I came to mechanical keyboards early; the first expensive keyboard I ever bought was a used Model M for a friend in the 80s, and I drove as a teenager a hour to buy it. Later I discovered Northgate, and had two of them, an OmniKey Ultra and a Northgate Omnikey 101 for backup. (I can't reconstruct the cronology without active research, but my memory is I stockpiled another backup keyboard when the company started to disappear/decline. Northgate scholars can set me straight on this if they feel the urge.)
I used these for at least a decade, one at work and one at home, and when the things finally wore out I was in that sad saddle between the start of PCs and now, when mechanical keyboards were a lost art, and me talking about the superiority of Alps keyswitches fell on indifferent ears. I should thank all the gamers who have rekindled the marketplace for these things, as well as the patent office for letting the Cherry patent expire, unlike the infinite copyright on Mickey Mouse.
For years I've run the same keyboard at home and at work, a Dell SK-8115. It's an adequate membrane I suppose, but I've started to have problems with one, and when I started to look for a replacement I found mechanicals again.
I've started looking again for a keyboard for home and work. The criteria are different for each. So it has been strange to find so much choice available - daunting, really. Layout is simple - I understand my preferences quite well. I'm a Windows-based programmer, so having function keys is absolutely mandatory. In addition, I'm well used to the arrows and home/end/pgup/pgdn etc, and they are in constant use. So I'm looking at either a standard keyboard, or possibly a TKL if I'm feeling daring. But choosing a switch type is a lot more difficult.
I started by buying an inexpensive full-sized gamer keyboard just to get my feet wet, a MechanicalEagle Z-88 for $55. It has Outemu blue switches, a full RGB backlight, a metal deck, and a hideously gamery font.
I would provide a link to the exact model I bought, but it has now disappeared from the Amazon seller GranVela, despite me having bought it less than a week ago. I believe this is the same model however, from a different OEM/manufacturer, branded by X-Falcon. Impossible to be sure with China however:
https://www.amazon.com/E-Element-Water-Proof-Mechanical-Keyboard-Anti-Ghost/dp/B01FXBZXFC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485417553&sr=8-1&keywords=z-88+mechanical+keyboardI know most of you are beyond such coarse tools, but if you really only have $50 this is a serious step up from a membrane. I'm not stopping here, but I think there'd be no shame if someone did. It even came with multiple spare switches and multiple keypullers; I haven't seen any of the $150+ manufacturers do something that classy. You can even hot-swap the switches apparently.
Next, I bought a WASD Cherry MX tester. Having come from Alps, I currently prefer clicky, if only because I spent so many years training myself that was how a decent keyboard behaved. I like the Outemu blues well enough, but when I put one into the tester next to a Cherry Blue, I find the feel to be very close, but the Cherry Blue is definitely quieter. So I expect I would like Cherry Blues for a home keyboard, and would appreciate something a bit quieter. My wife likes clicky, and so far I haven't bothered her with the noise, but I'd still like to tone it down from the Outemus.
For home, I have been considering a touch of gamer aesthetic - I confess to liking the RGB back lighting in the Z-88, not so much for the effects or gaming, but for the ability to set a particular backlight color shade for the whole board. So I've been looking at the Ducky Shine 5 or the Mechanical Keyboards Disco TKL as the best I can find in this style. I really dislike all the logo'd spacebars in the Ducky/MechanicalKeyboards, but I'm assuming they can be replaced. But I won't be gaming with the keyboard, or at least don't care about performance when I do.
The work keyboard is the one I'm having the most trouble with. I'm in a open plan office with 20 other programmers that's reasonably quiet, and I expect I would annoy people with a very clicky keyboard. So I think the blues are out. Also, a gamer-y keyboard will stand out like a sore thumb, so I'm looking for a very conservative, traditional keyboard. The one I like the most is the WASD Code 104. I'm just torn about Brown Cherry or Clear Cherry. I have gone back and forth on the tester and I just can't decide which I'll like more. It would not be the end of the world if I bought both models and returned one. Or should I just tempt fate and try bringing in a blue switch board? Will I be lynched?
If any other programmers have something to contribute - if only sympathy - I'd like to hear from them.
