Some are memberane
When people say "membrane keyboard" they often refer to there being a sheet with rubber domes, but that is incorrect usage.
The term actually refers to what is often underneath the domes: one or more flexible plastic membrane sheets. They are usually three: top and bottom layer with traces and a middle layer with holes. The top membrane will not sag into the hole but you could press it down to make both membranes connect.
A pure "membrane keyboard" would not have anything on top: The user would press the membranes directly. For instance the
Atari 400 and the
Sinclair ZX81 8-bit home computers had pure membrane keyboards.
People on this board have discussed about the precise meaning of the word "mechanical keyboard" for too long without getting anywhere. By one definition, a mechanical keyboard is any that has moving parts.
By another, there would need to be conductor-to-conductor contact inside the switch mechanism (which would exclude the IBM Model M's
buckling-spring over membrane).
By another more strict definition, there would need to a
mechanical linkage inside the switch mechanism.
Others use it just to mean a keyboard of higher quality: for instance letting the Topre switch be in effect an
honorary mechanical key switch.
Mr
no, the other guy (with the salad fingers) is just playing with you about the terms.
