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Comment by magoon | Hacker News Reader

Having started typing on IBM keyboards before the Model M, and eventually struggling to adapt to non-“mechanical” keyboards, it’s now hard for me to understand why people want to use them. I didn’t want to go to the “soft” laptop keyboards but learned to love them. It turns out the springs on the loud keyboards caused me a lot of repetitive stress discomfort and actually slowed down my typing.

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I effortlessly type faster and more accurately on a model M than on my laptop. I actually feel more prone to RSI on the laptop. The laptop keyboard has a flat profile so your fingers have to reach further for the non-home-row keys. The keys are less defined on the laptop and are much easier to press down accidentally, and it's somewhat harder to tell when you've pressed one, so I find that I can't relax my fingers on the home row as much as on the model M. Despite the keys being easier to press down, I feel like I have to keep my hands more tense on the laptop keys. So, ymmv.

I ended up taking a gamble on a keyboard with Topre hybrid switches, without having tried one first. I actually really like it.

The keys are quieter than mechanical switches (they make more of a soft ‘thunk’ than a ‘clack’). Typing speed and accuracy are quite good. I only use it for work, though, so I have no idea how well or poorly it would perform for gaming or other tasks.

I generally use a CM Novatouch TKL, which is a keyboard with Topre switches with MX stems (for keycaps).

Sadly it's apparently impossible to buy those switches by themselves (for a custom build) without desoldering from a donor board.

It’s an alpha geek status symbol.

I had an office neighbor who used one of these things. Obnoxious and loud. Personally, I fought back by playing the teletype sound effect that would play in the background on 1010 WINS in NYC at moderate volume to improve my cognitive function.

To avoid discomfort I have a small selection of keyboards. A change is as good as a rest.

The Falcon Z-77 87 Key Mechanical Keyboard is my most recent acquisition. Being left handed I don't need the num pad as it is on the wrong side, however, due to moving away from Vim I did want those home/end keys, hence the 87 key keyboard with novelty programmable backlit keys. I can grey out the useless Windows keys and get the important Vim keys in green!

This I do get tired of though, so, if writing words rather than code I swap over to my Logitech K810 where there are no home/end keys. This is a soft touch keyboard with backlighting and no 'noise pollution'.

Then there are the built in laptop keyboards to use too.

IMHO the Chromebook keyboard layout is the future.

Variety in keyboards is an accidental discovery, with the Logitech K810 it works across devices - up to three - and with Synergy it works across more. I had thought that getting the optimal keyboard was the way to go, whereas in use I prefer the occasional change.

The keyboard that does get the most questions is none of the above, it is the 'Tron' style flat keyboard on my Lenovo Yogabook that doubles up as a drawing tablet.

I'm in the middle camp: I have two Das keyboards, and I like them a lot, but I don't have a problem using my Dell laptop's (or my Mac book's) keyboard either. I don't see what all the fuss is about, both types seem about as comfortable to me.

I bought Das because I thought I wanted a better keyboard and remembered that back in the day I loved my mechanical "click" keyboard. It turns out I was wrong. The (brown) switches were waaay too loud for my (and my coworkers') taste and the quality of build was simply appaling given their price tag. Not totally bad, but worse than any "normal" Logitech kbd. I got rid of it after ~5 months.

So this wouldn't work with blues, but for browns, blacks, and reds you can always get O-rings to put under the keys. In college I played lots of video games late at night while my roommate was sleeping and once I installed O-rings on my MX reds he never had issues again.

Cool, didn't know that. Is the feeling any different? Anyway, that keyboard is gone and I am never buying one based on reviews only again. :)

Like the sibling comment said, it is a little less "clacky". The harder you tend to type the larger the difference you will notice. I tend to type lighter without bottoming out too much, so the difference wasn't as stark. Also, the key travel is cut down just a little, but I didn't mind one way or another.

The feeling is a little less fun, but still better than a normal keyboard.

Disclosure: I’m not the one you responded to

There are lots of different type of mechanical switches, maybe you need to find the right one? Many are soft and/or silent, if that's your thing.

>it’s now hard for me to understand why people want to use them

Cargo cult (which could also be on the inverse side).

Nobody measures anything in this industry -- like the relative RSI or typing speed between the two kinds of keyboards. So people can go around and stick to their personal preferences (even while they could slow them down compared to the other type of keyboard), and insist of their superiority, what actually holds true be damned.

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