Like everyone else who cares about the good things in life, I'm questing for the right keyboard for me. I've tried a few on my own, but now it might be time to ask for the collective wisdom of Geekhack.org. Perhaps I don't have the patience of the dedicated aficionado to keep trying new keyboards for years and years. I at least want to settle on one main one that'll keep me happy for day-to-day work while I explore other options on the side.
My basic criteria are: I want a fairly quiet board, but a firm one with good tactile resistance. If I can get it without a numpad, I'll be ecstatic.
I guess I want a keyboard with the resistant feel of a Model M and the minimal sound of brown Cherries. I haven't had access to try out blue Cherry switches -- I worry that they'd be too loud anyway.
Following a friend's suggestion, I've tried a couple of different boards with black Alps switches, including a NIB AT101W with original "real" ones. Those are closer, but bit too soft for my taste, and the Dell is quite noisy, from the bottoming out of the fairly loosely-set keys.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!