I was wondering… with so many people interested in tech in this community, what do they think about keyboards? I haven’t seen many posts about them apart of this one and some older ones.
So, I’m curious.
What do you think about keyboards?
I don’t care. I use the closest thing with keys available around me.
I do care about its quality, but it’s a secondary element in my setup.
I think it’s a fundamental part of my computing experience.
0voters
And… what kind of keyboards do you use?
The integrated keyboard that comes with my laptop.
A portable keyboard for my tablet/phone.
A regular desktop keyboard. No special features.
A low profile desktop keyboard (Apple like).
A gaming mechanical keyboard.
A custom-build mechanical keyboard.
An ergonomic or special keyboard of some sort.
Something else you forgot to include.
0voters
And also, what do you look for on a keyboard, or what features haven’t you managed to find yet?
Share more details in your comments!
Who knows, maybe Eve picks up some ideas and it could become a new product some day
For me, peripherals represent 80% of the computing experience. I’d rather spend my (rather limited) budget on good peripherals that feel great, are ergonomic and last long, than putting all my money on quickly devaluing hardware.
I started using any kind of keyboard like most people, but I slowly became aware of their impact in comfort and usability. Only recently I discovered mechanical keyboards, and they are such a huge leap in quality that I can’t just go back. Still, I understand they are not for everyone, and I also appreciate ‘shallower’ keyboards like the ones from Apple.
These are the keyboards I use today:
Integrated keyboard of my Lenovo Thinkpad X240 laptop. Not like the old Thinkpad ones, but still good for a light laptop.
A Logitech Keys-to-go keyboard to use with my phone. It has quite a strange (and surprisingly pleasant) writing experience, but otherwise it’s the best travel keyboard I’ve tried: wireless, light, VERY thin, very long battery, comfortable feel and particularly resistant to dust, spills and dirt. Perfect for its purpose.
A Ozone Strike Battle desktop mechanical keyboard. It’s one of the cheapest you can buy here (in Spain) and it was my entry point into the mechanical world.
Recently I’ve been lurking at /r/MechanicalKeyboards, and drooling all over the beauties they share there.
As for features I’d want on a desktop keyboard right now:
Must: Ability to use macros and layers for customization.
Must: Open source driver/configuration tool that supports Linux.
Almost-a-must: Possibility of splitting (and maybe tenting) the keyboard for ergonomics.
Almost-a-must: traditional Spanish keyboard layout. For now I don’t want to learn quirky layouts (ortho, etc.) that are nowhere to be found around me.
Nice to have: Replaceable switches to adapt it to my preferred feel.
Nice to have: Separated numpad that can be attached to either side of the keyboard. I’d love to try having the numpad to the left, which seems so much better for modern computing.
As you can imagine, there is almost no keyboard that meets all these at the same time. I’ve been looking at the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard with thirsty eyes for some time now, but the lack of a Spanish layout in combination with the price (which is fair, but not to be taken lightly) has held me back. Only recently I found out about the Dygma Raise and was instantly sold, as it ticks most of the checkboxes. It’s going to become my next keyboard until something better arrives.
I am not hardcore keyboard enthusiast but I do believe it’s a super important part of your setup!
I use V for working on the go and portable office but when I am stationary I hook V up to a monitor and use it as an extended display.
When at desk my V is hooked up to a keyboard. I have gotten mechanical Das Keyboard for typing but my accuracy and speed has suffered dramatically.
I am currently in search of a good low profile keyboard and I hope we could make one at some point
Things I would like to get from a low profile keyboard:
wireless connectivity option (hate those cables everywhere)
The same happened to me. More key travel and different keycaps don’t make things necessarily easier. It’s like learning with a Spanish guitar and then changing to an acoustic one. You know how it works, but it takes some practice to adapt.
As much as I love the good ol’ thick mechanical keyboards, with so many people using laptops as their main devices and getting used to their shallow keystrokes, low profile keyboards make more sense than ever. There are already some good looking examples out there, and more and more available “low profile” switches.
I’m not new to the mech keyboards, I am new to custom building though.
I would really want a 75% mech with some less then default materials. Exotic wooden base, maybe even a wooden plate? A separate wrist rest, hot swap switches (if only because it’s easier to replace when broken). BT & cable connection. Or some ultra low latency like the Razer and Logitech gaming mice have. Mac, windows and linux compatibility. I would like programmable WRGB backlighting but it’s not that important, if there is any form of backlighting I’m happy.
Aside from that I would love a macropad with a volume rocker. and about 8-12 keys (or something like that to serve as media hub and quick-start.
And, I know Eve is not a gaming brand, nor should it become one, I would love an mech keypad like the Razer Tartarus with an good analog stick and maybe some triggers or Lekker switches on certain keys. (I prefer tactile over linear)
Basically: I’m a mech enthusiast… Without the products to proof
Lekker switches are going to be hot swappable, i am regularly watching wooting stream and they said that although some problems they will make it hot-swappable. Also I think that directly media keys are useless when you can press analog switch deeper and it can be reprogrammed to it, but I wanted them on lp keyboard, and also on that OLED, i menaed it mainly for media keys. I also wanted all platform support and all BT/Wireless usb/USB C connections. But I think it can be like keyboard without numbers (idk maybe 75%) but I have seen interesting gigabyte lightning keyboard where you can take number pad with programmable keys and put it on left side, or right side or also use it without that. And that waterproofness was seen on aorus k9 for example.
I am also tech enthusiast and can not find righ keyboard.
Hot swap isn’t just about the switches, also the PCB. If they make the pin layout the same as cherry, then maybe lekker can be included.
Personally I’m not that convinced about lekker, the idea is nice but I don’t want that control over the keys since I want to bottom them out. And they almost require to be linear since the tactile would remove their usefulness completely probably… But if you want low profile lekker switches, you should really ask Wooting about that since they designed that. I could try to get more information about them, if we want to go forward with it since their HQ is basically around the corner for me.
(also, lekker is dutch for Delicious, since they are a dutch company I don’t think that is coincidence).
I prefer 75% over tkl since I really don’t use those keys at all. I want the dedicated media keys since I want it separate from my keyboard so it won’t stock up my desk space, I can move it to somewhere else and use it more as a hub for shortcuts. You know, maybe some smarthome stuff
The oled screen… personally I can see the interest for it, but I’d prefer that as a stand-alone feature as well, and maybe with some smart connection to the keyboard via an integrated USB hub or something. And I wouldn’t buy it. I had the g15, g19 and now the g910. I don’t use the screen features at all.
Waterproof is a nice feature for sure. But shouldn’t make it a rubber dome keyboard because of it.
For waterproofness you just need one thing - waterproof pcb BUT you must use optical or Lekker switches in cause that you can not have any pins. Also they can not use same layout in cause they must have pcb build in magnet. Also clicky switches would not be as usable but they had one prototype of clicky switch. (Like one piece) so they can do it for request. Also most people wanted quiet (silent) linear so that will not be problem
you need more for waterproof then just a waterproof PCB, especially if you do hotswap switches…
And, like I said in my post, I don’t care for lekker switches, nor optical ones. Their benefit eludes me completely. I want tactile switches, not clicky loud as the MX blues but tactile instead of linear.
It’s good that you have your opinion about the matter, I have mine.
I am refeering to my post where most people voted for quiet linear. Also the waterproofness is achieved the way that there are not electric components onboard. Light emitter and receiver is onboard.
Just my two cents but I generally dont care too much about keyboard as long as it is half decent. For me I’d rather spend money on the pc performance (ram, CPU, gpu, storage) than worry too much about keyboard, mouse or monitor.
Monitors are critical for me both as programmer and as content creator. But keyboard to me is not soooo important. I can live well with the build in keyboard for my laptops and I would not put keyboard quality in my pros and cons list on purchasing a laptop.
Eve V’s keyboard, when it works it works wonderfully and I definitely love it. But when it can’t work well, it’s really frustrating.
I’ve been saying for decades (to anyone who’ll listen) that so-called right-handed keyboards—that is, keyboards with the alphanumeric keys on the left, the tenkey on the right and the arrow cluster in between—is counter-ergonomic for right-handed users and better suited to southpaws. This is because the right-sided arrow cluster and numpad force the right hand (i.e. mouse hand) out at an awkward, uncomfortably obtuse angle. The right hand also has farther to travel between keyboard and mouse.
A true right-handed keyboard (as I define it) is a mirrored inversion of this design, with the arrow cluster to the immediate left of the alphanumeric keys and the numpad at far left. This would negate the issues I mentioned above and also put far more key combinations within reach of the left hand; very useful for many different tasks including—but not limited to—design and gaming.
Such keyboards do exist, of course, and are typically referred to as ‘left-handed’, which is rather preposterous given my understanding. I haven’t purchased one yet, however because they tend to be far more expensive and less diversely featured than their normative counterparts.
I jumped right into this post without reading a single entry in this thread so I hope I’m not retreading old ground, but I also hope I’m not alone in my desire for a true right-handed keyboard with proper key switches, build quality and connectivity that doesn’t cost twice what it ought.
after first getting in to Mechanical keyboards for gaming I have recently i have fallen into the dark and expensive hole of custom and non standard mechanical keyboards. Personally I rock a Vortex Tab90m (75% i think?) at home and a minivan (40%) from the van keyboards.
I like the Tab90m for its premium feel with its lack of bezels around they key-way and aluminum body. and it has every button of a standard keyboard in a form factor only one row wider than a typical 10-keyless board.
I am a programmer and a gamer but i’m not interested in anything RGB. all the “Gaming” keyboards have this load style that i’m just not into anymore.
I carry the minivan around because its small enough to fit in a large pocket. its a keyboard with only 4 rows (letters and the bottom row). the number a bunch of extra symbols and the function keys are under shift like functions and it has a split space bar for space and enter. It takes some time to get used to typing on a keyboard like this but it allows your to travel with a mechanical keyboard with full size switches and you never need to stretch your fingers for any key that you need. when the EVE V2 comes out I plan on using this keyboard with it.
for me quality and feel are the most important part in a keyboard.
Low profile is a must! So many huge bulky keycaps these days with too much travel, all in the name of being “mechanical”. IMO a key should activate when it bottoms out, otherwise it’s too hard to type accurately.
