Silent Keyboard Recommendations

April 10, 2006 10:24 AM

Recommendations for a silent (or as close as possible) USB computer keyboard? It will be plugged into an IBM ThinkPad T42.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow to computers & internet (8 comments total)

i think the quietest would probably be the roll up usb keyboard, or the Laser Keyboard, though in both cases you are going to trade off a tactile feel for quietness
posted by quin at 10:35 AM on April 10, 2006

Computing-platform-blasphemy aside, I've found my Apple USB keyboard to be VERY quiet, although it's getting a bit more noisy recently. (Still nowhere near close my Logitech wireless though.) You might also try the Logitech S510 wireless set. The keyboard is kind of a cross between a desktop and laptop feel, and I seem to recall it being very quiet when I tried it in a store.
posted by cebailey at 11:05 AM on April 10, 2006

Unless it has rubberized or latex keys, any keyboard is going to make SOME noise when your finger hits hard plastic. However, the roll-up latex keyboards arent so great when it comes to typing comfort, though.
I assume you're looking for something even quieter than the built-in ibm keyboard on your laptop. An external keyboard wouldnt get much quieter than that unless it was made of latex like the roll up keyboards.
posted by jak68 at 11:27 AM on April 10, 2006

Stay away from the latex rollup keyboards - they're total garbage. Mine was advertised as "virtually indestructible" (in fact, it was the brand linked above), and lasted a week.
posted by deadmessenger at 12:10 PM on April 10, 2006

As deadmessenger says, the "virtually indestructible" keyboards have been, in my experience, anything but. We had about 50 of them, and they were failing at a rate of one/two per day after a couple of weeks...
posted by saintsguy at 2:42 PM on April 10, 2006

Thanks everyone. I'm not concerned about long-term durability; I have a few meetings I need to be in the back of a room for and take notes, and I just want to be as unobtrusive as possible
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 2:49 PM on April 10, 2006

What's wrong with the T42 keyboard? They're pretty darn silent as is.
posted by furtive at 5:18 PM on April 10, 2006

Consider a tape recorder -- or a tablet pc with OneNote so you can write your notes in freehand silently on the tablet screen and transcribe them later (if you write neatly, OneNote can transcribe some of it for you).
OR - this is shocking, I know - how about a pen and paper? ;)
posted by jak68 at 9:56 AM on April 15, 2006