geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: jkercado on Tue, 06 December 2011, 21:36:13
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I found this one today at a local computer parts shop. They have a box full of old and not-so-old keyboards at $3-$6. There I snagged this Gateway, which was even in its original packaging. I immediately loved the neat, sleek, modern design:
(http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll236/jkercado/temporary-4.jpg)
I thought it would had scissor switches, being so low-profiled and looking so modern:
(http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll236/jkercado/temporary-3.jpg)
But it's just a regular rubber dome.
(http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll236/jkercado/temporary-5.jpg)
It does work nicely, though. The keys are quite snappy, even though it is in fact pretty silent. I like snappy keys, especially on rubber domes, because they provide the tactile feedback I need--stuff like Dell QuietKeys are a bit too smooth for my taste. The keys have a relatively short travel, but not as short as, say, modern laptops; think more of something akin to an old laptop keyboard. It also doesn't feel flimsy--it holds it position on the desk without any problems, and also the keys are decently stable, with not that much play. I find that I can type pretty fast with it, smooth, with good precision (something I like, being a coder).
Dislikes? No indicator lights whatsoever--I wonder if LEDs are really that expensive. Also, F-keys 9 through 12 have to be activated via a Fn key, because the default operation for these keys is for media playing. It also has four extra "multimedia" keys for volume control, but they are slim and unobstrusive.
All in all, I kinda dig it--makes for a nice home coding keyboard (since my KeyTronic is in the office while I fix my Model M's cable).
Anyone has any idea when where these keyboards produced? Any other info? Seems to me like a rather unusual unit, even though it's yet another rubber dome keyboard.
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Well, all I can tell you is it is clearly circa 2008 + or - 3 years. I say this because it has the FX branding, and that's the branding my gaming laptop has and I got it towards the end of 2008.