benos Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 If I have to reach for the mouse I feel defeated. (Of course I have to click around the forum with one.) But if possible, I use the keyboard to open files and folders that I'm in daily, launch apps, and do multiple functions within multiple apps w/o ever touching the mouse. It's a bit sad that Mac has never made a "power user keyboard," so I've always used other brand keyboards. My current keyboard scrolls and has Forward and Back buttons, about 12 programmable buttons that launch stuff, and all 12 F Keys also launch stuff. My favorite (it's painful to say) Microsoft keyboard that I've been pounding on for 3 or 4 years now - some of the keys are getting too sticky to be tolerable. So whoever can relate - what's your favorite keyboard? Thanks! be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-JQ- Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Das Keyboard http://store.daskeyboard.net/das2usbult.html For Power users only... from site: Das Keyboard, 104 key-layout, is the blank keyboard. 100% blank, no inscriptions on the keys. It sports German-engineered, mechanical, gold-plated, key switches that provide great tactile and audio feedback. Includes high-speed USB 2.0 hub; n-key rollover function; and a 6.6 ft cable. Das Keyboard is compatible with Windows, Linux, or Mac OSX. I think you can assign specific weights to areas of the keyboard for more tactile feedback. You asked for the best... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm52 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I currently use the MS Natural® Ergonomic 4000. Back in the mainframe days we were relegated to IBM keyboards that were built like a german tiger. Wish I had a dozen of them as the gamers lust for them now. Learned DOS commands before mousing was invented. Since I volunteered on part time basis 3 years ago to edit and publish 2 magazines for my non-profit (Masons) and use Adobe® In-Design & the old PageMaker software, I am pretty much keyboard oriented until it comes time to CnP graphics. I didn't take long to get comfortable with the 'ergo' shape and placement of the keys and I don't have any wrist issues after a 5 or 6 hour session. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Brian I still have your Microsoft "Office" keyboard if you want it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Hayden Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I gave up on trying to get custom years ago. Going to so many different computers there's no luxury of having things customized. I just use whatever crappy keyboard comes with the systems.. anything else seems foreign now, probably why I hate laptops so much too. If I do come across a keyboard that is too mushy.. I toss it, and grab another off the stack.. as long as the keys give the right bounce... I'm happy. And mice.. servers seem to be notorious to having mice that for one reason or another (kvm switch failures, or someone pulling a cord and not noticing) The keyboard that hk mentions above seems really cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tuley Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Kinesis Contour Advantage. (http://kinesis-ergo.com/advantage.htm) It might look bizarre, but it's my favorite board to type on. It doesn't have media/app buttons or scroll wheels, etc. If that's a dealbraker, ok. But it does have programmable macros, which might be suitable to make up for that lack. These boards really are fantastic. The keys are light and crisp, and they actually make use of your thumbs (the strongest finger on your hand, by the way). Best thing ever if you're feeling some RSI setting it. Also, if you don't like moving your hand much, you'll find that your hand is a lot closer to the mouse due to the lack of keypad (which is duplicated under the right hand and accessed via a key or footswitch). Anyway, the Kinesis is a great board, even if it does look weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Neill Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Some years back the Northgate keyboards were highly thought of. It was, I guess, good enough to stay alive. Check at Avant Prime I think it's available for both Macs and PCs. Guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 It doesn't have many features but for feel the old Apple Pro keyboards are the shiznit. Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) now allows full programmability of the keyboard shortcuts in Sys Prefs. This may be all you need along with a standard keyboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slabbie Shooter Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 (edited) I drive a Microsoft Reclusa. it's actually a gaming keyboard but it's great for everything. The action is sweet, the board is backlit and lots of function buttons. Also two USB outputs and a nifty volume dial. Edited February 26, 2009 by Slabbie Shooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul B Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Best I have ever used and I type a lot including long reports, articles and books. http://www.deckkeyboards.com/ Expensive, but worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anubis Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 I use a Logitech MX3000 thats got tons of extra features, they're awesome keyboards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 Brian I still have your Microsoft "Office" keyboard if you want it back. Thanks - but I like my current keyboard even better. The keys are just getting a bit sticky. Thanks for all the great fun suggestions everyone! I wasn't expecting such diversity. The suggestions made me realize I'm looking for a keyboard with a bit of everything. The gaming keyboards look cool - it looks they have a lot of keys that might be able to be programmend to open apps/files/folders. But for web/forum surfing, I'd really miss the scroll wheel and the Forward/Back buttons on the left edge of the keyboard. (Even though my mouse has a scroll wheel. I have each scroll wheel to scroll at different speeds for different apps. Then I can really zip around or get precise, depending on where I am.) This is what I have now: http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseand...temRequirements Maybe I'll just get a another one. Then I wouldn't even have to re-program a different model. And I wouldn't have to re-learn a new hot key placement. Yea, I like that idea. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I've used a mouse for so many years, that I'm just used to it. Sometimes miss my old OmniKey, but I eliminated the need for programmable keys with a keyboard macro program. For novel keyboards, you might want to look at the Logitech G19 for Gaming or the diNovo Edge for Mac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshF Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 (edited) I use a Logitech G15 at home... REALLY wish I had one at work. It's a gaming keyboard so the keys have a great feel to them plus they are built to take a pounding. The Back lit keys are probably my favorite feature though. Makes looking for stuff in low light so much nicer plus the letters can't wear off. Has Macro programmable keys on the left and an LCD display that shows CPU/Memory usage by default and a ton of other vendors make interaction stuff for it. Definitely check one out it's worth it and the wow factor is kinda cool too Edited February 27, 2009 by JoshF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgnoyes Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Give me simplicity. I don't use all the hotkeys and knobs and whatnot, and don't want to have to install drivers for a keyboard. Just give me whatever comes with my Dell. If I buy an external keyboard for a laptop, then I get this one. Simple, low profile, minimum desk space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshF Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I don't use all the hotkeys and knobs and whatnot, and don't want to have to install drivers for a keyboard. Well that doesn't sound very poweruserish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgnoyes Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 I don't use all the hotkeys and knobs and whatnot, and don't want to have to install drivers for a keyboard. Well that doesn't sound very poweruserish He said, not knowing I use it to access across my network a 3.066ghz Xeon Poweredge 1600SC server with 6 widescsi hot-swap drives, running VMWare ESXi, hosting underneath that 4 guest machines which are OpenSUSE 11.1, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7 Beta 1, and OpenSolaris. Physical partitioning? BAH! Virtualization: accept no substitutes! (Poweruserish enough? ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshF Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 (edited) I don't use all the hotkeys and knobs and whatnot, and don't want to have to install drivers for a keyboard. Well that doesn't sound very poweruserish He said, not knowing I use it to access across my network a 3.066ghz Xeon Poweredge 1600SC server with 6 widescsi hot-swap drives, running VMWare ESXi, hosting underneath that 4 guest machines which are OpenSUSE 11.1, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7 Beta 1, and OpenSolaris. Physical partitioning? BAH! Virtualization: accept no substitutes! (Poweruserish enough? ) Edited February 28, 2009 by JoshF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-JQ- Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 I don't use all the hotkeys and knobs and whatnot, and don't want to have to install drivers for a keyboard. Well that doesn't sound very poweruserish He said, not knowing I use it to access across my network a 3.066ghz Xeon Poweredge 1600SC server with 6 widescsi hot-swap drives, running VMWare ESXi, hosting underneath that 4 guest machines which are OpenSUSE 11.1, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7 Beta 1, and OpenSolaris. Physical partitioning? BAH! Virtualization: accept no substitutes! (Poweruserish enough? ) He said not knowing I maintain over 200 virtual production servers across 4 ESX clusters and 50 physical machines spread accross 3 continents along with a 300 server virtual ESX lab environment on a daily basis... trust me.. I win 110010010010011001110001010100010111000110100010001010101001001100010100101000111000010101 0101001010010101100101 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgnoyes Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 He said not knowing I maintain over 200 virtual production servers across 4 ESX clusters and 50 physical machines spread across 3 continents along with a 300 server virtual ESX lab environment on a daily basis... trust me.. I win Yes, you do. Do you have one of them in your house? You probably do! (Strange story here: a fellow with whom I scored the 2008 GA State Ch was approached by his manager at work and asked if he wanted any of the hardware that they had depreciated and retired. He said sure, and they gave him the above-named 1600SC with 9 widescsi drives and carriages, and a more-current Dell blade server. He didn't need them both, so he passed the 1600 on to me!) Just something to play with, and as I said, VM makes partitioning a thing of the past! You make a living at it; good! I was a MVS systems programmer doing large mainframes until 2003. Now I'm doing other stuff. And I still like a simple keyboard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 My gf types more than I do. On the desktop machine...we have to run two keyboards to keep us both happy. She likes the key feel of the pos thing that Bill is talking about. I have Brian's old MS keyboard with the scroll wheel and the fwd/bk buttons and such...which makes getting around on the web a breeze. Brian...just clean the thing you got now !!! Sounds like you like it. The one you sent me 3-4 years ago....looked like you had used it after changing your oil and then rolling it around in the desert for a few weeks. I just cleaned it up. Hit google if you want to clean it. you can go from popping the keys off to throwing it in the dishwasher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markcic Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 For the ultra cool price is no object KB check out the Optimus Maximus Keyboard Personally, I like the new mac KB. It works well on my PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I waiting to hear Brian cuss me because he ran his through the dishwasher. Top rack only !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjohns930 Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Das Keyboardhttp://store.daskeyboard.net/das2usbult.html For Power users only... from site: Das Keyboard, 104 key-layout, is the blank keyboard. 100% blank, no inscriptions on the keys. It sports German-engineered, mechanical, gold-plated, key switches that provide great tactile and audio feedback. Includes high-speed USB 2.0 hub; n-key rollover function; and a 6.6 ft cable. Das Keyboard is compatible with Windows, Linux, or Mac OSX. I think you can assign specific weights to areas of the keyboard for more tactile feedback. You asked for the best... Simply put the best keyboard ever made. The keys feel and sound awesome. They also are now making one that has key labels on it if you don't know which ones are which. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted March 14, 2009 Author Share Posted March 14, 2009 I got a new version of my exact same (now old) keyboard. I didn't even think of looking for one when I started this thread, because usually by the time I wear out a keyboard, that model is no longer available. The new keyboard is like butta. It's perfect. And especially because there was no learning curve that would have come from reprgramming a different keyboard with 20+ hot key launching buttons. I just plugged it and started rockin' with it. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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