What’s next?

“Linus gets a new chair”?

“Torvalds shuns his standup desk”?

“Penguin emperor prefers green tea on Tuesday “?

Given Cherry keyboards feature, I'd say the article is the very definition of clickbait ;)

I'll see myself out

...page 3 girl ?

Didn't Sun get bought by Oracle?

It would be nice to know what kind/model.

I've been shopping for a decent mechanical keyboard since my Model M gave up the ghost, and the mechanical keyboard I bought is no longer made. Cherry switches do seem to be more mechanically robust than the Model M buckling spring keys.

The mechanical keyboard market is all boutique/trendy/couture/phat/art-fag with tiny little production runs, so when you find a keyboard you like, you can't buy another one, plus the standard (AKA "100%") layout is considered "eww, that's like, too big, mm-kay?" so a lot of places just don't make them, and yes, I need function keys, cursor keys, and a numeric pad. (edit: actually TBH I just need the layout I've gotten used to since 1983)

I do wish someone would put together a decision tree map for keyboard buyers. Because there really are too many variations to consider and right now everyone is selling for Gaming!1!! Everytime I dip into the ads and articles about keyboards I'm appalled at seeing yet another new frabjets feature, like magnetic actuation. I just want to type, not slash and zoom.

I agree that there are a lot of blinged up keyboards and an awful lot of smaller formats. But there are several manufacturers who churn out dull but reliable keyboards year in and year out. I can't comment about several of them as I've not got one of their keyboards but I've considered them. I can say that the Filco Majestouch is pretty good. I've a TKL MK2 and a full-size MK3.

If you don't need a numpad the TKL layout is great as your mouse is quite a bit closer (assuming you're right handed). I got the TKL when my desk was cramped and the full-size later when I had more space.

For those that do need a numeric keypad (myself included), just use a RollerMouse Pro. Sits in front of the keyboard. Just takes a while to get used to using a rolling tube instead of a regular mouse.

Mines the Filco with Brown Cherry switches. Blue is too hardcore for me and red is for softies :)

Bought a Unicomp keyboard years ago for around £100 and it's still going. Looks like the price has gone up: https://www.keyboardco.com/category.asp?sr=unicomp

@Gene Cash - With reference to the above post by @gv, see below for background on the Unicomp keyboards...

[1]https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/category/UKBD

"The buckling spring “Model M” keyboard, invented by IBM in the 80’s; popularized by Lexmark in the early 90’s; and manufactured by Unicomp for the past 25 years is regaining its status as one of the best keyboards in the market."

[1] https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/category/UKBD

The current Unicomp Model M is slightly smaller (a smaller bezel), and slightly lighter than the original IBM models, but IMHO they're still better than much of the rest of what's on the market. They still use the same buckling spring mechanism.

This change is mostly good, because they've re-tooled the plastic moulds, which mean that the new ones are cleaner and better formed than the ones they've made until recently, which used the same tooling from last century. The only problem is the cost, which in the UK approaches the cost of a low-end PC!

They still do sell keyboards made with the original moulds, but I don't know how much longer they will do this.

My IBM Model M is not in daily use. I've had to go for TKL keyboards to fit two on my cramped desk (can't use a KVM, because one PC is heavily locked down), and I'm afraid to say I'm using modest priced TLK keyboards from Amazon with knock-off 'Blue' switches. They're OK, but I'm finding some of the keyswitches have become intermittent after about 3 years of moderate use. But it's not (that) difficult or expensive to replace the keys if you can solder, and they're so cheap (about 1/10th of the price of a new Model M) that if I have to replace the whole keyboard, it won't break the bank.

I had much the same set of requirements. Ended up on a Corsair K70 (not pro, not core etc) with Cherry brown keys. It's a standard keyboard size and shape as far as I'm concerned. It does do the RGB light up thing, so I have to put up with it looking like a primary school disco till I log in and they lights just get set to one static plain colour (you can turn them off too).

Far more money than I wanted to spend but I didn't realise just how much of my typing inaccuracy stemmed from a crappy keyboard till I swapped to it. I did find that I got on fine with a much cheaper Logitech membrane keyboard before this one, but I had two of them fail within weeks in exactly the same way (getting double taps on keys) and then discovered that it was a common fault.

Like you, I am using a mechanical keyboard for ergonomics, not aesthetics. I would recommend Keychron Q6 Max. It's in-stock, 100%, full aluminum body, dual gasket design. Bring your own switches and keycaps. I am a 75% enjoyer; no data entry, and the mouse is closer to me. I use the Q1 as one of my daily drivers, the other being a much more expensive Mode Designs Sonnet (with different, lighter switches for the especially long days). I have no complaints.

The keychron.com site has nearly any variation of keyboard features, and IMO their keyboards are pretty affordable. Seems something like the K10 Max has the features you're requesting...

Personally I'd go with hot-swappable switches because those allow for neat personalization tricks like making just some keys clicky, so one hears when they're inadvertently pressed (caps lock anyone?)

The keyboard is fluff and a bit of fun. This is ElReg, get used to it (or maybe it's not the publication for you, which is ok - there's so many things I don't read because I don't like the style).

The technical bit is about the upcoming kernel release which is coming along nicely. Valid criticism would be: what is new in that kernel version? Is there something that will be nicer to have?

"The keyboard is fluff and a bit of fun. This is ElReg, get used to it"

ElReg is a "Red Top"...

Wait till someone spots Linus tucking into a Penguin (chocolate biscuit) to see a headline along the lines of "Linus eats Penguin!"

[1]https://mcvities.com/en-gb/penguin-original

ref:

"Freddie Starr ate my hamster"

[2]https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/freddie-starr-ate-my-hamster-true-story-max-clifford-the-sun-explained-289955

[1] https://mcvities.com/en-gb/penguin-original

[2] https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/freddie-starr-ate-my-hamster-true-story-max-clifford-the-sun-explained-289955

If you want a mechanical keyboard for typing, I would recommend "Das Keyboard" products. Solid, heavy and very few extra buttons except sleep and a volume control knob and one or two others I've never used.

I had one ages ago and then wandered into the wasteland of gaming keyboards. I returned to the true path a while ago. The other real advantage is that it requires no software support so you can use it with almost any OS/software.

On my desktop computer I use (via an ADB-USB adaptor) the Apple Extended Keyboard, from the late 80s, that I bought whilst at university. It has Alps switches and, to my mind, has the best feel and sound of any keyboard that I’ve ever used. Oddly, I also quite like the feel of the keyboard on my M2 MacBook Air - although it’s very different in all respects.

My PC is currently equipped with a Microsoft keyboard, which isn’t great - but it’s not unusable - I think I type as quickly, I just don’t like the feel very much. But that’s okay, because I don’t use the PC very much either. And the prize for worst ever keyboard, surpassing even my dead flesh Spectrum for typing errors, goes to my Raspberry Pi 400. Which is a pity, because I really, really like the computer itself - come on guys, chuck a couple more quid at the keyboard!

Surely, you just stick the Pi to the back of the monitor and plug a proper keyboard into the Pi?

I mean, yes, with a normal Pi I do - but I quite like the self-contained nature of the 400. It’s like the computers that I first used in the early 1980s, albeit that only my ZX81 had a worse keyboard.

One of the better keyboards I've ever used was rather surprisingly a basic Lenovo branded membrane keyboard that now lives on my bench at work. It felt nice and solid with chunky raised keys, and types very well. We usually use Logitech stuff which tends to also be decent, but the wireless ones can go flaky and lag badly on my system for some reason.

At home is a Mad Catz Strike 4 with Cherry Red switches - was a bargain on Amazon for about £30. Not really my style but it does the job nicely and is a good typer for its price.

Worst? Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600. The slightly older ones were made of unpleasant oily feeling shiny plastic. The newer ones have a rougher texture on the keys yet still manage to feel unpleasant.

Regardless they are like typing on a damp kitchen sponge and make even the crappiest keyboards I came across in the 1990s seem good. My workplace bought tons of them as they were cheap.

Suffice it to say there's now a fairly sizeable stack of the damn things lurking on a storage shelf downstairs because most people can't stand them!

I have been following the above mentioned course using my Apple Mac keyboard. Not very proficient yet, maybe I'll try a Cherry. The actual problem is that the characters for writing programs are not in the course, and it looks as if they almost all have to be typed with the right little finger. ( ) - = + { } ' " \ / ; ? but % is on the left forefinger.

*Other books are available, but that was the only one in stock.

Still on my first IBM SK-8809, two were bought (off the bay) circa 2005.

Nice medium clicky/clacky feel/noise.

Compact without being cramped, number pad, some direct access buttons in tasteful colours, volume control rocker, play/pause/fwd/back buttans. What's not to like

No, i'm not letting the other one go...

Meanwhile, I'm happy with very own silent keyboard:

https://slions.net/resources/interface.14/