Just got my SMK-88 with black cherries back. Man...I This thing sucks. If you've ever heard Steve Martin's bit on "Googlephonics", I think I may be headed in that direction.
I may have to spring for something with brown cherries like the modular Apple keyboard due out from DSI. I like this layout, I used to not mind these blacks so much and now that I've spent several months typing on other boards (even the MLs are better, IMHO) like the MLs, and a variety of Alps switches...there is almost no feel in this board. It is almost as bad as the apple keyboard I've sworn off of.
Yuck.