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Matias Quiet Pro for PC

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deepthawt:
This is not really a review, it's just my impressions of the Matias Quiet Pro.
It is full of my opinion and observations,  your opinions and observations may very well vary.

I got a Matias Quiet Pro yesterday from mechanicalkeyboards.com.
It arrived new in box, factory sealed and well packaged for shipping.
Inside the shipping box was also the full size ducky wrist wrest I ordered and a hand written 'thank-you' from the shipper. :)

Documentation was minimal and really offered nothing of interest.  Basically it said "Plug it in and use it", in several languages.

Installation went smoothly. I just plugged it in and used it.  At work, On Windows XP Pro (SP3) it installed and in minute it was ready to type.
Taking it home and plugging it into Windows 8 was similarly without incident, plugged it in and it worked.
I guess reading the manual was worth it. ;)

The keyboard completely fulfills my expectations and then some.

The essential multimedia controls (volume up/down/mute) are conveniently available over the number pad and can be pressed directly without needing shift etc.

Three other media controls ('play/pause', 'rew', 'fwd') are accessed using the 'fn' key between the right 'alt' and 'ctrl' keys.
On this PC version of the keyboard the 'fn' key has no other documented use but some combinations of 'fn' and other keys do produce key messages.
The 'fn' key replaces the rightmost 'menu' key found on other keyboards. 
I honestly don't miss the menu key, and thus the 'fn' key does not impact my typing at all. 
There is no 'windows' key on the right side of the space bar. 
The right alt/ctrl/shift perform as expected with the necessary report for US and multilingual layouts.
I checked out the keyboard scan codes and found all the expected results.

There are three extra USB connections that are smartly placed.
There is one on the back that is convenient for mouse.
The other two, placed one on each side are handy for plugging in thumb drives etc.

The keyboard itself is free of badges and logos thus presenting a clean sophisticated appearance.
I can use this keyboard in any environment without characterizing myself, but I took it home as it is just too nice to leave at the office... maybe I'll get another one :)

Typing on the keyboard is exactly what I had hoped it would be.  I had originally tried a different keyboard with cherry brown switches but felt that the key-switches were a little
light for my usage and as I tend to rest my fingers on the key caps the cherry brown would activate unintentionally.
The Matias Quiet pro provides a more tactile click and less noise.
It feels clickier than the browns and requires more pressure to press the keys.
While it is not silent it makes less noise than my wifes microsoft natural 4000, although that may be a result of our own typing styles.

Totally subjectively the feel of the keyboard is wonderful, It doesn't slow me down and makes we wish I were a better typist so I could type a lot faster.

The keys press and release cleanly, a few of them felt a bit clickier than others but that has gone away now that they have been used a few times.

Some of the keys light up when pressed; caps-lock,  scroll-lock, and num-lock all have an LED under them.
They are independent and turn off when pressed again.
The num-lock and scroll-lock keys also show light under the key skirt as well as through the window on the front of the key.

The underside of the key board hosts two sturdy height adjustment / angle feet and a pair of rubber pads that are not very effective.
If I was to point out a design flaw in this keyboard it would be that the bottom rubber pads are inadequate to the task of holding this fairly hefty solid feeling keyboard from moving around.
Additionally since there are only two rubber feet, the rest of the weight of the keyboard is resting on the keyboard underbody itself, which transmits typing noise to the work surface.  Putting the keyboard on a piece of bubblewrap to keep it off of the desk made the keyboard even quieter. 
I'm thinking larger rubber feet and at least two more sound dampening rubber pads would be a benefit to making this keyboard stable and quieter.

The caps lock key is like a regular key but with a transparent window for the caps-lock status.
It doesn't have the traditional half-key width gap between it and its rightmost neighbor.
Apparently this is a tradition for Mac keyboards.  Somehow I'll manage to get past this and hope maybe the manufacturer will provide an option for this in the future.

I didn't find a specification for the number of key actuation lifetime but other ALPS switches are rated for 20M actuations.  The http://matias.ca website did mention they used better materials than the original ALPS switches and had in-lab testing that was passing 40 million keystrokes.
That compares well to cherry switches' 20M keystrokes for tactile and 50M for linear switches.


In summary, there are many keyboards that claim territory for; gaming, low profile, stylish, fast response time, construction materials etc. 
It is nice to find a keyboard that is intended for typing.
This keyboard is a work to be proud of and I'm happy I bought it.

TotalChaos:
@deepthawt

How do I generate the keycode of the "menu" key on this keyboard?

How do I generate the keycode of the right OS key on this keyboard?
(You referred to it as the right "windows" key.)

Reading your review makes me think that it is impossible to generate those keycodes on a Matias keyboard.

deepthawt:
@TotalChaos

Yeah I thought the same thing before I bought the keyboard, thinking it wouldn't be a big deal for me if the keyboard had them or not.  Fortunately for me that is the case.  I almost never used the menu key, and the single 'Left OS' key is the one I've always used.


--- Quote from: TotalChaos on Sat, 05 January 2013, 00:05:43 ---@deepthawt
How do I generate the keycode of the "menu" key on this keyboard?

--- End quote ---

Turns out there is an alternative.
Shift+F10, seems to have the same effect in most apps, although it is not the same as the single key.
Also the right mouse key does context menu thing, if you can distance your fingers from the keytops.


--- Quote ---How do I generate the keycode of the right OS key on this keyboard?
(You referred to it as the right "windows" key.)

--- End quote ---

As near as I can tell, I can't.
There is definitely a distinction between the left and right windows keys as
windows API calls them VK_LWIN and VK_RWIN with values of 0x5B and 0x5C respectively, and I have no idea how to produce the VK_RWIN value.

I notice that that right windows key is omitted on many keyboards, eg. microsoft natural 4000, some hp laptops and samsung laptops that I can see from here.

I doubt that this is a problem for mac users, I don't know if it is something that would be missed by a linux user.


--- Quote ---Reading your review makes me think that it is impossible to generate those keycodes on a Matias keyboard.

--- End quote ---

I can only say that I don't see those labeled keys,  what i do have is a wide space bar and a Fn key that doesn't get in my way.

Matias:
Thanks for doing the review.  Glad you like the keyboard.

With regard to triggering the contextual menu key, a simple workaround would be to run an AutoHotkey script that remaps the Right Windows key to Menu.  If you need help with that, I can set one up for you.

deepthawt:
Thanks

The existing layout is fine for my needs, but I did download and try out AutoHotkey.
That sure makes it easy.

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