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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: patrickgeekhack on Fri, 03 July 2009, 00:01:30

Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Fri, 03 July 2009, 00:01:30
Yesterday I brought my ABS M1 back home leaving only my Dell AT101W at work. I unplugged my Cherry G80-3000 and started to use the ABS M1 again. And tonight I'm back on my Cherry.

What I'm trying to say is that Cherry with MX Blue is really my favourite keyboard. Although I like my other keyboards too, I have the feeling that I don't like them as much as my Cherry. Weird isn't it? And every time I listen to a Topre sound clip, I get really excited to the point of wanting one, but when I type on my Cherry, I change my mind. I'm not saying that I won't be buying any keyboard in the future, another futile resistance since I still want to try a Cherry Brown keyboard, but for now I'm sticking with my G80-3000 (blue).

So fellow Geekhackers, do you find yourself swapping keyboards only to return to a particular one?
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: watduzhkstand4 on Fri, 03 July 2009, 00:12:39
Quote from: patrickgeekhack;100873
Yesterday I brought my ABS M1 back home leaving only my Dell AT101W at work. I unplugged my Cherry G80-3000 and started to use the ABS M1 again. And tonight I'm back on my Cherry.

What I'm trying to say is that Cherry with MX Blue is really my favourite keyboard. Although I like my other keyboards too, I have the feeling that I don't like them as much as my Cherry. Weird isn't it? And every time I listen to a Topre sound clip, I get really excited to the point of wanting one, but when I type on my Cherry, I change my mind. I'm not saying that I won't be buying any keyboard in the future, another futile resistance since I still want to try a Cherry Brown keyboard, but for now I'm sticking with my G80-3000 (blue).

So fellow Geekhackers, do you find yourself swapping keyboards only to return to a particular one?


well I have two keyboards hooked up to my computer to begin with and one of them is my Blank Filco Mini with blue cherries and the other one was my Model M yesterday but now a dell at101w. The cherry blue is always staying here but the other keyboard is always different. Now it's my cherry blue and a mx11800 =)
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Fri, 03 July 2009, 00:17:16
Quote from: watduzhkstand4;100874
well I have two keyboards hooked up to my computer to begin with and one of them is my Blank Filco Mini with blue cherries and the other one was my Model M yesterday but now a dell at101w. The cherry blue is always staying here but the other keyboard is always different. Now it's my cherry blue and a mx11800 =)


You seem to like the Cherry blue a lot, like me. I've watched your YouTube video on the Filco a few times by the way.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: watduzhkstand4 on Fri, 03 July 2009, 00:58:12
Quote from: patrickgeekhack;100875
You seem to like the Cherry blue a lot, like me. I've watched your YouTube video on the Filco a few times by the way.


Thanks for watching!
Sorry about the bad quality though. I really like my board a lot. I can magically type so much faster comparing to any other board I own.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: Bollwerk on Fri, 03 July 2009, 05:13:17
Quote from: patrickgeekhack;100873

So fellow Geekhackers, do you find yourself swapping keyboards only to return to a particular one?


At the moment, I'm not sure. I really like the ALPS but I didn't try many Keyboards out.

At least I want to geht my hands on a Topre-Model and I'm currently looking for a Model M.
I don't know blue and brown MX-switches either so I think, I'll buy some of these in future.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Fri, 03 July 2009, 10:25:38
Quote from: watduzhkstand4;100878
Thanks for watching!
Sorry about the bad quality though. I really like my board a lot. I can magically type so much faster comparing to any other board I own.


Actually, the quality was pretty good. I could hear the Cherry blues quite well. It's amazing how speed and accuracy can magically increase with a well-liked keyboard. For sure, I can type much faster and more accurately with my Cherry board. My G80-3000  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX125XQPpsQ)video.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Fri, 03 July 2009, 10:26:36
Quote from: Bollwerk;100898
At the moment, I'm not sure. I really like the ALPS but I didn't try many Keyboards out.

At least I want to geht my hands on a Topre-Model and I'm currently looking for a Model M.
I don't know blue and brown MX-switches either so I think, I'll buy some of these in future.


What keyswitches are in the various Cherry keyboards listed in your signature?
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: microsoft windows on Fri, 03 July 2009, 10:48:22
I still stick with my good-ol' model M.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: rdjack21 on Fri, 03 July 2009, 11:07:22
I've generally liked the boards I have and I do switch them out on occasion. But on every one of them I have found some reason to find another board (different  switch) until I got my first Topre board. Instead of trying to find another board with different switches I'm now trying to get more Topre boards :) I still like to type on some of my other boards but I always return to the Topre board.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Fri, 03 July 2009, 11:58:16
Quote from: ripster;100941
Yeah, I keep rotating but lately have been returning to the Topre because it has the lightest key presses and my right wrist hurts.  My pinkies are starting to appreciated those 35g keys.  Also, in a practical sense I doubt that any keyboard manufacturer will ever produce a standard keyboard (we're not talking Datahands or Tim Tyler specials) any lighter - would get too many repeating keys.


Painful wrists. Rubber dome can be really bad when this happens because you need to bottom out the keys.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Fri, 03 July 2009, 12:00:36
Quote from: rdjack21;100952
I've generally liked the boards I have and I do switch them out on occasion. But on every one of them I have found some reason to find another board (different  switch) until I got my first Topre board. Instead of trying to find another board with different switches I'm now trying to get more Topre boards :) I still like to type on some of my other boards but I always return to the Topre board.


I have never tried a Topre, so in this case ignorance is bliss applies. However, just like you went and get another Topre, I went and got another G80-3000. But, unlike you, I cannot use it at work :-(

I think there are times when I don't bottom the keys on my Cherry...maybe I'm knowing it very well.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: MsKeyboard on Fri, 03 July 2009, 12:26:27
I am kind of lucky, as I can pick and choose just about any keyboard I want to try (new more than old), and play with it for awhile.  Also, we get quite a few projects in, so those can be interesting as well. But I do not code or anything typing intensive like that, so I obviously do not look for or appreciate the same features that most of this group does, but I am learning.

As for the question, I have not really found any single board that I call "mine".  I am really enjoying the Mechanical Modular board we carry right now, but not enough for me to stop looking.

Hope you all have a Great 4th.........Later
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Fri, 03 July 2009, 13:01:33
Quote from: ripster;100965
Yeah, ya gotta jab the little suckers.  The Topre bottoms out softly but since it's a capacitive switch you don't need to.

But like you I like the Blue Cherry best.  I'm just saying the Topre is uniquely quiet and light in terms of keypress force.  I also rotate the IBM Model M mini in every so often for nostalgia more than anything else.


If do end up moving my office in my master bedroom in a couple of years, then I will seriously consider a Topre keyboard or a brown Cherry. Don't get me wrong, I would like to try a Topre one day. I can buy one now. I have some money set aside already for computer expenses. But, the honey moon between my Cherry (Blue) and I is not over yet.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Fri, 03 July 2009, 13:05:01
Quote from: MsKeyboard;100968

As for the question, I have not really found any single board that I call "mine".  I am really enjoying the Mechanical Modular board we carry right now, but not enough for me to stop looking.


I got all my keyboards in a fairly short amount of time. At the beginning, I just could not decide which one I like best. I keep rotating them, sometimes within hours. Then as I get to know each one better, I started to know what I like in a keyboard. I'm glade I found this forum. Otherwise, I would have bought a Das. Since the Cherry and the Das use the same keyswitches, the Cherry was a cheaper route.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: xsphat on Fri, 03 July 2009, 13:08:52
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3275/2889183910_5f15d490d9_o.jpg)
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: timw4mail on Fri, 03 July 2009, 13:18:04
At the moment all I've actually tried are "M" buckling springs and blue cherry switches. I'm still not as fond of the Cherry switches...I'm not sure if I'll like the SMK or the "F" buckling springs better than the Model M or the M10...
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Fri, 03 July 2009, 13:21:58
Quote from: timw4mail;100983
At the moment all I've actually tried are "M" buckling springs and blue cherry switches. I'm still not as fond of the Cherry switches...I'm not sure if I'll like the SMK or the "F" buckling springs better than the Model M or the M10...

Welcome to paradox of choice. Too many choices causes paralysis. If I did not know other mechanical keyboards existed, and all I could afford and though existed was a buckling spring, I would probably have conditioned myself to love it.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Fri, 03 July 2009, 13:33:48
Quote from: ripster;100986
Show Image
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=3023&stc=1&d=1246645706)


Photoshop text tools suck.


Good feeling of oneness...with cup rubber.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: ch_123 on Fri, 03 July 2009, 14:59:31
The three boards I have at the moment pretty much cover all my needs. The only keyboard I would be tempted to get now is the HHKB, but I'm not really sure that whatever advantages it may have over my current lineup would really justify the cost. If I ever get one, it will be at some stage well down the line...
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Fri, 03 July 2009, 15:06:26
Quote from: ch_123;101005
The three boards I have at the moment pretty much cover all my needs. The only keyboard I would be tempted to get now is the HHKB, but I'm not really sure that whatever advantages it may have over my current lineup would really justify the cost. If I ever get one, it will be at some stage well down the line...


I guess the cost of the HHKP and Topre keyboards is what causes the hesitation  for many of us. If the cost was about the same as a Filco for example, many of us would be willing to take the risk of not liking it. I guess, it's similar to people who want to try a Mac, but hesitate because it cost a lot and they are not too sure if they will like it or not.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: Ulysses31 on Fri, 03 July 2009, 17:11:37
I only own one mechanical keyboard.  It's a G80 with blues and it's far far better than anything i've used previously, and that's good enough for me.  My finger-tips recoil in horror now whenever I have to use a rubber-dome board, even if it's just to log-on.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Fri, 03 July 2009, 17:33:13
Quote from: Ulysses31;101020
I only own one mechanical keyboard.  It's a G80 with blues and it's far far better than anything i've used previously, and that's good enough for me.  My finger-tips recoil in horror now whenever I have to use a rubber-dome board, even if it's just to log-on.


I know the feeling. It's just not same once you've start using a mechanical keyboard. That said, some people just don't feel the difference.  I once got someone to type on one of my keyboards, and he said that he does not see the difference or at least why he should invest in one of these. My reply: his senses are not developed enough :-)
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: timw4mail on Fri, 03 July 2009, 17:37:52
Quote from: patrickgeekhack;101021
I know the feeling. It's just not same once you've start using a mechanical keyboard. That said, some people just don't feel the difference.  I once got someone to type on one of my keyboards, and he said that he does not see the difference or at least why he should invest in one of these. My reply: his senses are not developed enough :-)

Some people just don't use a keyboard enough to really know.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: ch_123 on Fri, 03 July 2009, 18:45:07
Quote from: timw4mail;101023
some people just don't use a keyboard enough to really know.


qft
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: watduzhkstand4 on Fri, 03 July 2009, 19:17:28
Quote from: ch_123;101029
qft


^^cosign^^
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: Bollwerk on Fri, 03 July 2009, 20:01:20
Quote from: patrickgeekhack;100937
What keyswitches are in the various Cherry keyboards listed in your signature?


The G80s all have black linear MX-Switches. So I really don't know the other ones.
Some Time ago, I mistook the ALPS for blue MX-Switches. I didn't look inside and on one site they said, the Chicony has clicky MX-Switches.^^

Now that I know, that I'm typing on Real ALPS, I'm very curious about the blue MX-Switches.

During my beginnings with computers back then, I learned typing on the FTSC-Switches from a G81-something.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: o2dazone on Fri, 03 July 2009, 20:04:22
Quote from: patrickgeekhack;101021
I know the feeling. It's just not same once you've start using a mechanical keyboard. That said, some people just don't feel the difference.  I once got someone to type on one of my keyboards, and he said that he does not see the difference or at least why he should invest in one of these. My reply: his senses are not developed enough :-)


I had someone at work type on the HHKB for about 10 minutes. They couldn't tell a difference. I then had him try a G80-3000 and his initial response was "whoa!". It takes a refined set of fingers to distinguish anything other than "squishy" and "not squishy"
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: o2dazone on Fri, 03 July 2009, 21:14:05
Well, I mean... I stood there and made sure he didn't try to nick it. It was also on the old keycaps - so it's all good
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Fri, 03 July 2009, 21:21:58
Quote from: ripster;101045
You let someone ELSE type on your HHKB?!?!?!

My daughter is about one week away from 7 months. One day, she saw me typing and since then has been showing an interest in my keyboard. From time to time, I'll put her on my lap and she will pound on the keys. Good thing I have a spare G80-3000. Paternal love I guess.

I have a Microsoft wireless keyboard I got for CDN $10 due to pricing error. I will have to dust it and let her pound on it. There will not be any cord in her way.

All this is to say that I don't mind letting people try my keyboards. What I do mind is people using them without first asking because I always make sure there's not drink or food in close proximity.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: o2dazone on Sat, 04 July 2009, 02:53:14
Does he do jump maps in tf2? that's the ultimate test in favorable keyboards
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: iggysaps on Sat, 04 July 2009, 03:13:01
My son is the same.  The problem is he does it while I am doing something.  He just turned one recently but was interested in the laptops he saw and the keyboards since he was about 7 to 8 months.  I usually am working on my laptop when he sees me.  So my G84-4100 is what he usually pounds on.  I just disconnect it before he pounds on it to make sure he doesn't accidentally delete anything I am working on or change my computer settings.  While on my lap I can still type on the laptop keyboard while he goes at it with the G84.  I also however have an ASUS netbook, he pounded on the keys, the keys stopped working properly.  Good thing it was under warranty.  ASUS replaced the netbook's keyboard.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: lal on Sat, 04 July 2009, 06:09:16
Quote from: o2dazone;101040
I had someone at work type on the HHKB for about 10 minutes. They couldn't tell a difference. I then had him try a G80-3000 and his initial response was "whoa!". It takes a refined set of fingers to distinguish anything other than "squishy" and "not squishy"


So you're saying that person found the HHKB as squishy as a standard rubber dome and only noticed a difference with the G80?
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: timw4mail on Sat, 04 July 2009, 07:28:51
Quote from: lal;101099
So you're saying that person found the HHKB as squishy as a standard rubber dome and only noticed a difference with the G80?

Well, a click probably is more distinguishable on a Cherry switch
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: ch_123 on Sat, 04 July 2009, 07:49:20
Quote from: lal;101099
So you're saying that person found the HHKB as squishy as a standard rubber dome and only noticed a difference with the G80?


Alot of people's first impressions of the Topre switches are that they are like well-made rubber domes. It seems that the only way to appreciate them is to do a lot of typing on them.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Sat, 04 July 2009, 10:57:53
Quote from: ripster;101072
My son is using my formerly NIB 1391401.  Despite warnings I'll find empty coke cans nearby.  I grin and bear it.

What we do for our kids....

I WILL take it away and box it up if I find a bag of CHEETOS!

P.S.  It's been a week and he's been gaming away (a lot of TF2).  Loves it.  Buckling Springs for gaming - guess he has strong fingers.   I've offered my Brown Cherry Filco but he liked clicky. Never even noticed keyboard beeps (key blocking) - I've  asked.


Doesn't a bag of Cheetos possess lesser potential of inflicting more damage onto the keyboard than coke?
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Sat, 04 July 2009, 11:03:31
Quote from: iggysaps;101092
My son is the same.  The problem is he does it while I am doing something.  He just turned one recently but was interested in the laptops he saw and the keyboards since he was about 7 to 8 months.  I usually am working on my laptop when he sees me.  So my G84-4100 is what he usually pounds on.  I just disconnect it before he pounds on it to make sure he doesn't accidentally delete anything I am working on or change my computer settings.  While on my lap I can still type on the laptop keyboard while he goes at it with the G84.  I also however have an ASUS netbook, he pounded on the keys, the keys stopped working properly.  Good thing it was under warranty.  ASUS replaced the netbook's keyboard.


I would not let someone else pound on my keyboard, but my daughter...I cannot say no. MY wife says I'll end up spoiling her too much. What can I say? She makes me so happy. She finds everything her father does funny as hell including taping a box and sneezing LOL.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: lal on Sat, 04 July 2009, 12:06:27
Quote from: ch_123;101109
Alot of people's first impressions of the Topre switches are that they are like well-made rubber domes. It seems that the only way to appreciate them is to do a lot of typing on them.


I find this noteworthy.  It supports the impression I have about Topre keyboards having the feel of a rubber dome board.  Although very high quality, but still just rubber dome.  Similar enough to be indistinguishable for average Joe User.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: o2dazone on Sat, 04 July 2009, 14:02:19
Quote from: lal;101099
So you're saying that person found the HHKB as squishy as a standard rubber dome and only noticed a difference with the G80?


Yeah, what I'm saying is that for people who don't really type on a lot of keyboards, it just feels like a more solid rubber dome, and the blue cherries were a lot more impressionable on them
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Sat, 04 July 2009, 18:24:31
Quote from: o2dazone;101178
Yeah, what I'm saying is that for people who don't really type on a lot of keyboards, it just feels like a more solid rubber dome, and the blue cherries were a lot more impressionable on them


Not saying that Topre and HHKB are not good, but Blue Cherries have something going for them. It's very easy to fall in love with them. That distinctive click is not something users who have been using rubber domes all their lives would have heard before. Now, since they are so used to pounding on every keyboard they have used before, they are likely to do so on a Topre and hence not noticing the difference. I grew up eating very hot spicy at almost every meal. My friends in Canada cannot understand how I can taste my food. But, I do and can even tell the difference between the taste of one hot pepper and that of another one. On the other hand, I cannot distinguish between good sushi and very good sushi while a Japanese friend could.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: Hak Foo on Sat, 04 July 2009, 20:57:03
I expected my 1987 1391401 to be the greatest of the great, but I think I'm going back to the Customizer 104... it lacks a bit of the noise I like (maybe the changed bottom results in different sounding, or maybe it's wear)  The '87 and '92 Ms I have seem muffled, but the '90 and '09 ones seem much louder and crisper.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: vils on Sun, 05 July 2009, 00:00:53
Quote from: webwit;101180
German television (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_FyN4kwEkY)...
Remember, this is a country where David Hasselhoff (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vNsDhFaKUk) stormed the charts. This country is full of evil! Although you haven't lived until you saw The Blues Brothers in German.


And they have this:
http://www.ingalindstrom.se/ (http://www.ingalindstrom.se/)

Bizzarre.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: Bollwerk on Sun, 05 July 2009, 04:58:10
Quote from: webwit;101180
German television (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_FyN4kwEkY)...
Remember, this is a country where David Hasselhoff (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vNsDhFaKUk) stormed the charts. This country is full of evil! Although you haven't lived until you saw The Blues Brothers in German.


xD

Television here is indeed great bull****. I'm not sure if it worse than american stuff or that from other countries (most of the bull**** has its roots in other countries though), but it is worse enough, that I only use my wii or other other consoles on my television.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: Bollwerk on Sun, 05 July 2009, 05:27:24
As long as there are people who want to watch crap, there will allways be crap, whatever it is coming from.^^
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: ch_123 on Sun, 05 July 2009, 07:06:45
Quote from: ripster;101228
Good point, I just took my IBM 1391401 away from my son.  He's now on my Unicomp SpaceSaver.  Easy to replace.


Soon enough he'll notice the difference. Before you know, he'll be able to eludicate on the merits of different models of IBM and Lexmark made Model Ms. Then you have problems... :P
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: lal on Sun, 05 July 2009, 07:15:57
Quote from: webwit;101180
German television (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_FyN4kwEkY)...
Remember, this is a country where David Hasselhoff (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vNsDhFaKUk) stormed the charts. This country is full of evil! Although you haven't lived until you saw The Blues Brothers in German.


I'm surprised no one brought up something like this:

(http://www.weblike.de/extern/oktoberfest-info/images/bayerische-trachten.jpg)

I've heard many people esp. in the US think Germans all look like that and drink lots of beer.  While the latter is generally true, this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHUrEkIe-g0) would be an example of modern German music artists I am personally kind of proud of.  Sound is quite bad in this recording though.  Better sound (http://derdritteraum.de/releaseInfo.php?id=68).

Unfortunately there are lots 'n lots of stupid people here, just as anywhere in the world.  So there's stupid TV and stupid "music" to entertain them.  That's why I did not own a TV for the past couple of years.

And I still think it's insane to pay several hundred bucks for a better rubber dome à la Topre >:)
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: lal on Sun, 05 July 2009, 08:35:37
I didn't want to brag about how great Germans are, but just point out that that sh*t you posted is not the whole story.

Kraftwerk undoubtedly has been highly influential.  Today their music sounds boring though, IMHO.  Electronic music evolved quite a bit in the last decades.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: lal on Sun, 05 July 2009, 08:52:28
Yeah, wrong address :)
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: molto on Sun, 05 July 2009, 09:01:47
Quote from: lal;101258
Kraftwerk undoubtedly has been highly influential.  Today their music sounds boring though, IMHO.  Electronic music evolved quite a bit in the last decades.
That video you have just posted also sounds quite monotonic/repetitive/boring to me, but I guess that's just the genre and not some kind of evolution.

To all those people proclaiming that German television is "crap", you're just watching the wrong stations.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: lal on Sun, 05 July 2009, 09:21:42
Quote from: molto;101263
That video you have just posted also sounds quite monotonic/repetitive/boring to me, but I guess that's just the genre and not some kind of evolution.

The monotony is exactly the point.  It's about the fine details just as with keyboards.

Quote
To all those people proclaiming that German television is "crap", you're just watching the wrong stations.

Yes, public broadcasting is okay but it lacks good movies.  Private stations have these from time to time, although commercial breaks kill the fun, but other than that it's total crap 99% of the time (RTL/SAT1/Pro7/etc.).
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: Bollwerk on Sun, 05 July 2009, 11:18:55
It completely lacks innovation. -.-

And this leathertrousers issue. That is only Bayern. A state here in Germany. In fact, most of us can't stand them. xD

Regarding Kraftwerk. They were the roots of electronic but they are not definitive anymore.

Hm... aren't we drifting a bit offtopic?^^
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: keyb_gr on Sun, 05 July 2009, 14:08:23
The keyboard that's particularly stubborn here is the good ol' Model M. It needs a dedicated place on the desk (just too heavy to lug around much), which is why my secondary machines have more lightweight and compact boards these days, and of course it's quite noisy, but for me it remains unmatched in "precision input device" feel. Hard to beat if you're a little motorically challenged, with both key feel and high keycaps contributing their part (not to forget the high-contrast lettering).

Boards with Cherry clear and blue switches have come close, but ultimately were unable to displace the mighty IBM. They make nice work and tertiary machine boards now (the secondary machine is on black Cherry board diet). The clears aren't too bad in terms of force and not too noisy but have slightly short effective key travel, the blues are very precise but on the light side of things so I bottom them out hard, and the blacks are nice for key mashing and fairly quiet but somewhat tiring for typing (a well-abused board helps somewhat).
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: megarat on Mon, 06 July 2009, 15:23:10
I seem to  keep gravitating back to Alps.  Specifically white Alps.  Specifically the SGI 9500801/041-0136-001 keyboards.  Unfortunately these keyboards are proprietary for the SGI Indigo and Onyx computers, so they won't work on modern equipment.  Only recently did I come to the blinding realization that my adventures in Keyboardland have really been an attempt to resurrect the Indigo keyboard for a modern computing environment.  Hence my project of creating a chimera out of the Filco and SGI boards.

That said, buckling springs seems to be a good stand-in, in that I can use BS keyboards quite contentedly and not pine for something else.  So perhaps I have two global optima.  Or perhaps BS is really the one true switch for me, and I quixotically chase after the Indigo keyboard out of nostalgia.

One other constant preference, although it's irrelevant to switches:  I strongly prefer (or perhaps even need) compact keyboards.  (Where "compact" = "tenkeyless or equivalent".)  The increased reach-distance caused by a full-sized keyboard can give me a gnarly case of "mouse elbow".
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Mon, 06 July 2009, 15:28:37
Quote from: megarat;101423
I seem to  keep gravitating back to Alps.  Specifically white Alps.  Specifically the SGI 9500801/041-0136-001 keyboards.  Unfortunately these keyboards are proprietary for the SGI Indigo and Onyx computers, so they won't work on modern equipment.  Only recently did I come to the blinding realization that my adventures in Keyboardland have really been an attempt to resurrect the Indigo keyboard for a modern computing environment.  Hence my project of creating a chimera out of the Filco and SGI boards.

That said, buckling springs seems to be a good stand-in, in that I can use BS keyboards quite contentedly and not pine for something else.  So perhaps I have two global optima.  Or perhaps BS is really the one true switch for me, and I quixotically chase after the Indigo keyboard out of nostalgia.

One other constant preference, although it's irrelevant to switches:  I strongly prefer (or perhaps even need) compact keyboards.  (Where "compact" = "tenkeyless or equivalent".)  The increased reach-distance caused by a full-sized keyboard can give me a gnarly case of "mouse elbow".


Mouse elbow is what is making me consider the possible acquisition of a tenkeyless.  I never thought I would say this one day.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: megarat on Mon, 06 July 2009, 15:43:58
Quote from: iggysaps;101092
My son is the same.  The problem is he does it while I am doing something.  He just turned one recently but was interested in the laptops he saw and the keyboards since he was about 7 to 8 months.  I usually am working on my laptop when he sees me.  So my G84-4100 is what he usually pounds on.  I just disconnect it before he pounds on it to make sure he doesn't accidentally delete anything I am working on or change my computer settings.  While on my lap I can still type on the laptop keyboard while he goes at it with the G84.  I also however have an ASUS netbook, he pounded on the keys, the keys stopped working properly.  Good thing it was under warranty.  ASUS replaced the netbook's keyboard.

This sounds like a universal problem.  One night, my wife accidentally left her work laptop on the floor (open!), so when our laptop-crazy one-year-old son found it (unsupervised), he left a techno-carcass in his wake.

It wasn't under warranty, but since it was two years old (the institute's life expectancy for laptops), it was replaced by her workplace w/o any grumbling.

Here are the involved parties, during better days:

Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: rdjack21 on Tue, 07 July 2009, 00:17:04
Quote from: megarat;101423
I seem to  keep gravitating back to Alps.  Specifically white Alps.  Specifically the SGI 9500801/041-0136-001 keyboards.  Unfortunately these keyboards are proprietary for the SGI Indigo and Onyx computers, so they won't work on modern equipment.  Only recently did I come to the blinding realization that my adventures in Keyboardland have really been an attempt to resurrect the Indigo keyboard for a modern computing environment.  Hence my project of creating a chimera out of the Filco and SGI boards.

That said, buckling springs seems to be a good stand-in, in that I can use BS keyboards quite contentedly and not pine for something else.  So perhaps I have two global optima.  Or perhaps BS is really the one true switch for me, and I quixotically chase after the Indigo keyboard out of nostalgia.

One other constant preference, although it's irrelevant to switches:  I strongly prefer (or perhaps even need) compact keyboards.  (Where "compact" = "tenkeyless or equivalent".)  The increased reach-distance caused by a full-sized keyboard can give me a gnarly case of "mouse elbow".


Just wondering if you have tried a Northgate OmniKey? If not check this site: http://www.northgate-keyboard-repair.com/

I got a Siig MiniTouch new in the box from them great service. But I'm not really happy with the Siig MiniTouch though the key action is a little to heavy for me. I guess I've gotten to used to lighter boards. At some point I'm going to get around to putting it up for sale because I don't use it. Shoot I only typed on it for a couple of hours before I put it back in the box. I really think that is the main reason I have not sold it off yet. I just feel I owe it another chance before I sell it. Because it is a very nice board.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: lal on Tue, 07 July 2009, 03:06:30
Quote from: megarat;101426
[family pic with laptop]


Looks like an X60 with 8 cell battery.  Nice.  I'm writing this on the exact same machine now.  Keyboard sucks, though ;)
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: lowpoly on Tue, 07 July 2009, 07:21:27
Quote from: webwit;101180
German television (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_FyN4kwEkY)...
Remember, this is a country where David Hasselhoff (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vNsDhFaKUk) stormed the charts. This country is full of evil! Although you haven't lived until you saw The Blues Brothers in German.


(http://www.widescreen-vision.de/screenshots/464x696/2008/11/Shirt17.jpg)

I have that.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: rdjack21 on Tue, 07 July 2009, 10:10:18
Oh come on where are the Knight rider pics :)
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: o2dazone on Tue, 07 July 2009, 10:13:02
I kind of wish David Hasselhoff died before he made a comeback :( Now all good memories of him have been washed away
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: o2dazone on Tue, 07 July 2009, 10:17:48
with Tupac
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: bigpook on Tue, 07 July 2009, 10:20:23
and Biggie
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: rdjack21 on Tue, 07 July 2009, 10:50:23
I was going to add Elvis but then I remembered he was abducted by space aliens :)
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: megarat on Tue, 07 July 2009, 12:39:12
Quote from: rdjack21;101560
I was going to add Elvis but then I remembered he was abducted by space aliens :)


Didn't you see "Bubba Ho-Tep"?  Elvis is fighting mummies somewhere in Texas.  Which is what I expect MJ to be doing in about twenty years.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: megarat on Tue, 07 July 2009, 12:46:49
Quote from: rdjack21;101488
Just wondering if you have tried a Northgate OmniKey? If not check this site: http://www.northgate-keyboard-repair.com/

I got a Siig MiniTouch new in the box from them great service. But I'm not really happy with the Siig MiniTouch though the key action is a little to heavy for me. I guess I've gotten to used to lighter boards. At some point I'm going to get around to putting it up for sale because I don't use it. Shoot I only typed on it for a couple of hours before I put it back in the box. I really think that is the main reason I have not sold it off yet. I just feel I owe it another chance before I sell it. Because it is a very nice board.


Nice, thanks for the referral.  I've been passingly familiar with the OmniKey family, but never got that interested because of the layout -- I'm not that down with J-shaped or double-row enter keys.  That said, I think the Zenith is pretty awesome, in a moby-retro kind of way.  (Pity the enter key, although it doesn't look as obnoxious as some of the others.)
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: rdjack21 on Tue, 07 July 2009, 13:14:18
Quote from: megarat;101582
Nice, thanks for the referral.  I've been passingly familiar with the OmniKey family, but never got that interested because of the layout -- I'm not that down with J-shaped or double-row enter keys.  That said, I think the Zenith is pretty awesome, in a moby-retro kind of way.  (Pity the enter key, although it doesn't look as obnoxious as some of the others.)

The Omni Key 101 has the Model M layout with White Alps. I think it even has the real Alps in it as well.

Yea I've been looking at those Zenith keyboards for awhile now. I've seen them on EBay with Blue, Yellow and Orange sliders in them. But then there is the grand daddy of them all the Z-100 keyboard which I really want mostly for the key caps. I really like those cupped keys. I'm just not sure if they will fit on a modern Alps board.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: itlnstln on Tue, 07 July 2009, 13:26:04
Quote from: rdjack21;101590
The Omni Key 101 has the Model M layout with White Alps. I think it even has the real Alps in it as well.
 
Yea I've been looking at those Zenith keyboards for awhile now. I've seen them on EBay with Blue, Yellow and Orange sliders in them. But then there is the grand daddy of them all the Z-100 keyboard which I really want mostly for the key caps. I really like those cupped keys. I'm just not sure if they will fit on a modern Alps board.

Northgates all have real Alps.  I am not sure if that is the case for the CVT Avant Prime, though.  The older ones might, but I doubt they do these days (if they are still in production).
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: vils on Tue, 07 July 2009, 15:38:27
Quote from: ripster;101547
Death is always a good career move for a musician.  

I think MJ is really alive and holed up in Argentina collecting royalties.  The public is so gullible.


But he and Tupac still lives on cat food, not much left of the royalties when Hoffa have collected the union taxes.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: ricercar on Fri, 10 July 2009, 14:38:32
Quote from: megarat;101580
Didn't you see "Bubba Ho-Tep"?  Elvis is fighting mummies somewhere in Texas.  Which is what I expect MJ to be doing in about twenty years.


Michael Jackson, L Ron Hubbard, Elvis, John Lennon, and Kurt Cobain are playing basketball somewhere.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: o2dazone on Fri, 10 July 2009, 14:47:43
how did L Ron Hubbard get in there?
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: zwmalone on Fri, 10 July 2009, 15:34:45
Quote
resistance is futile

no it isn't, it's about 55g... :rofl:
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: patrickgeekhack on Sat, 11 July 2009, 21:04:06
Quote from: zwmalone;102018
no it isn't, it's about 55g... :rofl:


Good one :-)
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: wellington1869 on Sat, 11 July 2009, 21:58:11
Quote from: lal;101258

Kraftwerk undoubtedly has been highly influential.  Today their music sounds boring though, IMHO.  Electronic music evolved quite a bit in the last decades.


rammstein did a _kick-ass_ version of kraftwerk's 'das modell' -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7C6W0M5ME0

so germans can improve germans :)

here's the original - sounds pretty wimpy in comparison :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdZDhpkDziE
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: wellington1869 on Sun, 12 July 2009, 10:50:23
Quote from: webwit;102206
In 20 years the original will still be played in influence others, while the Rammstein version will have withered and died as a contemporary byproduct.


I dont know about that; bob dylan is pretty timeless, but when people want to hear 'all along the watchtower', its jimi hendrix they put on the turntable.
When I want to hear the kink's classic 'you really got me', its van halen that I click on. :)

kudos to kraftwerk for being original, but as with any product, in music too, being original doesnt mean being the best, does it?

Besides the two versions of das modell are also aimed at very different audiences. Hard rock fans would never have considered kraftwerk music in the first place, and vice versa probably. I doubt they ever will. So some "remakes" are as much a work of translation rather than mere mimicry. For the new audience, it is the translation that will hit home, not the original.
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: wellington1869 on Sun, 12 July 2009, 13:57:57
Quote from: webwit;102223
Ah Van Halen. Now I understand ;)


I actually read somewhere that after hendrix's version of watchtower came out, dylan himself began doing hendrix's version at his own concerts :)
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: megarat on Sun, 12 July 2009, 23:32:43
Quote from: o2dazone;102015
how did L Ron Hubbard get in there?


He had faked his death once, just about a year before he "actually died".
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: lal on Mon, 13 July 2009, 10:46:01
Quote from: wellington1869;102171
rammstein did a _kick-ass_ version of kraftwerk's 'das modell' -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7C6W0M5ME0


Blargh... I gotta puke... :puke:
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: wellington1869 on Mon, 13 July 2009, 12:12:14
Quote from: lal;102364
Blargh... I gotta puke... :puke:


lol! My brother in law introduced me to rammstein, I rather like them :)

One of their funniest songs ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w9EksAo5hY
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: lal on Mon, 13 July 2009, 13:17:36
Quote from: wellington1869;102380
lol! My brother in law introduced me to rammstein, I rather like them :)

One of their funniest songs ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w9EksAo5hY


Please stop it! Here, take this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwAJXV070OY)!  Fine German Electro-Punk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsch-Amerikanische_Freundschaft).  This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uafhZwQnFw) is cool, too ;)
Title: Resistance is futile
Post by: wellington1869 on Mon, 13 July 2009, 16:41:30
Quote from: lal;102388
Please stop it! Here, take this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwAJXV070OY)!  Fine German Electro-Punk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsch-Amerikanische_Freundschaft).  This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uafhZwQnFw) is cool, too ;)


lol! kind of like an electronica version of sex pistols ;)