation in kb concepts, but I really hate the trend towards hundred of dollars designs that add nothing to the functionality.