How to find your perfect keyboard? | Hacker News Reader

How to find your perfect keyboard?

4 pointsgumybit7 comments

You naturally love the keyboard when you spend a lot of time programming and doing business chats.

There are so many different brands out there these days that I feel like it's hard to find a keyboard with the right specs and look that I'll fit or like.

How does everyone else find one?

I'm going to make one like this (https://backslush.com/) for now and add more brands like Lofree and other cool brands in the future, but if you have any opinions, please feel free to share them with me.

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You need to consider

* How much time you are willing to invest in learning something "different/cusotm".

* How much time are you interested to spend setting up your custom layout.

* How much do you care about muscle memory with other keyboards you're likely to come across.

For example, why not use something like https://svalboard.com (seealso https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DataHand)

Or, do you prefer regular keys - split/ortholinear ... etc. (ergodox, dactyl... etc).

Try as many as you can. Get to Akehabera and hammer the living bejesus out of keyboards patched into your laptop, and find out what its REALLY like.

I got a mech KB for $100 off somebody for the thrillz and it sits in the box because I forgot how much you have to commit.

I truly don't think recommendations cut it. There is only Bosendorfer and Steinway, but in keyboards there is a damn sight more than the 4 flavours of cherry. It's a very contested, contestable space.

I also distrust my memory "oh that IBM M model was a joy" yeaaa... that was like 30 years ago dude, what if it's the rosey glow of your brain-fade? I put it to you, consider that you are wrong. that said, earlier thinkpads were great and then not so great. the red-tit mouse remains highly contentious (the mech I got has one. thats why I bought it)

I don't understand. Did you made "Backslush" or are you going to make a clone?

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Hi from Argentina! One of our problems is that keyboards have a "Ñ" (and sometimes "Ç") so they remove the "<" and ">" keys. Now I have to use "Fn" to type "<" and ">" and in an old computer I had to install a custom keyboard driver to type "<" and ">". So if you ever expand internationally, remember to add info about weird key changes.

Thanks for a comment.

>Did you made "Backslush" Yes, I made it.

Argentina, nice! Actually, I'm Japanese, so I had similar problems when I used to use Japanese layouts. Thanks for the advice!

Another complain from the local keyboards: Unaligned "[" and "]".

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Back to your site. In the search section I suggest:

* add an option for back light, it's a nice perk for working at night.

* add Dvorak layout, it's a guaranty flamewar here :)

* add a link with info about "keycap profile". I had no idea about it. I found this in Google, but there must be better sources https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/l10flb...

* what does 60% Layout mean? 60% of the standard number of keys? It's like 65 keys?

Here's what I look for:

- cheap (I prefer the feel of cheap plastic keyboards to anything fancy)

- dongle (Bluetooth frustrates me).

- number pad

- dedicated media keys

- no function next to ctrl on the left

So long as it has CTL and ALT on both sides of the space bar (and all the keys work), it is good enough. For me, keyboards are not worth optimizing because other things are more important. Good luck.

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