What keyboard things will you never 'get'?

[TimIsABat]

The ridiculous price of Realforce and HHKB Pro 2...

...and why we even got into this addiction in the first place.

[The_Beast]

The ridiculous price of Realforce and HHKB Pro 2...

...and why we even got into this addiction in the first place.

Compared to a k-custom, they aren't bad

[Grim Fandango]

Not bottoming out on MX Browns or Reds (sometimes even blues).

I think bottoming out eventually happens with any switch, but I always wonder "Do you have feather fingers?"

Not bottoming out on reds feels impossible to me. I think that if you do not bottom out on reds, you are officially a keyboard ninja.

[rootwyrm]

The ridiculous price of Realforce and HHKB Pro 2...

...and why we even got into this addiction in the first place.

Compared to a k-custom, they aren't bad

No, compared to HHKB they're insulting. Original HHKB - the original was $60. The HHKB Sun - same thing but for Sun systems - was $175 IIRC. (Might've been $225 and Mac at $175.) And this was somewhat reasonable - they had to bribe the cult of Sun and Apple for the protocols and pay the license fees.
But now? Now they want $260 for the basic model. A $200 markup despite being essentially the same damn thing.

People who have owned the original (e.g. ME) are just stunned at people who keep defending these insane prices when they haven't actually changed anything other than the color.

[SpAmRaY]

I'd never get a KMAC  or a QFR or any tenkeyless board 

[Photoelectric]

I don't get the CCs  Especially at their prices.  (Going to hide for my life now).

[TimIsABat]

I'd never get a KMAC  or a QFR or any tenkeyless board 

Try lugging around a full keyboard in your backpack around campus...

Colored WASD keycaps. Like... They aren't that hard to find...

[SpAmRaY]

I'd never get a KMAC  or a QFR or any tenkeyless board 

Try lugging around a full keyboard in your backpack around campus...

That's what 60% boards are for!! Like the poker I'm typing on now.

[Findecanor]

Wireless keyboards.

I could 'get' it if the user has a laptop that does not have many USB ports. But proper laptops should have docking stations for the desktop and Bluetooth for use elsewhere.
I can also 'get' why someone would use a wireless keyboard with a HTPC, where the PC and screen are a couple of meters away and you have several seats to use it from.
But wireless for a desktop PC ... no.
Wireless on proprietary protocol with USB dongle .. absolutely no.

Non-touch typists: [...]

There are those who develop their own fast typing style and then there are those who use only two fingers or have to look at the keyboard to type.
I would say that the first category exists because the classic typewriter keyboard is not staggered symmetrically and that the touch-typing method requires you to put your left wrist in an unnatural angle. Myself, I am practically a touch typist, with my right hand that is.

[llovro]

keyboards
why do we even need them?

[zoolzoo]

girldc caps, or any huge gaudy over priced metal caps.

winkeyless obsession

unicorn vomit boards

hhkb layout

hhkb price

das keyboard ... shiny, ugly, irritating name.

[Halvar]

The chiclet hype on current laptops, not only from Apple.

[daerid]

I don't think it's required to put your left wrist at an unnatural angle. I keep both my wrists straight when touch typing.

I think people just pick up bad habits due to the staggered layout, and those bad habits stick with them and eventually lead to RSIs. But it's definitely possible to type on a standard qwerty layout in a natural, relaxed position that doesn't strain your wrists.

[bueller]

Paying the ridiculous sums that people will for CC's. Means the profits go to people willing to hoard caps instead of the person who actually worked to make them. Not a huge fan of KMAC boards either, I love some of the layouts but I could never justify paying that kind of money for an MX board.

[tipo33]

I've used scroll lock.  I'm *nix only and it's useful in the terminal.

[agodinhost]

Pause/Break
Anyone still use it?

[kenmai9]

I have one that hasn't been posted..

Aluminum cases that cost more than the keyboard they're used for. LOL.

Or paying for titanium ****.. as if your keyboard is a war dog who needed reinforced teeth lol.

[Photoelectric]

Blank keycaps for the whole keyboard layout!  I get the subjectivity of aesthetic appeal, but I personally actually like legends on keycaps, and even as a fairly good touch typist, I still have to check some keys periodically, like }, Insert, Print Screen, and other infrequently used keys.  And I feel like if anyone else has to use my keyboard, they'll get lost without legends.

[Leslieann]

The chiclet hype on current laptops, not only from Apple.

THIS!
I hate them.

[Jack Karneval]

Blank keycaps for the whole keyboard layout!  I get the subjectivity of aesthetic appeal, but I personally actually like legends on keycaps, and even as a fairly good touch typist, I still have to check some keys periodically, like }, Insert, Print Screen, and other infrequently used keys.  And I feel like if anyone else has to use my keyboard, they'll get lost without legends.

I was thinking about this the other day, but for some people, it might be an advantage to have blank keycaps so anybody who tries to use your computer gets really confused. Kind of like driving a stick shift car so those who don't know how to drive stick can't drive your car  )

[daerid]

When you program for a living, you pretty much get familiar with every symbol on a modern keyboard fairly rapidly. At that point legends become a complete non-issue, and can sometimes even be a crutch.

[Photoelectric]

When you program for a living, you pretty much get familiar with every symbol on a modern keyboard fairly rapidly. At that point legends become a complete non-issue, and can sometimes even be a crutch.

I program (science stuff) and write   Still don't get it!

[daerid]

And you still have trouble with }?

[Sifo]

I mean when you get to the point where you can recite your layout in order left to right, right to left, all rows, then blanks is not a problem.

They look nicer on my board that I actually type on.

Blanks is the master race

[YoungMichael88]

I don't 'get' all you "Cherry or die" people in regards to legends especially. Yes the caps themselves feel a little bit better(different might be a better word) but to hold the legends in such high regard? I'll never 'get' it.

[Photoelectric]

And you still have trouble with }?

Yes, I do sometimes.  Especially if not typing continuously but taking my hands off my keyboard frequently to check notes, white something down, etc.  Regardless, the point seems to be aesthetics, and as I mentioned, I don't get that either.  I find having legends more appealing.

[The_Beast]

I don't 'get' all you "Cherry or die" people in regards to legends especially. Yes the caps themselves feel a little bit better(different might be a better word) but to hold the legends in such high regard? I'll never 'get' it.

Same here, I love cherry caps, but I don't really get the whole legend business. They look nice, don't get me wrong, but don't really care all that much about legends

[YoungMichael88]

Double post.  Doh!

[kmiller8]

Same here, I love cherry caps, but I don't really get the whole legend business. They look nice, don't get me wrong, but don't really care all that much about legends

I think the reason people like cherry legends, is just because they're thicker than the default SP legends, and something different. Personally I don't find them super great, but compared to what we have, I think they're a pretty good step up.

[Batmann]

I have a set of IMSTO thick PBT, the cheap one (30$ if my memories are good)
font is trully fugly

[daerid]

And you still have trouble with }?

Yes, I do sometimes.  Especially if not typing continuously but taking my hands off my keyboard frequently to check notes, white something down, etc.  Regardless, the point seems to be aesthetics, and as I mentioned, I don't get that either.  I find having legends more appealing.

Fair enough. I'm on the fence. I love the look of both, to be honest.

[Grim Fandango]

When you program for a living, you pretty much get familiar with every symbol on a modern keyboard fairly rapidly. At that point legends become a complete non-issue, and can sometimes even be a crutch.

Maybe for some people, but not for everyone. I use a lot of symbols both for programming and when using latex. I know where all the symbols are and I do not need legends to find my way around the keyboard..... unless I take my hands of the keyboard and do not have them in the typical homerow position, which happens a lot when working. Also, when I need to use multiple symbols in rapid succession, it is easy to get confused. I find that if I did not program, blanks would have been fine, but for me, because I sometimes make intensive use of symbols, blanks are just a pain in the behind. Sure enough they are fine 90% of the time, but even when it is only inconvenient every once in a while, that is already too much. For me use-ability comes first even though I think blanks can  look great. 

[BlueBär]

Tablets.

I cannot find a good use for one. For mobile computing, you should get a netbook. Not so easy to break, also has a keyboard and a "real" OS with which you can do more. Usually cheaper as well. For eBooks, there's eBook-Readers with (imo) beautiful eInk displays. For everything else you have a smartphone. I don't see the niche they try to fill.


And since that is not keyboard related, blank caps, especially with layouts with AltGr. I can never remember all these symbols...

[daerid]

BlueBär, I totally feel you on the tablets thing. My iPad mini is nothing more than a dedicated Netflix box at this point.

However, I've seen countless people use them for their every day computing needs. If all you do is browse Facebook, read and respond to emails, and do the occasional web surfing and TV/movie watching, a tablet is more than you need.

Plus you get games (gaming on a tablet is something I'll never get, but that's probably because I grew up in the console generation).

[Dubsgalore]

White on Black Caps

especially Cherrys

don't get it....

[noisyturtle]

I couldn't agree more about the tablets. Do you really need to bridge that tiny gap between your smartphone and your notebook PC? It seems like a useless and unneeded technology just trying to squeeze a few extra bucks out of naive techheads who always need to have every gadget.

[Photoelectric]

I love my tablet for lounging around in the living room or on the bed.  I'm often too tired to sit around at my desk after work, so I do some web surfing on my iPad.  For everything else, I prefer desktops.  I used to like laptops, but no longer.  I'd rather have a fast desktop + good tablet with a keyboard (a future W8 tablet of some sort).

[___q]

Tablets are great for reading pdfs, especially technical papers.  Way more convenient than trying to carry around a laptop or a stack of printed paper, and phones are too small to conveniently read math notation which is formatted for paper (especially frustrating to do when two columns are used).

I don't get novelty key caps that aren't even shaped like key caps.  Clacks are weird enough as is (and the secondary market for the is absurd), but I don't understand at all why people buy keycaps shaped like whales/guns/etc.

[UniClown]

Backlights behind WASD

[kmiller8]

Backlights behind WASD

during your intense gaming sessions at night, when you get angry enough to start throwing things that require both hands, it lets you return to raging faster.

[Photoelectric]

Yeah, also different texture for WASD keys, like what Corsair offers with their new rubberized keys you can buy separately...  that would actually throw me off rather than help. 

[vicz]

I don't understand why I cannot buy a laptop with a decent keyboard these days.

[Atakp]

Well it doesn't apply to everyone but my tablet makes my life about 1000x easier. With regards to flying I can file flight plans, get real time weather information along my route of flight, contact the company directly with maintenance issues, attach it to the yoke and I can have a secondary GPS screen with real time tracking and terrain avoidance, look up frequencies and fuel prices at almost any FBO in the country, get airport diagrams with runway/taxiway locations, and it replaces a suitcase full of sectional maps for everywhere in the world.

Wouldn't want to go back to the old way of doing things. I realize I'm a small percentage of tablet users though.

[UniClown]

Backlights behind WASD

during your intense gaming sessions at night, when you get angry enough to start throwing things that require both hands, it lets you return to raging faster.

haha, what could you want to throw that requires two hands?

[Wildcard]

Hall effect switches, and on that topic, f¥€£!$@ magnets, how do they work?

[TimIsABat]

Blank keycaps for the whole keyboard layout!  I get the subjectivity of aesthetic appeal, but I personally actually like legends on keycaps, and even as a fairly good touch typist, I still have to check some keys periodically, like }, Insert, Print Screen, and other infrequently used keys.  And I feel like if anyone else has to use my keyboard, they'll get lost without legends.

It just looks so sexy. Plus, I want my dad to get frustrated when he tries to use the board teeheehee

[noisyturtle]

Well it doesn't apply to everyone but my tablet makes my life about 1000x easier. With regards to flying I can file flight plans, get real time weather information along my route of flight, contact the company directly with maintenance issues, attach it to the yoke and I can have a secondary GPS screen with real time tracking and terrain avoidance, look up frequencies and fuel prices at almost any FBO in the country, get airport diagrams with runway/taxiway locations, and it replaces a suitcase full of sectional maps for everywhere in the world.

Wouldn't want to go back to the old way of doing things. I realize I'm a small percentage of tablet users though.

But you can do all this with your phone, which is 6x smaller and can also make actual phone calls.

[Photoelectric]

But you can do all this with your phone, which is 6x smaller and can also make actual phone calls.

And has a small screen.  Larger screens with high resolution can be quite nice.

[calavera]

Smaller screen, shorter battery life. I actually use my nexus 7 around the house a lot if I'm not near my PC.

[shifted]

ergodox