Help me find the Obi-Wan of keyboards

June 22, 2006 1:45 PM

No, really, what's the best PC keyboard out there?

In my mind's eye, I'm picturing something like the old-school IBM Selectric crossed with the no-longer-in-production Microsoft Office keyboard. Buckling spring keys + extra programmable keys + l33t placement of cut/copy/paste buttons = fast-typing goodness.

And before someone says, "Hasn't this been asked and answered before," it's been a while, there might be something newer available.

posted by frogan to computers & internet (15 comments total)

No answer; I'm just going to tag along with your question, and add my dream keyboard features:
1) Not dorked up with dozens of "internet" buttons that hook you up to "email", "word", "web", etc.
2) Acts as a USB 2.0 hub with at least two ports.
posted by IvyMike at 2:29 PM on June 22, 2006

Ironically, I was asked this already today, and so this page was already in my history!

It really doesn't have anything like copy/cut/paste buttons (obviously, since it's from a time when there was no GUI to speak of), but this is really one of the greatest keyboards ever, especially for a fast typist.
posted by hoborg at 2:38 PM on June 22, 2006

Das Keyboard.
posted by bingo at 2:39 PM on June 22, 2006

Keyboard porn.
posted by Brian James at 2:58 PM on June 22, 2006

Yeah, the Model M is a fucking monster, and a pure joy to type on. No programmable keys, though...
posted by mr_roboto at 3:25 PM on June 22, 2006

happy hacking keyboard. If you get the professional with the buckling keys, you can even get it in blank black like the Das Keyboard.

Truly this is the keyboard of keyboards
posted by leotrotsky at 3:40 PM on June 22, 2006

i give you the Optimus

Though, personally, i prefer the old IBM beasts.
posted by quin at 4:01 PM on June 22, 2006

This is my personal favorite Fast action like a laptop. Cheap.
posted by eurasian at 4:09 PM on June 22, 2006

If you really want a blank keyboard don't waste $100. Just get a $10 one and paint it.

Right now I use a $5 keyboard with a row of extra buttons which I thought were ridiculous until I bound them to launch the applications I use most.

Even the much maligned play/pause, stop, next, previous buttons are pretty great when you can get them to actually work right.

But of course, as the slashdotters say, YMMV.
posted by joegester at 4:12 PM on June 22, 2006

The best keyboard, of course, is a proper IBM Model M. Since those are a bit hard to come by, just buy a Unicomp Customizer 104. The magic words to look for are "buckling spring". If the keyboard in question lacks that, it will inevitably suck.
posted by majick at 4:24 PM on June 22, 2006

Sun Type 7 Unix key config. Most of the goodness of the Type 5, but now with USB. The IBM Model M is good for a few months, but eventually it drives me crazy.
posted by joelr at 4:56 PM on June 22, 2006

dude.... my Dad brought me back an ancient IBM keyboard from the deserts of Chad (Africa). Holy wowers. It was AMAZING!! Every time my fingers graced it's units everything felt right and just in the Universe.

When it died, I left it hanging out the side of my 2nd story dorm window for a few days as a memorial.
posted by trinarian at 6:27 PM on June 22, 2006

By some stroke of luck I got this for 5 bucks from a surplus store. There is nothing better than being able to keep your arms parallel and a foot apart while you type. Also, it gives me table space in the middle for plates and things:)
posted by pantsrobot at 7:29 PM on June 22, 2006

I have been using a Key Tronic Lifetime series keyboard for almost five years now, and I'll never go back.

As a former sysadmin, I am uninterested in flashy features or cool lights. I want a keyboard that I can send to hell and back, and the Lifetime series has done the job.

I am an unusually heavy typist (my neighbors at work have asked me to tone it down on more than one occasion), but throughout my ownership of this keyboard, it has never malfunctioned in any way. I have spilled various beverages on it too many times to count, and it keeps on truckin'.

Here is their badly designed page. Click the link on the left marked 'Product Matrix USA' and look for the keyboard with the model number 'LT DESIGNER.' It is more expensive than a normal keyboard but it is well worth the price.

It even looks nice. Enjoy.
posted by rachelpapers at 7:41 PM on June 22, 2006

I just ordered one of those Daskeyboard things. Thinkgeek is having a clearance sale.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 5:37 PM on June 26, 2006