KEYTRONIC KB w/ TRACKBALL $19.95 (+$18.80 ship for me)

[TexasFlood]

Any info on this keyboard?  Might be a nice location for a trackball.  Probably a crappy rubber dome but the positioning of the trackball caught my eye.

[spolia optima]

Looks like a Trackball-U1:
http://keytronic.com/home/products/specs/trackball-u1.htm

It's a rubber-dome-over-membrane setup, but then again it's key tronic so it's gotta be decent.

[aegrotatio]

Yes, not a "crappy rubber dome" by any definition.
These are good keyboards.
I'm typing on one now (sans trackball).

[EverythingIBM]

The "lifetime series". Hmmm... must last a lifetime then.

[Findecanor]

The "lifetime series". Hmmm... must last a lifetime then.

The only time when any of my Keytronic keyboards (I have gone through a few) have failed have been when I have cleaned them from crud and accidentally left some water inside a plastic crevice. The most-used keys may be a little weaker than some of the keys that I hardly ever use on the keyboard but they are still more sturdy and with better feel than the keys on the brand new Dell keyboard that I use at work.

[ricercar]

This is the only rubber dome keyboard that remains in service in my home theatre media PC. Many folks think Keytronic are the only worthy rubber dome this side of Topre.

These retail for $80 and are often available in black. Often you can find them for cheap by buying the floor model after the trackball is lost; I just pop in a shooter marble and voila.

[EverythingIBM]

This is the only rubber dome keyboard that remains in service in my home theatre media PC. Many folks think Keytronic are the only worthy rubber dome this side of Topre.

These retail for $80 and are often available in black. Often you can find them for cheap by buying the floor model after the trackball is lost; I just pop in a shooter marble and voila.

I think my KB-8923s would be better than those keytronic rubber domes.

[itlnstln]

My GF says these are better:

[itlnstln]

That must be the secret.  If you're going to go cheap, go all-the-way cheap.  All the cheapness then coalesces into magic... or a belief that all that ultra-cheapness is somehow better than stuff that costs money.

[EverythingIBM]

Like men who think marrying will save them money due to the tax break.

HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

That's one reason not to get married...

[Voixdelion]

RE: trackball positioning -

Depends on how you are at nav with your thumbs.  I found the similar placement of the trackball on the focus-7200 similarly appealing, but it turned out to be better in theory than in practice.  Most comfortable positioning for me is still above the arrow keys as on the M5-1.  Why this was not oft imitated I do not understand; it makes a great deal of sense.

[Findecanor]

Even my cheapo $10 Logitech at least had a metal plate and tons of screws.

All of mine have lots of screws, but I guess they are old enough. Even a flimsy kb can have good feel -- just look at what people are saying about the Chicony's with imitation blue cherries.

One thing that I think sets KeyTronic apart from many other rubber domes is that the key stems are sturdy and don't rattle that much. That may contributes quite a bit to the feel..