Matias RGB Backlit Wired Aluminum Keyboard for Mac | Hacker News Reader

Matias RGB Backlit Wired Aluminum Keyboard for Mac

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I recently got fed up with my MacBook’s keyboard and bought a mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX switches. I cannot believe how _pleasant_ I found it- I haven’t used a mechanical keyboard in nearly 20 years but it feels like coming home, almost like I’m a kid again

I feel like keyboards that are built to be good to type on are underrated even by people that spend a lot of time typing. I recently started using a mechanical keyboard and like you say, I didn't know what I was missing until then. And this with the early 2015 MacBook Pro (i.e. the last one before the butterfly switches). I thought that not having the trackpad at my fingertips would be annoying (I use my thumb so I never have to leave home row), but in practice I don't switch between the keyboard and mouse enough that it's an issue.

I recently switched to and switched away from mechanical keyboards. They are absolutely terrible. Super tall keyboards are painfull to use, the mechanical switches have terrible feedback for when a keypress is registered. Never again.

They sound good, though.

I got the silent red switches, which have basically no tactile feedback at all. It doesn’t bother me

Not all mechanical keyboards are made equal: there are the switches to consider, the actual build of the keyboard, the design of the keycaps (there are low profile Cherry MX-compatible keycaps, for instance).

For right-handed typists who don't do a lot with numbers, a 10-key pad just forces your mouse or trackpad much farther to the right, causing ergonomic problems. The number pad should really be viewed as more of a specialized device, not universal. Besides that, it's a pretty cool keyboard.

They have a version available without the numpad as well it seems: https://matias.store/collections/slim-aluminum-keyboards-1/p...

I really don't understand why they're so commonplace for laptops. Now most every 15"+ display includes it and and an awkwardly staggered trackpad as a result.

I bought one of these a couple of weeks ago to replace my old wired aluminum Apple keyboard that got bent after traveling a couple of times in my suitcase. After a couple of hours of typing, when looking at the keyboard, I found that something was off. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D6wuM-eXkAA_UGK.jpg:large

The Keyboard Company(https://www.keyboardco.com), offered great support and immediately send the missing key with instructions on how to replace the faulty one.

My overall impression of this keyboard after a few weeks of typing. Coming from an Apple wired keyboard, it takes a while to get used to the firmness of the keypress that is needed to get a keystroke out of it. In that respect, I miss my old wired Apple keyboard. The colors are a nice addition, however, what did it for me is the built-in USB hub, which makes it so I only need one USB connection to have a stable keyboard and mice connected to my Mac.

I'm a mechanical keyboard fan, but the wired fullsize Mac keyboard is the best dome/non-mech board I've ever used. It is really nice to type on and I believe the keycaps are PBT, they feel great with the brushed aluminum case.

Someone should make a ortholinear keyboard for MacBook Air. Maybe even make it mechanical and then add protruding edges to the border of the screen so that the higher buttons can fit.

I bought my MacBook Air for the long battery time, nice display and acceptable price, and because macOS is a pretty good operating system and I can live with not running Linux on my laptop.

I miss my ErgoDox EZ keyboard that I use at home a little bit but I am long since done dragging an external keyboard with me wherever I go. So a mechanical ortholinear keyboard for MacBook Air would be really nice.

I've recently bought a split mechanical keyboard, the UHK. No backlight but it's a productivity beast. http://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/

Mac keyboard user here. I considered this one a while ago, but the fact that it doesn't have an ESC key and also no function key row still holds me off.

What's your experience with that?

I had the same questions before I got a mechanical keyboard without the F row and an ESC key but I got around that pretty quickly. Using the number row with the Fn key for the functions is not bad and I was able to remap the CAPS LOCK key to be my ESC. Works pretty well for me and I was back to pre-mk productivity levels in a short time.

So if you are switching keyboards all the time say from the UHK on your desktop to your laptop keyboard then your muscle memory is going to get a bit confused and keys aren't as easy to subconsciously hit. The mouse layer on the UHK is incredible and I find I try to use it all the time on other keyboards which obviously don't have it. Also function keys and escape haven't been as big a problem as I thought they would. Your brain just adapts quickly. One thing is that I do have trouble getting used to split mode because the halves move around slightly and my muscle memory doesn't know exactly where keys are. I tend to leave the halves together.

I have two keyboards from KBParadise from 2016 with the Matias QC switches. I really like them both, but they've had intermittent (but sometimes very severe) key chatter issues. It's really too bad because they are great keyboards and switches.

Anyways I heard it was a fairly common problem around the time I bought them, but has since been fixed. Anyone have a more recent experience?

I build/assemble keyboards using qc switches, I own boards with "old" qc and some from this year (+ others with mx, kailh) . I can confirm they are much better now. Current switches have way less wobble and are far more reliable than a year ago, they feel like an entirely new switch. I personally find them much better than the rest (mx, kailh, etc). I have surprised a few switch nerds at meetups with these too.

Thank you! That's good to know. Maybe I'll give them another shot

Wow, staggered rows and flat keys with probably a couple of millimeters travel: hard pass for me.

It's pretty sad that 2 mm of key travel is now considered generous.

Yeah. It's weird because Lenovo's ThinkPads are at 1.8mm and 1.9mm (X1C and T4XXs respectively) for their integrated keyboards. It's not bad, but I don't think I'd pay money for an external keyboard that barely tops that personally.

Anyone knows of a good ergonomic keyboard? I really liked the Microsoft one, but the newer versions are really bad quality and break in just a few months.

Check out the Ergodox EZ. Split keyboard with tilt and wrist rest so you can adjust it any way you like. Including a thumb cluster so you use a powerful finger for more than just space.

Other split options: https://raymii.org/s/articles/Split_keyboards_a_five_year_re...

It may be worth mentioning that going to the ergodox layout requires a not insignificant learning curve. I can type at a fast speed (around 144 WPM before losing accuracy) on a standard board, but trying to pick up the new layout was really painful - I eventually ended up selling mine after a month of trying to adapt.

Part of this is my weird typing style (I occasionally cross fingers over to the other side of the board to type certain words at certain times - you can't do this on a split board), and part of this are function keys and enter being placed right around the spacebar area, in a zone where you normally can just depress your thumb and not have to think about the positioning too much.

I had the same weird typing style but really wanted to use the split ortholinear keyboard layout due to some pain I was feeling in my forearm

Adapting to the layout was frustrating. It took me a week of standard use to not have typos. About a month to lock down the location of modifier keys and layer layouts.

Was it worth it? In my case, absolutely. The pain in my forearms disappeared. I also type "properly" on standard staggered keyboards now.

It turns out that in my case, the weird typing style was part of why I was feeling pain in my forearms in the first place.

out of curiosity, how wide apart do you place the two halves of your split keyboard?

i recently got one, and been wondering if i should place them full shoulder width apart or not.

Some folks seem to love this at work:

https://www.amazon.com/Kinesis-Advantage2-Ergonomic-Keyboard...

I've been happy with the Keyboardio Model 1: https://shop.keyboard.io

Note that the keys are in columns and not staggered, so there is a learning curve.

Kinesis makes really good keyboards. I like this one https://kinesis-ergo.com/shop/advantage2/

The Kinesis Advantage 2 is an absolutely wonderful keyboard.

It costs an arm and leg and takes a while to learn, but it makes every other keyboard I've touched feel downright archaic!

I wish they would do a better job on the firmware. I still love this keyboard, but the fact that they haven't updated their keyboard controller since the USB version came out is a bit sad (please let me know if they have).

If you have a modifier-heavy workload the keyboard gets lost. A few times a day I have to flip through all the modifiers to get one unstuck. Probably once a week I have to power cycle it since that isn't sufficient. there is so much room in the case I also wonder why they haven't invested a little effort and made a bluetooth with battery option - I've been sorely tempted to do this but never could justify the time.

The thing I really like* about this keyboard aside from modifiers on thumbs is that you can effectively use it on your lap and shift positions. it feels a little more like a musical instrument that way.

I have the same sticky modifier problem with a USB advantage. Apparently they upgraded the firmware and fixed the problem for the Advantage 2 though.

I've never encountered this with my Advantage 2, I've had it about a year now.

Something I've been thinking about getting is a clip on 12 inch monitor + RasPi, it would be such a great remote development setup for cafes.

I've never had a problem with modifier keys, but I do have a problem where sometimes it's unresponsive after my computer boots up, and I have to un-plug it and re-plug it. Bonus: If the plugging-in motion isn't quick enough, I have to try again. Sibling mentioned updated firmware on the advantage 2, I wonder if there's a way to apply that to the original.

Boy, I miss my Matias keyboards. I had the clackity type with the big key caps and mechanical switches. Unfortunately they just didn’t last that long.

This one looks like fun.

I like that it’s stealthy... it looks a lot like a regular Mac keyboard until you turn the backlight on.

Unfortunately they just didn’t last that long.

I bought one about two years ago and it wasn't everything it should have been.

I used it with an iMac, and about 10% of the time it would shut off while the computer was asleep. So I'd have to wake the computer with the power button, then get the old Apple keyboard out of the closet so I could enter the login password, then re-pair the Matias keyboard.

It would occasionally un-pair itself while I was typing. And the letters started rubbing off within a few months.

I ended up going back to Apple keyboards and have had zero problems.

Anyone else used the wired ones like TFA, or the numerkeyless variant? Presumably these are simpler to get right than bluetooth (which I presume you're describing).

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