Newbie looking for a keyboard for programming

[rEiGN]

Hey there.

I recently learned about mechanical keyboards, and I'm planning to get a Filco for gaming at home. However, I'd also like get one (some less expensive) to replace the flat Apple keyboard at work. At this point, I'd rather not spend too much money on it since I'm getting the Filco as well. Found this on the ebay forum, doesn't seem to be that costly and apparently Cherrys are pretty decent?

Some preferences:

• Relatively low cost (hopefully won't get flamed for this, I've seen it happen on this forum )
• EU layout, so that my work efficiency doesn't suffer too much in the process of getting used to it
• I'd love tenkeyless, but it's not necessary
• Switch-wise I'll just have to gamble and follow your recommendations, trying different switches somewhere doesn't seem to be an option…

Thanks a lot in advance for any recommendations you might have.

[hoggy]

Plenty of good advice is elsewhere on the forum, but since you asked...

I'm a great fan of switching to other keyboards frequently.  I'd say get a filco for home and something else for work.  That way you can take the filco into work should you feel the need.   Later on, you could get something else for work and swap every now and again.

A compaq mx11800 should be fairly cheap on ebay - it comes with cherry browns, but the layout for function keys and pg up/down isn't the best.  You'll get a trackball and a reasonably narrow footprint to make up for it.  You might find a cherry 11900 - it's the same but with cherry blacks and a touchpad instead of the trackball.  Both use pcb mounted switches, so it's fairly easy to swap to a different flavour of switches later without heating up the soldering iron.

You could try a buckling spring - say an IBM Model M - I love my M13.  Model M's tend to sell well, so a purchase on ebay isn't much of a risk.

Whoops... don't know if these are apple compatible.  I'll leave that for you to check.

The US layout is better for programming and seriously worth considering - most of the keyboards I buy now are US layout (I live in the UK).  The enter key is closer to your little finger and since you're programming you'll soon start to appreciate it.  Consider going one step further and use autohotkey to remap the capslock key as the backspace or ctrl - trust me on this one.  As I said, I swap a fair bit and can swap between US and UK layouts without missing a beat.

Even if you don't remap the capslock - take a good look at autohotkey.  I doubt you learnt to program just so you could type all day.   Autohotkey and macro express help me put in just half of the typing I'd have to do without them.

A real stretch is a Kinesis Advantage - but if you start getting aches and pains in your wrists or arms then it's well worth the price.

[keyboardlover]

Since it's for work, I would reccomend a quiet switch, like a Cherry Brown.

A good non-mechanical option is Key Tronic. Great feel and a quality rubber dome keyboard. I use one at work.

[hoggy]

Since it's for work, I would reccomend a quiet switch, like a Cherry Brown.

That's a good point.  Good excuse to mention the dental floss method to quiet down a model m...

[elbowglue]

Consider this:
http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?p=231804#post231804

It might end up going for more than a filco, but if it dosen't, it has PCB mounted cherry brown switches, almost normal layout, space saving format with almost 100% normal alphanumeric section, doubleshot keys.

[Konrad]

I'm actually surprised you'd like using a tenkeyless as a programming keyboard.
 
I prefer having the numpad for programming - half of my code involves numbers and math operators. I also like having a big backslash key, big backspace, and (where possible) big fat + and - keys. A few extra programmable/macro keys can be very helpful, although they can be functionally replaced with decent multi-clipboard software (I'm fond of Hamsin Clipboard). Obviously I require full "standard 104" functionality, for testing purposes if nothing else.
 
I find that "productivity" launch hotkeys, Windows GUI hotkeys, and Sleep/Power hotkeys are annoying - risk of unintentionally pressing one is minimal, but it can and does happen during prolonged programming frenzies and can immediately derail your concentration while destroying precious minutes of inspired work. So I personally prefer a keyboard that either doesn't have such keys or allows them to be deactivated or remapped.
 
I do like music while programming. Media keys and pass-through audio or USB connectors (for headphones) are convenient, though not strictly necessary. I used to really like backlit keys, easier to type in near darkness, until I trained myself to break that habit and work by touch.
 
Obviously my keyboard has to work properly in every OS and programming IDE I intend to use. Being able to choose both PS/2 and USB is sometimes helpful when troubleshooting or interfacing with cantankerous computers.  I'm not as particular about keyswitches as I should be; half-decent rubber domes are sufficient for the sort of typing I do while programming and are generally quieter anyhow.
 
These are just my preferences in a programming keyboard, yours will probably differ.

[rEiGN]

The US layout is better for programming and seriously worth considering - most of the keyboards I buy now are US layout (I live in the UK).  The enter key is closer to your little finger and since you're programming you'll soon start to appreciate it.  Consider going one step further and use autohotkey to remap the capslock key as the backspace or ctrl - trust me on this one.  As I said, I swap a fair bit and can swap between US and UK layouts without missing a beat.

I really don't see how US layout could work out since I need to use ö/ä all the time, and switching between layout sounds a big hassle. :/ If there are Finnish people on this board who somehow manage with a US layout, I'd love to know how it works out for them.

I'm actually surprised you'd like using a tenkeyless as a programming keyboard.

I have zero use for numpad while programming (tbh, doing while doing anything), and I like the fact that the moving distance from keyboard to mouse is a lot shorter without it, and  also my hands are more ergonomically positioned in general.

[Findecanor]

I have said it before. If you want a cheap Cherry MX keyboard, look to http://www.ebay.de .
No customs fee. Many Germans don't have PayPal, though. The keyboard I use at work now is a used one that I got from Germany for very little money.

The Germany layout is very much like the Swedish/Finnish layout except for 'Ü' being on the 'Å' key and a few rarely used symbols. The layout is only on the surface on the keys and in software, though, so if you configure your computer to have a Swedish/Finnish keymap, then you will.