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Comment by commandar | Hacker News Reader

I think I must be the only person out there that can't stand chiclet keyboards. One of the many reasons I'm interested in the upcoming Vizio thin+light notebooks is because they're not using chiclets.

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Yes, the old-school ThinkPad keyboards were the best you could get on a laptop. Chiclet keyboards are made for non-touch typists, the kind of people who need to hunt and peck with big fat fingers. My fave keyboard is my Unicomp Linux model, with the Caps Lock and Ctrl keys swapped...but best of all, with positive keyclick and actual mechanical switches under each key instead of dopey, squishy foam like what you get with modern, cheap keyboards.

I thought this for a while as well, but I wouldn't put it past manufacturers to have done some comprehensive testing before just moving to island-style keyboards.

I prefer the thinkpad keyboards myself and use a mechanical keyboard on my desktop (one which I consider to have the best tactile feedback available: a Topre Realforce).

However, as a dvorak touch-typist I was curious to find out just how well different keyboards performed, so a while back I did a 1 minute random word test on each and got (approximately) the following results:

#1) Topre Realforce: ~110wpm random, ~140wpm non-random

#2) White macbook (island style): ~98wpm random , ~120wpm non-random

#3) Thinkpad T420: ~90wpm random, ~110wpm non-random

I used this site to do the comparisons: http://speedtest.10fastfingers.com/

Would be interested to see what other people get.

Realforce completely spoiled all the other keyboards for me. Totally worth the $400 pricetag.

if you don't mind having a 10-key you can get a realforce 103 for $235 from elite keyboards. The switches supposedly have a 30 million press lifecycle, significantly higher than most keyboards, so it should last many years.

I bought both an 87UB (the $400 one) and a 103UB, and kept the 103UB because I both prefer the feeling of it over the 87, and also discovered that I like having a 10-key again. Had pretty much abandoned them.

The 103 feels different, as far as keys go? I'm a bit surprised, I thought they were made exactly the same. What's the perceived difference?

well, for one the space bars are at different angles. the space bar on the 87 is a bit sharper and digs into your thumbs unless you use the feet to tilt the keyboard, which i prefer not using. secondly, though both keyboards use topre switches, the 87 is made by leopold for topre whereas the 103 is made by topre in japan ... the build quality on the 103 seems better and the keycaps on the 103 seem a bit more rounded and smooth.

...all purely subjective, of course, but i just prefer the typing experience on the 103 to the 87.

The last time I remember this discussed, I believe the main points in favor of chiclet keyboards were:

- looks stylish

- very cheap to manufacture

Obviously the manufacturers wouldn't switch arbitrarily, but I wouldn't be surprised if those two reasons alone weren't enough to drive the switch.

They also use less space (depth -- imagine a MacBook air with an old-style keyboard), probably weigh less and are much easier to keep clean.

I prefer them for that last point alone. Non-chiclet keyboards get filthy and are a nightmare to fully clean.

you are really super fast! I just got 80 WPM with mechanical keyboard (The Cheat CMA)

If you are in India and TVS Gold mechanical keyboard is also a very good keyboard. I have been using mine for past 6 years without a problem and I tend to bang on keys a bit harder than normal.

It's also cheap - Rs. 1500 ($30)

http://www.theitbazaar.com/store/components/com_virtuemart/s...

I just got 114wpm random on a ThinkPad T400 using a qwerty layout (note that all the keys I mention below assume a qwerty layout). I couldn't find a non-random option on that site. I prefer the feel of the MacBook-style keyboards, and I think I'm more accurate on them, but I don't have one in front of me right now to test my speed. I might be faster on a ThinkPad.

For me, one of the biggest factors in choosing a keyboard is if it has a right control key directly under the forward slash. I use the key to the left of the A (Caps Lock on my ThinkPad) as my left control key when a key chord involves a letter on the right hand side of the keyboard (e.g. C-u in qwerty), but I still use my right control key in chords whose letter is on the left side of the keyboard (e.g. C-a). I've considered trying to get used to using the left control key all the time to preserve my right pinky and to faciliate the adoption of new keyboards (e.g. MacBook), but I'm not there yet.

non random was done on gtypist.

I only recently figured out that my inability to easily use Vim was related to the fact that I'm not a touch-typist (not a hunt-and-pecker either). Good thing I'm just a hobbyist, wannabe programmer.

When I got my T61 after three plus years of using netbooks, my fingers were very happy to use that keyboard. After I got the ultranav set up, disabling the damn trackpad, I was a very happy camper, indeed. Years had passed since I'd retired my 770ED, and I'd forgotten just how good it was.

Sorry, I have to disagree about chiclet keyboards and I consider myself a keyboard Connoisseur and a touch typist. I own a couple of vintage IBM Model M keyboards, a Northgate, a Filco ... I've grown fond of the Apple Keyboards and my better halves and those who work around me thank me for it. Vim + Apple keyboard is coding heaven.

I do agree the ThinkPad keyboards were the best in its class.

Are all modern Apple keyboards pretty much the same? I've been considering the Apple wireless keyboard for my iPad, but I wasn't sure if it would offer a superior experience to the Microsoft wireless keyboard that I already have.

I love my my 2007 MacBook Pro with fingertip-complementary shaped keys. Typng on a chiclet hurts. Sadly battery number two is end of life and it seems silly to buy another one. It is nice at home though.

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