Well, I have to first again say thanks so much for all the supportive help. I hugely appreciate it.
I was about to go with the 45g-uniform and a separate numpad. My thinking was that weight matters to me more than anything else, the regular RF is surely considerably more quiet than the Browns (and the little auditory feedback of the regular RF may even be desirable for typing performance), and I can check out whether I like and can work with a Tenkeyless or not. That was my thinking. I was all set to commit.
Then I called Brian at EK, who I've spoken with in the past but who I know from experience is so busy running a small business that it's very, very rare to actually get him on the phone. I took a long-shot and I happened to get him.
The first thing I did was ask him about the fact that the 45g-uniform only comes in black, and how well the numbers on the "fronts" of the Tenkeyless keys used for the built-in numpad will show up for the average person in normal lighting. Being the good man that he is, he cautioned me that for anyone doing relatively frequent numerical input that has to be accurate (credit cards, etc), it's not easy to read them and usually requires memorization, and in fact for most people doing relatively frequent numerical input the built-in numpad array is just not satisfactory -- the position of the keys is awkward and never as efficient as an actual ten-key numpad. He said using the built-in numpad is really for enthusiasts and the like who are not doing much numerical input regarding financial/business info and/or who memorize the number keys.
He also pointed out that most users who do relatively frequent numerical input want to be able to really see the number keys clearly – unless they’re in the financial business doing it all day long they want to double-check their accuracy –and they therefore not only want a dedicated ten-key array but sometimes might find the black numbers on the gray keys to be a bit challenging in moderate lighting conditions.
That all makes absolutely perfect sense to me. And I do relatively frequent numerical input for business.
He also pointed out that the actuation force of the keys on the variable RealForce is mainly 45g, with the edge letters at 35g and "only the Escape key" at 55g. So, theoretically, that would be the same as or an overall slight move to lighter force than what I'm used to with the Browns, though he said that in reality because of the travel path of the Browns and of the Topres a Brown 45g at the end of the day probably takes a bit less force than a Topre 45g.
He also said that the "Silent" RealForce isn't really silent as such, but that it has substantially less noise than the regular RealForce on the upward return of the key -- which he said isn't really that much of a noticeable difference until you get to about 50 wpm, which he rightfully pointed out isn't something most people will exceed when typing while talking on the phone (meaning the Silent for being on the phone isn't that necessary compared to the already pretty quiet noise level of the regular RealForce – which will still be audible to callers if the user is banging away at the keys).
His bottom-line opinion was that Browns are still top-notch (and a favorite of his personally), yet that I should absolutely treat myself to a RealForce as a present because the typing experience is just that sweet and there's nothing like it, even with respect to the build quality of the RealForce boards. He pointed out, though, of course, that at the end of the day, whether I like Browns or Topre better will be my own personal choice, which he put at "50-50".
At which point a 45g-uniform with a separate numpad vs a full-sized variable doesn't seem to be all that different -- except that with a variable I can consider a white keyboard with the high-contrast black lettering.
FWIW...
