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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: disco123 on Thu, 17 March 2011, 10:10:57

Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: disco123 on Thu, 17 March 2011, 10:10:57
Well, for me, the most effective way is just buying one for them (already 4).
Geekhack, thank youuuuuuuuu!
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: theferenc on Thu, 17 March 2011, 10:22:45
Of the desktop users, about 2/3, but for laptop users, less than 1/4. They just don't want to carry a keyboard around with their laptop. Which I can totally respect.
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: vun on Thu, 17 March 2011, 10:43:06
I have one that I might convince if I can find anything not too expensive for him. Going to see if I can spread the word to others as opportunities present themselves.
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: Lpb45 on Thu, 17 March 2011, 10:48:37
When I tell them how much they cost they pretty much look at me like I have a clown costume on and just dismiss it altogethor
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: pitashen on Thu, 17 March 2011, 10:56:01
Got a friend who tried my keyboard briefly aprox a year ago, made a decent impression but wasn't quite impressed (mainly coz the conventional looks of them). But just the past couple of months, I kept throwing at him all these mech keyboard info as i was looking into getting another one. He suddenly got all interested pulled the trigger and bought a Filco. He is in love with his new board and wishing that he could have gotten it earlier.

Got another friend in mainland interested but he is very tight on his budget. He is considering getting one from flee market though.
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: keyb_gr on Thu, 17 March 2011, 11:21:28
My parents had this fugly Logitech board with a sticking Return, so at some point I decided to give them something decent from my collection. Since Win keys were necessary, choice was a bit of a problem. They weren't too fond of a G81 (understandably), nor did they appreciate the "clacking monster" AT102DW much (the computer being in an echo-y concrete cellar doesn't help); in the end they got the Tandberg TDV5020. My dad also has to enter some numbers on the notebook once in a while, so I gave him the G84-4700 numpad for that (it's a black one, so doesn't look out of place). Yep, both use MLs.
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: rustybarnacle on Thu, 17 March 2011, 11:26:09
for a lot of people, budget is a serious concern.  They've lived for so long with a cheap $5 piece of junk and, well, ignorance is bliss i suppose.  It is a rare few that buy a mechanical keyboard.  But I can say that of those that have done it, none have gone back.  That's also probably due in no small part to the fact that the average mechanical keyboard will outlive the average user.
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: krazymunky on Thu, 17 March 2011, 11:50:55
one of my friends got the RAZER starcraft 2 themed "Marauder" as a gift. he was so happy and i didnt want to tell him that his KB sucks and to get a mech keyboard.

yeah when i tell people how much a mech kb is..they go "WTF? why so much for a keyboard?"
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: theferenc on Thu, 17 March 2011, 12:23:40
Well, to be fair, a Unicomp Customizer is no more expensive than a Black Widow or Logitech G series. Even the MS Natural 4000 ergo board (whatever it's actually called) is usually about the same price as a Customizer.

And from there to a Leopold isn't much of a leap at all. Plus, you get the compact size, which appeals to a lot of people.
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: canon.tk on Thu, 17 March 2011, 12:48:22
I got a friend to get a Filco with browns last year before I even bought mine.  I wasn't sure if blacks or browns would be best for me so I talked him into getting browns.  It came in on a Friday and he went out of town.  UPS left it on his porch so he had me pick it up and use it for the weekend.  I ordered my Filco will blacks shortly after that.

Then I got another friend to get a Filco with blacks.

Everyone at work likes my Blackwidow Ultimate but they don't want to spend the money on a keyboard.
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: clack on Thu, 17 March 2011, 13:40:53
none. they usually ask me why i spent 150 importing a keyboard especially when it doesnt have any fancy screens or anything on it.
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: ashort on Thu, 17 March 2011, 13:43:53
My Mom has always been a fast typist dating back to the IBM Selectric days (seriously old school).

I had 2 NIB Dell AT101W's.   After typing on my Mom's computer once, and feeling my hands tighten up with every keystroke, I gave her one of the Dells.

I saw her a few weeks later and she said "This keyboard is fantastic!"

"Great Mom, if you ever wear that one out, I have a spare!"
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: noodles256 on Thu, 17 March 2011, 15:08:51
Quote from: theferenc;313276
Of the desktop users, about 2/3, but for laptop users, less than 1/4. They just don't want to carry a keyboard around with their laptop. Which I can totally respect.


I have a laptop and always carry a keyboard around.
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: vun on Thu, 17 March 2011, 15:20:24
Quote from: noodles256;313443
I have a laptop and always carry a keyboard around.


I'm considering dragging one of my Filcos along with my laptop now; after a couple of hours with mechanical boards my laptop's scissor switches feel a lot mushier.
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: theferenc on Thu, 17 March 2011, 15:41:43
Quote from: noodles256;313443
I have a laptop and always carry a keyboard around.


So do I. But my friends don't like the idea, for the most part.
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: BucklingSpring on Thu, 17 March 2011, 16:17:40
Only few nostalgic old timers, mainly Unicomps.

Couple of others were gifts I gave to people I really like.

To the point made previously in this thread. Very few people I know would be welling to spend that much for a keyboard. They're just happy with 10$ rubber domes. When a key doesn't work anymore. They hit it until it works while spitting a curse or two, then they move on. No big deal, once in a while I'll eard a friend tellling the story of how he showed his keyboard how to fly. They actually do it pretty well. The landing is another story. Time to spend another 10$.
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: vun on Thu, 17 March 2011, 16:19:54
Having a cheap expendable keyboard isn't all bad, knowing that it doesn't matter what you do to it is somewhat comforting. Then again, having a proper keyboard is still better. Having something in-between.. Is just awkward?
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: False_Dmitry_II on Fri, 18 March 2011, 04:41:09
You mean like the logitech that has a tiny monitor for some reason? I have a friend who has one and he was super excited about the fact that he was going to get it. He was all "This thing costs $200, it's the best keyboard in the world. This is gonna be so awesome!"

I tried to point out that it would still have rubber domes, but he didn't care.
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: What is X? on Fri, 18 March 2011, 05:45:57
Quote from: theferenc;313342
Well, to be fair, a Unicomp Customizer is no more expensive than a Black Widow or Logitech G series. Even the MS Natural 4000 ergo board (whatever it's actually called) is usually about the same price as a Customizer.

And from there to a Leopold isn't much of a leap at all. Plus, you get the compact size, which appeals to a lot of people.

You realise the blackwidow has MX Blues
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: lootbag on Fri, 18 March 2011, 06:11:28
Almost converted 1 friend to a Ducky but then she got cold feet and jumped ship.

Successfully converted 1 friend from a Logitech Illuminated to a Ducky 9008; he loves it.

Mechanical keyboards just aren't for everyone because it is expensive and everyone has the same damn reaction... "It's just a keyboard".
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: theferenc on Fri, 18 March 2011, 06:46:27
Quote from: What is X?;313814
You realise the blackwidow has MX Blues


Sorry, I often confuse "Black Widow" with "Razer". I meant the other Razer keyboards.
Title: How many of your friends/relatives bought mech. KBs after your recommendation?
Post by: muchadoaboutnothing on Fri, 18 March 2011, 10:08:55
My family doesn't buy them. They CONFISCATE them! I've lost an ABS M1 and a Filco Tactile Touch to them already.

Friends, I've gotten a few to purchase Filcos. Some find older boards (such as an AEK) and use that as well.

Many of my friends just say "Oh, you spend a lot of time on the computer right? That's probably a good purchase for you, but I don't think I'd benefit from it.". I can respect that.