Hi gang,
I'm new around here. Working as a security consultant, on laptops only - except for short periods of time on the family's iMac. At the console for extended periods of time. I don't always have much choices regarding my work environment, especially on customers' sites. Currently I use 4 laptops, Lenovo T410 (corporate), Dell Latitude E6410 (customers'), Dell Latitude D630 and Eee PC 1001PX (private).
They all have different keyboards (especially, Fn is sometimes left of Ctrl !), I'm in love with none, and I'm looking for a high-quality alternative. Portability is very important.
In the past, I've used IBM Model M a lot - but then all the keyboard around became silent - except mine, and then the colleagues started to complain, and I was forced to get rid of this board. Years after, I tried the Happy Hacking Lite. Loved the size. Worked well, but then it was not the nice feel I was expecting, and I got rid of it as well.
I'm currently experimenting postural problems, linked to heavy laptop usage. I want to use an external keyboard to be able to place the laptop a bit higher on the desk, maybe on my bag or on a big book. Also, after 2 hours on a laptop's keyboard I'm starting to have numb hands/fingers, and this is very annoying if not painful.
So I'm in a market for a highly portable keyboard, swiss-french or just blank. I should be able to use a blank keyboard, as I had a swedish keyboard for the last 3 months (the corporate laptop came with this) and I didn't care much. Probably I'll end up buying a Happy Hacking Pro 2. But as I need to do something now, I'll try to get something that is available immediately for not much money, either a Cherry G84-4100, or maybe an Apple Aluminium Mini. This will help me find out what part of the problem I can actually solve with an external keyboard. Then, if this is effective and I'm bound to carrying a keyboard with me all the time, I'll go to something top-notch.
Cheers,
JYC