Interesting datum

[Phaedrus2129]

Here's something interesting. Doing public product testing for you know who comparing MX blue and brown switches, I found a clear pattern.

Everyone over thirty prefers MX blues
Everyone under twenty five prefers MX browns
25-30 is a grab bag

This probably isn't a universal, but it's certainly a strong trend, confirmed with about a dozen data points. Older people who like blues say they like the click, it reminds them of typewriters/old keyboards (depending on age), etc. Younger people who like browns say they like the lighter feel and that they're quieter.

This isn't an exceptionally tech-savvy audience and certainly not keyboard-savvy. This is just a semi-random sample of students and professors from a New Orleans community college. Seeing a trend like this is very interesting.


What are your thoughts?

[SirClickAlot]

Hmmmzzz....

How large is the dataset on which base these conclusions?

Well, I can tell you it is flawed : I belong to the category over thirty and sure like the mx browns over the mx blues. So, that's one outlier for you right there ;-)

Regards.

[~Blood~]

I think that people under the age of 25 are more prone to gaming and other free time stuff you do on the computer. Blues are bad for gaming.

People over 30 are working their asses off most of the time so they want the best possible keyboard for typing.

This is however in the small circle of people that are still using mechanical keys, it can be said that that specific circle has deeper knowledge of switches and in general of keyboards and thus know what is best for their needs.

That again is why you can say they are using those switches for a specific reason and not just the feel of it.

[rantenki]

Hmmmzzz....

How large is the dataset on which base these conclusions?

Well, I can tell you it is flawed : I belong to the category over thirty and sure like the mx browns over the mx blues. So, that's one outlier for you right there ;-)

Regards.

Even MORE interesting; educated users have different criteria for measuring

I "prefer" MX browns on paper, but I get a visceral kick out of the clickiness of blues, or my IBM. Even though typing on my Model M turns my hands to swollen flippers after a week.

[Fwiffo]

Could it have to do with sensitivity to higher frequencies? I am 33 and prefer browns, but as I am not a head-banger, avid concert goer, etc. my hearing is a tad more intact than the rest of my age cohort. I also find the click sound of mice annoying, but I haven't found a good fix for that.

[Kairxa]

But I - 18 y.o. - love blues the most ;(

[netwebber]

This is a very interesting observation, and makes a lot of sense. I think it has to do with when we learned to type. People who learned to type on mechanical keyboards probably prefer Blues. (I'm 26, and my elementary school had old computers. When I was in kindergarten my school replaced its old Apples with 286-powered IBM-compatibles). I think we had typing lessons in first or second grade, so around '91 or '92. As I recall it got pretty loud during our computer classes, so I'm going to venture to say we had mechanical keyboards. And when we got a computer upgrade (to blazing 486SX processors), they kept all the external hardware.My first computer at home was a 386, which my parents got around 1993. I don't know if it had a mechanical or rubber dome keyboard, but typing on a Model M feels "right" to me. Keys are supposedto click.

People over 30 almost certainly learned to type on loud, mechanical keyboards. Probably Model Ms if they used PCs, or even typewriters.

People between 25 and 30 had a mix. By 1995 (when a 25-year-old would be 10) almost all keyboards being sold were rubber-dome. It would  depend mainly on whether that kid learned to type on an old or new computer.

People under 25 are much more likely to have learned to type on rubber-dome keyboards.

The preference for mechanical--and certainly "clicky"--keyboards has very deep roots. People aren't nostalgic for something they haven't experienced.

Freud would read all kinds of things into this. But you don't have to be a Freudian to believe that childhood experiences shape our adult preferences.

[Phaedrus2129]

As I said, only about a dozen people, so the data set wasn't particularly large, but it was very clear cut. I don't have the time to ask hundreds of people, or even dozens.

But keep in mind, everyone on this site is weird and will be an outlier, and our preferences will be modified by what we've heard and experienced. Random people who haven't typed on a mechanical keyboard in the last decade, if ever (except maybe the one G80-8113 in the college library) are a completely separate, unbiased source of data. They don't know what MX blues or MX browns are, nor do they care, so it's kind of like a blind test.

[Fwiffo]

That timeline does make sense. I graduated in '95, and learned on a typewriter in 9th grade. But the first computers I owned at the time did more for improving my typing than the class. I still have the Honeywell keyboard that came with my 486. The typewriting class was being replaced with keyboarding around the time I graduated.

[Fwiffo]

This actually calls for a Pepsi challenge type situation. Are there any members with two or three Filcos with different switches willing to set up a table at the mall to collect some preference data from the man on the street?

I imagine you'll get this reaction from a few who haven't used a quality keyboard before:

[woody]

Simple - limit the poll to females in the 18..40 age only. Pretty ones first.
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[Sam]

I think that people under the age of 25 are more prone to gaming and other free time stuff you do on the computer. Blues are bad for gaming.

People over 30 are working their asses off most of the time so they want the best possible keyboard for typing.

This is however in the small circle of people that are still using mechanical keys, it can be said that that specific circle has deeper knowledge of switches and in general of keyboards and thus know what is best for their needs.

That again is why you can say they are using those switches for a specific reason and not just the feel of it.

Exactly what I was thinking.  I don't give even a second of my time to gaming, nor even think of it, and I love my noisy Model F.  I use my keyboards almost exclusively for typing text/code.  And I've got my own office so nobody around to complain about the noise.

Sometime someone ought to redo the favorite key switch poll to try to determine what effect the gaming is having on the results.  Maybe select the top 4 or 5 switches and have the voter select a switch qualified if it's used primarily for typing or for gaming.

Of course the other factor is the noise and people being courteous of those around them.  Someone may choose a quiet switch as their "favorite" based on that factor, when in actual reality they'd prefer a noisier switch.  Younger people with young families at home probably tend to go for a quiet switch.  Older people with a big house and children already gone or nearly gone may be able to get away with something not very quiet.

[woody]

So the polls should be separated for programming, word-processing and gaming, at least? There's some truth in this.
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[zefrer]

I think that people under the age of 25 are more prone to gaming and other free time stuff you do on the computer. Blues are bad for gaming.

That presumes (a) said people can tell a blue switch from another switch and (b) know what type of switch is best for gaming. Neither are likely to be true.

[hailey]

Isn't it more likely that the preference is purely because of what they grew up with?

[Daniel Beaver]

I just want to put this out there...

When I'm gaming, I wear headphones. I can't hear the clicks of my keyboard at all. Hence, the "clickyness" of the keyboard is irrelevant to me in regards to gaming.

[NewbieOneKenobi]

What I prefer may not be what I take due to RSI etc. I sure as heck prefer Model M but am typing on a Hama scissor because it somehow manages to give me almost no pain no matter how much and how long I type on it, including all nighters. It's basically a springy scissor, kinda tactile, possible to type without bottoming out (or at least without using as much force as is typically associated with bottoming out). I've just bought a Cherry Cherry with black switches, will see how it works out (I'm getting a hunch a linear switch could match my typing style), soon finalising the deal on a Solidtek 6600 with Fukkas, still talking to TVS about the $29 blue Cherry switch keyboard. I'd be able to say more then.

I'm technically 27 but due to technological lag (Poland in the early nineties) I grew up with an XT and coded my way out of physics homework in QBasic (the loveliest of all programming languages), so I should probably count in the 30+ group. I once wrote a config.sys or autoexec.bat from command line without a monitor and this is not something your typical 20-something nerd has done.

My favourite when it comes to key feel is the C2 3178 terminal keyboard that I bought for $7 a month ago (and admittedly couldn't identify), which is buckling spring and uses springs that can be put in a Model M (but feel totally different there and not 10% as good). To me, it basically feels like sparks are shooting from my fingers and I'm in my typing heaven. I would just love to be able to connect it to a PC but I don't think using an LPT>USB converter with or without some wiring works will cut it. I'm really at a loss as to what to do with it.

On the other hand, I think someone in the family inhereted my XT/AT keyboard and/or my step-father's AT keyboard. I'm just sure these were two separate pieces but I'm not sure which one went with which computer. I'll push him to try and recall what he did with the other one. Unless I'm lucky with E-Bay and find a Model F in Europe.

Anyway, you'd probably have me in the Spring crowd unless the mech switches manage to convince me.

[JBert]

My favourite when it comes to key feel is the C2 3178 terminal keyboard that I bought for $7 a month ago (and admittedly couldn't identify), which is buckling spring and uses springs that can be put in a Model M (but feel totally different there and not 10% as good). To me, it basically feels like sparks are shooting from my fingers and I'm in my typing heaven. I would just love to be able to connect it to a PC but I don't think using an LPT>USB converter with or without some wiring works will cut it. I'm really at a loss as to what to do with it.

The internals of that keyboard should be similar to the model F, but as you guessed, you can't easily connect them to the computer.