Author Topic: Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum  (Read 7417 times)

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Offline patrickgeekhack

  • Posts: 1460
Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #50 on: Tue, 12 October 2010, 19:39:39 »
Quote from: keyboardlover;233037
Neinnnn! Keine schlechten Wörter! ('No bad words' in German).

This German kid isn't very old but knows every swear word in the book:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlRR7YQMtpU

He calls his mom a 'kleine fotze' which means 'little c***'


When my daughter was born, I made the decision that corporal punishment would not be part of my raising her. That said, I won't take that kind of abuse either. I was tempted to say that TV shows like this is staged, but it's kind of hard to get a kid to do this on demand.

Offline Voixdelion

  • Posts: 338
Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #51 on: Wed, 13 October 2010, 14:57:02 »
Quote from: patrickgeekhack;233063
When my daughter was born, I made the decision that corporal punishment would not be part of my raising her. That said, I won't take that kind of abuse either. I was tempted to say that TV shows like this is staged, but it's kind of hard to get a kid to do this on demand.


Raise the kid proper and the first is not necessary as the second is highly unlikely to occur at all.

Back to topic though: while I would not discourage you Ripster, from creating a more beginner-friendly type info wiki/guide, I do have this to add as a consideration:


When I have spoken (written) of how quickly I fell in here, I have always said  "almost" immediately.  I joined OCN maybe only a month before GH, which I found through a referral link (thanks BRODIE337!) in a reply to my thread re: wtb after the Mechanical Keyboard Guide there triggered a memory/epiphany (well, at least the first few of the bazillion pages that I read of that thread).  But Geekhack was definitely some "next-level" ****.  By the time I actually registered here, I did so using a model M;  I had already exiled the craptastic wireless M$ rubber dome and knew there  was no going back.  
 
But my first visit here was only a brief drive-by via the link provided by brodie337 before returning to the thread I started at OCN for a simpler solution.   I did get a little frightened/overwhelmed by the intense detail & the minutiae about the actuation force and graphs and keycaps, and though I poked around a little, I didn't register or even realize that I might; I was still trying to get my bearings on the present day offerings in terms of similar typing experience with what I knew from the past.  My first reaction to this site was that it was a bit too technical to be of real practical use to me (at the time.)   I did note that one of the best sources at OCN I had discovered (-Phaedrus- through his excellent and highly informative reviews/guides on power supplies) was also present here, which was a +1 rep for Geekhack right there,  I didn't have the experience to relate to most of the discussion here before actually getting my hands back on a Model M.  

*So thanks, Manyak*- it was your reply and sound info on the M, F, Unicomps audio/actuation correlation on that OCN wtb query that originally sorted me out... It was immediately useful and narrowed the focus of my search considerably, especially once discovering that the model F was not particularly available.  It wasn't until after typing on several Model  Ms that arrived in varied conditions that the curiosity and passion arose which  then drove  me to reconsult that thread specifically to find the link back here again.  The second time around I had a basis of comparison and a better grasp of what was being discussed enough to catch the flavor of the atmosphere as well and that's when I knew I was going to stay; the Geekhack beast had awakened.    
 
I daresay even should a mechanical keyboard sub-forum gain a following at OCN, it will not, I think, stand in competition with GH, but likely serve as a stepping stone to it.  I had just committed myself to a course of participating in such forums as a necessary exercise for myself and my writing (hence the need for a decent keyboard) when I registered there, and though I have managed to stack up a post count of about 80 since I joined, that is less than a fifth of the post count I've racked up here after signing up a month later.
 
In fact, I almost left OCN two weeks after signing up, and largely stayed for  the purpose of setting a better example and the opportunity to deliberately exercise personal growth in terms of patience.  One of the first things I noticed here, and that my partner also commented on when I talk about GH, was that people here actually pay attention and read the stuff that gets posted before replying.  They "listen" with the same level of detail that they discuss the minutiae of peripheral devices. On  OCN... not so much, even with specific criteria addressed in an OP.  It serves a purpose, to be sure, but maybe its purpose is best served as a pre-cursor to that "next-level ****".  Which then allows for a site like this to remain on that next level.

While every site wants to be attractive to its potential audience, there is also a tremendous value in catering to a target segment of that audience rather than simply going for mass appeal.  It isn't necessarily a bad or unwelcome thing if the sweet spot is a little bit narrow.  Sort of like the difference between a general practitioner and a neurosurgeon - you want each for different reasons.  There is something to be said for specialization, especially if you need some surgical work on or around the neocortex.
"The more you tolerate each other, the less enforcement will happen."-iMav

Offline Voixdelion

  • Posts: 338
Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #52 on: Wed, 13 October 2010, 14:57:34 »
Or to put it another way:

Geekhack, like any other real life geek, should not try to be something  to please anyone, but rather be true to itself.  Let it be who it is and  remain confident that it will be found by the folks who appreciate it  for that.  I have given the same advice to the geeky young men who are  trying to figure out why the girls go for the dumb jocks.  I myself was a  cheerleader who fell madly in love with a complete band geek, but only  after he stopped making a total ass of himself trying to impress me and  started being himself...his own utterly spastic, geeky, nerdy, clumsy  self.  We became friends first because our first date was such a  horrendous failure he gave up on trying to be something he thought would  be attractive to me and started to relax and we became friends.  Once he got comfortable with  himself, I got comfortable with him and realized I really wanted to get  to know this real him- like in the biblical sense.  And like in some  nerd fairy-tale movie-apparently he even received some kind of acclaim  at the boys school he attended for whatever studliness is  evidenced/measured by the dates the guys end up taking to their senior  prom.  As his date, I'm fairly certain I don't want to know the details  of that though, for fear of what that might indicate about what sort of  acclaim I might have received at that school from having taken an  exchange student from England to my own prom the previous year.

But in the end, he actually was the first to really break my heart  because  he could never really convince himself that I would be happy  with him  just being him. We met at the end of high-school (end of my  senior year, his junior year) and even through all the 13 years after  that when were dating and then not dating and then not-friends and then  friends again and then friends with benefits and then discussing why we  were not getting married and then not-friends again and now friends he's  still the only person I'd ever even remotely seriously considered  the   possibility of having a child with.  That's really saying something  because I never really had any particular desire to have kids at all -  even at 38 I don't hear that biological clock ticking.  Although it was  me who decided the "not friends" the second time - I had a realization  (which spurred the discussion preceding the decision) that I was not  taking other serious offers seriously because I was waiting for him to  pull his head out of his butt. We are all friends now, and that other  serious offer was, in fact, my current partner. We're going on 10 years now, though I do sometimes  wish he and I had a "geekier" level of communication.

So all that was probably a ridiculously nostalgic and round-about (and  made overlong because of the marvelous tactile typing experience  provided by my Cherry Blues) way of saying that Geekhack needn't be  worried or self-concious about it's geekiness - it can still get the  girl, just by being Geekhack.
« Last Edit: Wed, 13 October 2010, 15:06:13 by Voixdelion »
"The more you tolerate each other, the less enforcement will happen."-iMav

Offline itlnstln

  • Posts: 7048
Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #53 on: Wed, 13 October 2010, 15:37:17 »
Quote from: ripster;233387
Well, that was a BIT off-topic.

I just used alchohol.

Uh huh.

This is the off-topic forum.  I think I am pour a bottle of Valium in a bowl, pour some lactose-free milk over it (I don't want any gas), and have a late breakfast.  Thanks for brightening my day, Vox.  A real cheerleader for life you are.


Offline itlnstln

  • Posts: 7048
Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #54 on: Wed, 13 October 2010, 15:55:45 »
My GF ran track.  100 M and triple jump.

Cheerleader, huh?



Offline elservo

  • Posts: 201
Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #55 on: Wed, 13 October 2010, 17:32:21 »
I was a fledgling reporter in my high school, but my large breasts and good looks made it so that I couldn't get anyone to take my writing seriously.  I knew that I would have to do something drastic to make it in the newspaper business, so I transferred schools and changed my appearance to look like a boy.  It would have gone perfectly if I didn't fall in love with a geeky classmate, but fall in love I did, and I had my heart broken in the process.    I also got beat up by Billy Zabka.
Majestouch Tactile Click (Work)
AEKII(Home)

Offline ch_123

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Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #56 on: Wed, 13 October 2010, 17:38:25 »
It was I who shot JFK.

Offline EverythingIBM

  • Posts: 1269
Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #57 on: Wed, 13 October 2010, 18:07:49 »
And it was I who created the global plan to make everyone use PC 300 computers and their awesome striped cases & lavender badges.. sadly, there were a few kinks in the plan. Dell decided to sell cheap trash & apple decided to sell expensive trash in coloured plastic... therefore eliminating what [could] have been a greater market for the PC 300 computers.

Oh and I also created wine gums, the wheel, fencing, and MS-DOS.
Keyboards: '86 M, M5-2, M13, SSK, F AT, F XT

Offline keyboardlover

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Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #58 on: Wed, 13 October 2010, 19:30:19 »
Looks good. Methinks it will save a lot of time answering many of the same questions over and over again.

Offline keyboardlover

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Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #59 on: Wed, 13 October 2010, 20:45:46 »
Quote from: ripster

We'll see.  I made sure it had pictures.  I like pictures.


Me too. True, keyboard noobs will always have questions I suppose.


Offline kip69

  • Posts: 25
    • http://www.overclock.net/computer-peripherals/491752-mechanical-keyboard-guide.html
Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #60 on: Wed, 13 October 2010, 23:37:06 »
What keyboard should I get to mash with my forehead?  I want a back lit, water and food resistant, silent, baby avoiding board that auto-corrects spelling errors and can fold up into my pocket to take with me.

Oh.  And it should use one of these 3 fonts: zippy to the rescue.

Offline clickclack

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Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #61 on: Thu, 14 October 2010, 03:14:55 »
Quote from: ripster;233640
This post is about cheerleaders.  You are going offtopic.
Unix Beard Geekhack Version

That was painfully hillarious!!! They did that way, way, way too well! Priceless, bwaaahaaa!
XD

Nice wiki btw rippy, I think it would still be a bit daunting for a beginner methinks. Hmmm... maybe not though, especially if they are actually seeking out this kind of info.


To Vox-
That was really an epic post, but my favorite part was that you concluded with a "to put it another way" post that was equally epic! XD
I like how we are "next level ****" though, lets collectively pat ourselves on the back and send care packages to imav. BTW what's above "next level..." cuz that's what we should shoot for now =D
« Last Edit: Thu, 14 October 2010, 03:24:41 by clickclack »
862+ keyboards and counting!   R.I.P.ster          Vendor link ->Clack Factory

Offline keyb_gr

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Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #62 on: Thu, 14 October 2010, 13:37:56 »
Quote from: ch_123;233040
Well, that's kinda obvious because the mouse and keyboard PS/2 ports are different (on older mobos, serious **** would go down if you mixed them up and plugged the wrong peripheral into the wrong port)

From my own limited experience, the worst that would happen is that things just didn't work. Given that PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports only differ in which of two pins they use for data transfer (with the other one left unconnected), that's how it should be.

There is no reason why the same port couldn't accept both, in fact those in notebooks back in the day (that let you use KB and mouse at the same time with a Y adapter cable) and in a number of USB adapters (converters) do.

Now passive PS/2 <-> USB adapters, that's a different story.
Hardware in signatures clutters Google search results. There should be a field in the profile for that (again).

This message was probably typed on a vintage G80-3000 with blues. Double-shots, baby. :D

Offline JohnElliott

  • Posts: 109
Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #63 on: Thu, 14 October 2010, 14:05:38 »
Quote from: keyb_gr;233821
From my own limited experience, the worst that would happen is that things just didn't work. Given that PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports only differ in which of two pins they use for data transfer (with the other one left unconnected), that's how it should be.


I had a Supermicro motherboard that wouldn't boot if the keyboard and mouse connectors were swapped. And they were both the same colour, and the only way to tell which was which was a label on the PC case, not the motherboard itself. Which didn't help much when I later put the board in a different case...

Offline RickyJ

  • Posts: 550
  • Location: Victoria, BC
Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #64 on: Thu, 14 October 2010, 19:03:58 »
Trekkie?  I had you pinned as Lewis from Revenge of the Nerds.

Currently GMMK Pro: lubed 68g U4T, FR4 plate, extra gaskets, etc

Offline Voixdelion

  • Posts: 338
Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #65 on: Thu, 14 October 2010, 19:30:16 »
Now I know nobody is going to point "off-topic" fingers around THIS forum, are they?  Technically, it was on the topic of geekhack vs OCN Mechanical keyboard subforum and my romance story was analogous to the tangent that was brought up about the audience that each appeals to...  :party:

Besides, what IS the topic on this thread anyway?  I had started the response to make a point about discipline and disrespectful children.  After that it just turned into an exercise in free association and getting hypnotized by the soft clicky clicky click of my keyboard.
"The more you tolerate each other, the less enforcement will happen."-iMav

Offline Voixdelion

  • Posts: 338
Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #66 on: Thu, 14 October 2010, 21:18:49 »
Suggestions for addition to the guide -

When I first started my quest, I was inundated with info about switches, like complicated and simplified ALPS and what have you, but no information on what I might actually be likely to find in the real world, as some are not produced anymore.  (My hunt for the white Alps was probably the most difficult of my search.)  Maybe some info on what is commonly available new (current production) vs what might have to be found in ancient office supply cabinets (extinct or only collector types)?
"The more you tolerate each other, the less enforcement will happen."-iMav

Offline RickyJ

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Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #67 on: Fri, 15 October 2010, 02:12:43 »
Quote from: ripster;233951
Any excuse for a Cheerleader Pic!
Show Image


The one on the right looks so lop-sided, I bet she could crack a coconut with those thighs!  They're as thick as her waist, thicker than her head!

I saw the mechanical keyboard subforum the other day, it was empty so I figured it was new and they were going to be transferring threads there.  Went there today for a laugh, and it was gone.  Le sigh.
Currently GMMK Pro: lubed 68g U4T, FR4 plate, extra gaskets, etc

Offline Voixdelion

  • Posts: 338
Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #68 on: Fri, 15 October 2010, 17:43:43 »
Quote from: ripster;233986
If you haven't yet please take a look at it and tell me what you think.

I'm a little hesitant to start on ALPS in a beginners guide, especially since after the ABS M1 and Filco Zero (at least in the US) have both been discontinued so it's not a great "beginners" switch.

Well, yeah, That's kinda what I meant...  I didn't mean a guide into the details about them, but more the fact that they arent easy to come by.  Maybe just a list of what switches people may have seen/heard mentioned but are pretty much collector stock only? Or a what newbie's probably shouldn't be looking for as a starter but are often grouped into guides having to do with mechanical keyboards ...

 When I realized that I would be needing a mechanical keyboard, I started googling and inquiring and researching and ended up pointed at GH, and gathered from overviewing of everything what types of switches there were in existence, then tried to sort it all out... BUT much of the info if you get linked via search engine is not in context to realize that some of the items being discussed were last available to the public back in 1995 or so.  Even here on this site boards are reviewed which are pretty much collectible or rare items, but that might not be obvious to someone who is just trying to sort the wheat from the chaff.  When I began my white alps quest I didn't actually know I'd be looking for a switch that has been out of production for a decade- I just knew that they were mechanical and clicky - which is what I was seeking.
"The more you tolerate each other, the less enforcement will happen."-iMav

Offline Voixdelion

  • Posts: 338
Geekhack has a bit of competition. OCN to open a Mechanical Keyboard Forum
« Reply #69 on: Sat, 16 October 2010, 01:10:08 »
Don't forget "POS" too - I STILL have to do a double take when I come across that one on this site...
"The more you tolerate each other, the less enforcement will happen."-iMav