Just got a Left-handed ALPs keyboard

[Eclairz]

I was checking Ebay last week for a left handed keyboard and found this gem. Although looking at various sites I heard this keyboard had in fact also came out with cherry blacks and browns. I was suprised to find a no cherry keyswitches when i popped the key cap but instead lay a greyish alps switch.

It doesn't sound like my white switched macallly mk-96, and maybe a bit less pressure also. Reminds me of a Cherry brown with a bit more click noise. Space bar has a big thud to it but all other keys feel great.

It may take me a while to get used to having the pointing keys and home,del, etc on the left but it generally feels great. It is also one of the few alps based keyboards in british layout but has a big L enter and smaller backspace which i detest mainly because of shorter back delete.

I'll post some photos up, I bought the keyboard off ebay but the company owns a site in the UK as well, Mine was part of a set whereit was being cleared out. So the rest of the left handed alps keyboards may have been sold out but they have cherry ones maybe.

the keyboard label says it was made by http://www.shortboard.co.uk but i had bought mine cheaper off ebay from this company http://www.keyboardco.com

this is the keyboard i got for £35
http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard_details.asp?PRODUCT=484
it seems to have the same model number so maybe these have alps as well

But it may just be a DSI variant
http://www.notestation.com/left.htm
although on the pdf that dsi show, it curiously says cherry mechanical switch, so this is why i thought it had cherry browns or blacks.

Anyway the keyboard feels build to last and is kind of raised like my macally mk-96 and feels just as strong. Will take ages to relearn how to use a small backspace but otherwise a fine keyboard. I have felt that the backspace is sticky but that could be my imagination.

[Eclairz]

Heres the images for comparison sake and just for curiosity

[D-EJ915]

I'd be all over that thing if it weren't for that L shaped enter key

[Bluemercury]

Do they have that at the normal layout?....

[graywolf]

I'd be all over that thing if it weren't for that L shaped enter key

I do not know why so many, are upset about the reversed-L enter key. The straight one was introduced because it was slightly cheaper to make. I guess it is what one is used to. But then at one time the selectric style reversed-L return key was the norm, at least on highend keyboards; and many of us had to learn to use the newer, and in no way better style. The fact is that those of us with rather small hands find that our pinky tends to land right between the \ and Enter keys anyway.

[bigpook]

I think it is what you are used to. My enter key has always been straight, anything else doesn't seem right to me. And I have no issues with a straight enter key. I hit it easily and without error.
But I have fair-sized hands so that may have something to do with it.

[D-EJ915]

The big L key has always been idiotic in my opinion because the corresponding backspace is half sized and seriously, who really uses the enter key more than the backspace.

[Fox]

The big L key has always been idiotic in my opinion because the corresponding backspace is half sized and seriously, who really uses the enter key more than the backspace.

People who simultaneously never make mistakes and would keep missing the normal enter key.

That is pretty cool though - I wasn't aware that left-handed keyboards exist.

[itlnstln]

I have an L-shaped enter key on my Evolution and straight on my Model Ms, and I can't tell the difference.  The only time it ever trips me up is when I have to find the backslash key on the Evolution since they shortened the right shift key to squeeze it in (the backspace key is "normal" size).  Since I only press the left edge of the right shift key, the shortened key does not bother me.

[D-EJ915]

I have an L-shaped enter key on my Evolution and straight on my Model Ms, and I can't tell the difference.  The only time it ever trips me up is when I have to find the backslash key on the Evolution since they shortened the right shift key to squeeze it in (the backspace key is "normal" size).  Since I only press the left edge of the right shift key, the shortened key does not bother me.

more weirdness in action, might be from me originally being a gamer back in the day but I've always hit the shift key with my left pinky no matter what I was shifting, this might make an interresting poll.

[Eclairz]

i've been using the keyboard for a few days now, strangley the big "L" key hasn't annoyed me much at all, the small back space is abit awkward but not as bad as it was iniatially.

My main gripe is the pointer keys and the insert home. I'm use them a lot during programming and editting, and i use back delete as much as front delete so that is taking much more time to get used to. I guess i'm used to having my right hand do all the pointing, page up/down home/end and insert/delete which I use all keys fairly heavily.

Speed of keyboard to mouse seems faster, and key feel is better than the G80-4100 which I was using at home previously. One major boon vs the mk96 is the nipples(as xsphat calls them) are on "F" and "J" which majorly improves locating the finger position when moving between mouse and keyboard.

If I still don't get used to this keyboard after a month's use i'm thinking of moving these caps to the mk-96 as they are both alps based keyboards.

If you can get used to the numpad and pointer keys moving to the left side, then I thoroughly recommend this keyboard. It may not have the click of the white alps though but it has a very similar tactile feel. It seems to come in a US layout provided by DSI (maybe cherry keyswitches), and a UK layout provided by ShortBoard. only difference I see is the additional key in between "shift" and "z", for european programmers this is very important.

Also after abit of testing this keyboard only has 2-key rollover, not great but if you need more it might be better to look at other keyboards

[graywolf]

The big L key has always been idiotic in my opinion because the corresponding backspace is half sized and seriously, who really uses the enter key more than the backspace.

Ahh! A touch mistypist, heh?  

[D-EJ915]

Ahh! A touch mistypist, heh?  

more like lazy typist