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looking for a new WIRED keyboard
Barcardi
All the WizardsUnder A Rock: AfganistanRegistered User regular
All the WizardsUnder A Rock: AfganistanRegistered User regular
Ok for the life of me i cannot find a good wired keyboard. Right now i have a Microsoft wireless, and its nice. But it is impossible to play with games as holding down buttons for a long amount of time sometimes stick, and even more impossible to use for work (shortcuts in 3dmax, revit, autocad)... i type too fast/sloppy i guess and the keystrokes do not register, or they stick.
So i figure that i need a new keyboard, but i want to play it safe and get a wired one so i can make sure that my current issues are not wireless related. So i go to a place like best buy or frys and all they have are the new Microsoft and logiteck wireless keyboard bundles.
So i am looking for recommendations on what to get for a wired keyboard. Do good ones still exist? Do ergonomic ones still exist?
So i figure that i need a new keyboard, but i want to play it safe and get a wired one so i can make sure that my current issues are not wireless related. So i go to a place like best buy or frys and all they have are the new Microsoft and logiteck wireless keyboard bundles.
So i am looking for recommendations on what to get for a wired keyboard. Do good ones still exist? Do ergonomic ones still exist?
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109149
Haven't tried this but it looks like a good low cost simple ergonomic design.
British publisher and writer Ernest Benn [1875-1954]
I don't need a $200 keyboard with LCD screens and shit on it...
I need a keyboard with keys that input my commands.
Either way, that's what the Logitech G13 gamepad and G9 Mouse is for
Yes, I know it's an Apple keyboard but I love mine. It's fucking tiny but has full-size keys and types and play games wonderfully.
(Although I have the wireless version)
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
Last time I bought a keyboard that's where I went. Most of the newer ones had those over sized <enter> key or the backspace, /, or \ in the wrong place/size. But there, in a plain generic brown box was just a normal keyboard with the normal layout. I bought three, am using the second, and still have one to spare just in case. I just inspected it and can find no manufacturer information, just Made in China (shocker) and a model number KB-9908, which Google says is eMachine related.
I just ordered this one because I was looking for a backlit keyboard and this was half the price when compared to the rest of them. I actually got it for 30 bucks and I'm in Canada so I'm sure you can find a better price.
Supposedly build quality is great like what you'd expect from OCZ, the one downside I can see is the backspace isn't a double key.
A big, old-fashioned boot-shaped enter, huh.
That right there is the bs I am talking about. WTF, down with over sized enter keys, this isn't the 70's or 80's damnit!
It's a Unicomp Customizer.
I had one of those, it was the best keyboard I've ever owned. But I got drunk less than a couple weeks after I got it and spilled beer in it and ruined it. That was the worst morning ever, waking up and finding out the keyboard was totally fucked.
Get one of these if you can afford it and don't mind the loud clicking (I loved it, personally).
Obtain a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. It really helps out a lot with RSI, and after you spend a while adjusting and getting back to your old typing speed, you'll start preferring it to flat keyboards. Jeff Atwood approves of it.
(Between this keyboard and my Trackman mouse, my roommate is the only person around who can even consider using my computer.
If it's based on the Model M keyboard, it should be possible to clean it. I just took apart a Model M that I obtained, and the design is such that you pretty much have to immerse it to get water into the buckling spring mechanism. There's a ~1.5 cm tall cylinder under each key that surrounds the buckling spring. I'm not sure about that one, but mine also had drainage channels that would route liquids through a hole on the bottom of the keyboard, too
They're laggy. At least, every wireless keyboard I've tried is laggy. That doesn't include bluetooth keyboards... I was surprised but there wasn't noticeable lag with the one bluetooth keyboard I tried out.
But yes, wireless keyboards suck.
SSBB: 5370-1223-4258
I use my computer with an HDTV, with me on the couch. From a distance of 6 feet, every single keyboard/mouse thing I've tried hasn't worked. Wireless, bluetooth, Microsoft, Logitech, all lagged, dropped keys/connection, etc. Finally gave up and got USB-extensions. The CLOSEST thing I've had to success so far was the way overpriced Logitech diNovo Edge. It MOSTLY worked for my general WOW playing back when I was on that, but after wiping an instance when it dropped once I've been on wired keyboards for anything that requires reliability.
PSN: TheScrublet
Seconding this. I got a basic Logitech keyboard for about....$20 or so and I have no complaints.
I'm using some basic Logitech wireless keyboard now and it's actually pretty great. I always stayed away from them because I heard bad things about them being laggy, needing lots of batteries, etc., but I haven't noticed anything like that. I still play FPS's and it's been fine, and the batteries have lasted months without needing to be replaced. Just saying they may not all be bad if they're not 6 feet away from the computer.
If you want a good, inexpensive ergonomic keyboard, I would go with the Microsoft 4000, they can be had for around $25 + shipping. My brother has had 2 so far, and highly recommends them. They're well built, and although I am not an ergo keyboard kinda guy, I think it's pretty comfortable.
Sometimes I have the most horrible dreams. Or maybe they are real. Do dead men dream?
What the hell is the big, black buttonthing in the center?
That is a little one-axis joystick type thing marked "zoom." You can rig it up to act like a scroll wheel. I don't really use it, but it doesn't get in the way, either.
Alternatively, an IBM Model M.
The chicklet style is nice. It can be a little hard for some people because it's more difficult to feel the location of the keys. (only for some people) The other issue is that the cord is short because it was designed to be plugged into something sitting on your desk (Apple display or iMac) so you would need a USB extension cord. Also, the location of the ALT key is different from PC keyboards.
Some of the advantages are support for multiple key presses (up to 5 as opposed to 3 for most keyboards), its relatively comfortable to use and it's very compact. The frame is very sturdy. Also, the USB ports are handy. I jammed the wireless receiver for my logitech mouse in one. The ports are slightly recessed so its kind of hidden. Really cool...
I picked one up really cheap from an Apple retailer because it was open box. Apparently a costumer wanted a bluetooth keyboard with his new iMac so they just swapped the keyboard out of the box and sold it for $30.
Yeah, they typically package in the extension cord for the Mac Pro users, because otherwise you're computer is within 2 feet.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
It's what real men use.
Speaking of Model M's, has anyone had any experience with the Unicomp SpaceSaver?
Oh I see. I was wondering about that. I guess mine didn't because it came packaged with an iMac.
Bingo. 95% of the time you're not more than a few feet from the iMac, so the USB port is right there. When you buy the keyboard separately or when it's packaged with the Mac Pro a USB extension is included.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
The G11's are well priced.
They are exceptionally useful with their Macro board which is easily programmed and useful with shit like CAD for macros.
If you want to save further money you can get the version without the LCD screen.
Don't bother getting the one with the colour screen, that just borders on the ridiculous.
Satans..... hints.....
I got a Customizer many years ago because it was the only keyboard I could find without Windows keys (and consequently larger ctrl and alt keys with slightly different placement). I had an ancient one I was using at the time - just a Compaq bundled PS/2 keyboard circa 1993 - but I expected it to die at any moment and was looking for its successor.
The damn thing was completely unusable. The keys simply did not function in the way one would expect. It had the superficial look and feel of a Model M, sure, but for the keys to register, they required additional pressure beyond simply being pressed enough to click. It was usable for typing, and I figured that's all they tested it with, but any kind of game was unplayable because you'd have to concentrate on making sure enough pressure is held down on any key you're trying to hold down. I'm talking a pretty considerable amount of pressure.
I guess they changed the model slightly afterward, though, since the picture above has Windows keys. Kind of defeats the purpose though. But the holdout market probably has pretty much died by now.
(The Unicomp died a horrible death by melting in my car. The Compaq lasted about five more years and was finally replaced less than a year ago by this, with the left Windows key removed, of course.)
I use the macro buttons only occaisionally - they're handy with WoW, and they're bound to a few things for photoshop too.
It's a lot less cumbersome than the old blue-backlighted one.
I'm sorta happy the first thing was defective now. I wish I could post a photo but I'm browsing on my phone.
Edit: oh, I can.. awesome.