Author Topic: A great laptop keyboard  (Read 1011 times)

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Offline vicz

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  • Posts: 32
A great laptop keyboard
« on: Sun, 24 February 2013, 08:52:13 »
Panasonic Toughbook CF-29 standard keyboards (not the backlit chicklet-style ones, nor the rare fully rubber-encased waterproof ones, but those that look like regular keyboards) are great. Probably the best laptop keyboard I've ever used, certainly better than classic Thinkpad keyboards. They are rubber dome, and proof that a good rubber dome keyboard can play in the same league as mechanical keyboards. Short of a real mechanical laptop keyboard (which I haven't seen since the early nineties), this is in my opinion the best laptop keyboard.

It doesn't hurt that the screen, though low resolution (1024x768), puts out enough light to be usable everywhere, even outdoors. The laptop is heavy and the touchpad is as ****ty as the keyboard is great (there must be a conservation law somewhere -- Apple has the exact opposite problem), but the whole computer just oozes quality.

I got my Toughbook from ebay for less than $300, installed a small, modern Linux on it (Linux Mint XFCE), fiddled a bit to get everything working -- there are helpful communities of Toughbook enthusiasts -- and now I'm happy as a clam and the sleek Macbook Air stays home most of the time, even though it's faster, lighter and has more hard drive space.

Offline aviphysics

  • Posts: 85
Re: A great laptop keyboard
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 24 February 2013, 20:40:56 »
I always wanted one of those ultra light Toughbooks. IMO Panasonic basically invented the ultrabook form factor and even managed to keep the optical drive, but those things were some darn expensive. I think I remember something like $3000 for the one I was looking at back in 2000.