MRO wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

i used to have a closet full of model m's.
i typed on them a long time before going for something modern.
downstairs neighbors would complain about my loud typing.

i wish i would have saved them. they are selling for hundreds on ebay.

I had a model M I took as a lovely parting gift from my first job, and
a space-saver model I bought on Ebay. Sold the space-saver, I still
have the Model M, 30-someodd years later. I'll haul it out every once
in a while when no one's home. :)



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Mortar wrote to All <=-

Membrane keyboards suuuuuck. I have to use those at work (cheap bastards); I hate'em.

I have a tech thrift shop near me - they have some awesome specials
every once in a while - I picked up an IBM-branded Thinkpad external
keyboard (it's the keyboard from a T4x series laptop with the
trackpoint and trackpad, in an enclosure with USB cable)

But, in the same bin, they'll have a yellowing old membrane keyboard.
I'll press a couple of keys and remember why I hated old Compaq
computers in the '90s.

What I do miss were the Dell QuietKey keyboards. Nice feel, they were
still cheap OEM keyboards (when cheap OEM keyboards were nice).

I'm using a Logitech MX keys keyboard - very little travel, but just
enough - and quiet. Feels like an old Thinkpad keyboard, which I liked.




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Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: Mortar to All on Wed Apr 15 2026 11:28 am

Membrane keyboards suuuuuck.

I've thought about buying a mechanical keyboard but haven't yet. I'm still using a membrane keyboard. I do like playing PC games, and I use my PC for software developmeng & typing other things as well (and I touch-type), and can't say I've had a problem with membrane keyboards. I'm currently using a Logitech K200 keyboard, which I like; it's a fairly standard keyboard with some extra helper keys (for things like controlling computer volume & launching certain applications such as the calculator, etc.).

That said, I've always heard good things about mechanical keyboards. I'm just not sure I feel like I can justify the extra expense right now. Also I'd like to find one that's quiet, as I don't really like loud keyboards.

Nightfox

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Hey Nightfox!

On Thu, Apr 16 2026 16:29:03 -0500, you wrote:

That said, I've always heard good things about mechanical
keyboards. I'm just not sure I feel like I can justify the extra
expense right now. Also I'd like to find one that's quiet, as I
don't really like loud keyboards.

... Spends 1k+ on a GPU, scoffs at a $200 keyboard. :D

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm, because beating people up is illegal.
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Re: Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: Accession to Nightfox on Thu Apr 16 2026 05:43 pm

... Spends 1k+ on a GPU, scoffs at a $200 keyboard. :D

I mean, if I don't see much value in it, then I won't really feel very motivated to spend the money for it.. ;) The GPU, however, is something I see the value and I do make use of it.

Nightfox

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Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: Nightfox to Mortar on Thu Apr 16 2026 02:29 pm

That said, I've always heard good things about mechanical keyboards. I'm just not sure I feel like I can justify the extra expense right now. Also I'd like to find one that's quiet, as I don't really like loud keyboards.

I use a RedDragon smaller size keyboard on my main machine. It is mechanical with the blue switches which are quieter than the red ones. Around $50 IIRC.

I use the black shark mechanicals on my work laptops which both red and blue switches. These are full size for around $40 to $50 ea.

At lease those are what I paid a couple of years ago on Amazon. Who knows what they cost now.

Don't know if I would ever pay $250 for a keyboard... probably not.

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Re: Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: Nightfox to Accession on Thu Apr 16 2026 06:55 pm

I mean, if I don't see much value in it, then I won't really feel very motivated to spend the money for it.. ;) The GPU, however, is something I see the value and I do make use of it.

I'm exactly opposite... I recently spent $200 on a video card and that is the most expensive one I have ever bought. In the past, I spent $50 on video cards. But then, I do not play games on the computer. It is mostly a tool for me.

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On 16 Apr 2026, Nightfox said the following...

Re: Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: Accession to Nightfox on Thu Apr 16 2026 05:43 pm

... Spends 1k+ on a GPU, scoffs at a $200 keyboard. :D

I mean, if I don't see much value in it, then I won't really feel very motivated to spend the money for it.. ;) The GPU, however, is
something I see the value and I do make use of it.

you can get a decent starter mechanical keyboard from redragon on amazon for like $35-55 (or cheaper on ebay if you're cool with that).. make sure it has swappable keys (they usually show it in the sample photos) .. red or brown switches are probably wise

a year later if you don't like it as-is, a set of akko switches can be had for around $22-25.. pick something in the direction you'd like (more physical clicky you can feel/hear, or how they actuate.. whatever)

at that point you're either out less than a dollar a day for two years, but probably still wouldn't go back to a spongy keyboard..

or you'll have long since sold that stuff and purchased your $$$ keyboard ;)

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Re: Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: Bf2k+ to Nightfox on Fri Apr 17 2026 05:08 am

I mean, if I don't see much value in it, then I won't really feel very
motivated to spend the money for it.. ;) The GPU, however, is something I
see the value and I do make use of it.

I'm exactly opposite... I recently spent $200 on a video card and that is the most expensive one I have ever bought. In the past, I spent $50 on video cards. But then, I do not play games on the computer. It is mostly a tool for me.

A video card isn't just for games - they can be used for general computing. Sometimes I do work on it that involves a lot of number crunching, which GPUs excel at - Things like photo editing and video editing, for instance. And there are distributed computing projects that I've had my PC work on, for benefitting medical & scientific projects - World Community Grid is probably one of the ones I've had it spend the most time on:

https://www.worldcommunitygrid.org

Nightfox

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Re: Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Winzlo on Wed Apr 15 2026 06:51 am

I thought browns were the quiet switches? I'd love a mechanical
keyboard but my home office is open to our living room. Right now, I'm
using a Logitech MX keyboard, which has laptop-type keys, but is
surprisingly tactile.

I think you may have hit on something. Keyboards at their various price points use differing build materials and switch manufacturers. I am very suprised at how quiet these are, but I am a very light typer and laptop keyboards are what I'm used to as well (well, Apple keyboards, which utilize the same concepts). I'm definitly sold on the reds/linear switches. Who knows if brand X reds are supposed to be the same as brand Y reds, that would be interesting to discover.

I also find that the key caps fit my finger tips extremely well, so that can make a big difference too. Personal taste is, well, personal. :) Just thought I'd share my experience, having come from Apple "flat" keyboards to a cheap $99 Azio Cascade to this - it's like re-discovering how to type for me. May not be as profound for others, though.

This is also not the most expensive keyboard you can buy either. But, if you want a taste of that kind of qualify without paying 2x the price, this is one heck of a good value.

-Winzlo

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I had a model M I took as a lovely parting gift from my first job, and

> a space-saver model I bought on Ebay. Sold the space-saver, I still
> have the Model M, 30-someodd years later. I'll haul it out every once
> in a while when no one's home. :)

I still use a keyboard that came with one of the first computers
I owned, built in 1991. I've used this keyboard for several hours
every day since then with no failures, although I had to change
the connectors on it twice to match newer computers.

They say it is has mechanical keys, and it's not silent, but it's
not as clicky as IBM keyboards either.

Oh.. and the games I play, I use the setup using the keyboard
rather than other devices so it gets a pretty good workout
well beyond just typing messages..

Somewhere I have a gaming keyboard good for many millions of
keystrokes per key which I got to replace this thing when it
finally fails.. but I'm starting to think it may outlive me.. B)

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Accession wrote to Nightfox <=-

... Spends 1k+ on a GPU, scoffs at a $200 keyboard. :D

I realized for most people, they cared more about the peripherals - I
started stocking nicer wireless keyboard and mice at work and spent
more on monitors than I'd care to - they made more of an effect than
the system for most users.

Until now. My finance team, led by the CFO (aka my boss) have requested
monster laptops with discrete graphics, i9 CPUs and large storage -
Excel can be a beast when they use it. I have one budget spreadsheet
for my department that I need to scroll 3 screens' worth to get to the
end - and that's just my department!



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Nightfox wrote to Accession <=-

I mean, if I don't see much value in it, then I won't really feel very motivated to spend the money for it.. ;) The GPU, however, is
something I see the value and I do make use of it.

The sad thing is that the only reason I need a halfway decent GPU is
for one game - War Thunder. I pickd up a Nvidia RTX 3050 a while ago,
that replaced a GT1030. Other than that, I could use built-in
graphics just fine.



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Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: Nightfox to Mortar on Thu Apr 16 2026 02:29 pm

That said, I've always heard good things about mechanical keyboards. I'm just not sure I feel like I can justify the extra expense right now. Also I'd like to find one that's quiet, as I don't really like loud keyboards.

I don't consider myself a keyboard savant or anything, but you can tell there is definitively a difference when you use a mechanical keyboard instead of a membrane one.

I just don't think it is justified to pay and arm and a leg for one though.



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Re: Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: Accession to Nightfox on Thu Apr 16 2026 05:43 pm

... Spends 1k+ on a GPU, scoffs at a $200 keyboard. :D

TBH I scoff at any non-production *computer* worth more than 1k. Keyboard included in the price.


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Re: Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: Bf2k+ to Nightfox on Fri Apr 17 2026 05:08 am

I'm exactly opposite... I recently spent $200 on a video card and that is the most expensive one I have ever bought. In the past, I spent $50 on video cards. But then, I do not play games on the computer. It is mostly a tool for me.

The fun part is you don't need an expensive computer system to play games. You need an expensive computer system to play modern games with every bell and whistle enabled.

There is people whose primary hobby is modern games specifically and those need to spend a whole lot of money, but I think you can emulate the first 5 or 6 generations of consoles on a second hand computer from the Windows 7 era. You can certainly play many post 2020 games with computer systems worth 500 bucks. I think it was Steam who published the statistics and 50% of their userbase is using old-ish systems.


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Re: Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: Arelor to Accession on Mon Apr 20 2026 03:54 pm

TBH I scoff at any non-production *computer* worth more than 1k. Keyboard included in the price.

What do you mean by non-production? As in a pre-release test model?

Nightfox

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Re: Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: Nightfox to Arelor on Mon Apr 20 2026 02:51 pm

By: Arelor to Accession on Mon Apr 20 2026 03:54 pm

TBH I scoff at any non-production *computer* worth more than 1k. Keyboard included in the price.

What do you mean by non-production? As in a pre-release test model?

I mean computers that are not used for production, i.e. computers you are not using for any sort of productive work.

With the price many computer components have, if you decide to buy a computer for the same price you could spend on a horse and 5 years of horse food, it'd better be a expense you can justify, or you'd better be so rich you have no need to check the price of the computer at the store to begin with. Otherwise I think it is an absolute waste of money because you can have a very satisfactory gaming life for a fraction of the price.


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Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: Nightfox to Mortar on Thu Apr 16 2026 02:29 pm

That said, I've always heard good things about mechanical keyboards. I'm ju not sure I feel like I can justify the extra expense right now. Also I'd li to find one that's quiet, as I don't really like loud keyboards.

I'm thinking the days of the cheap clones for $20 (or less) are long gone, but I still see some come down to around $35 every once in a while. I would highly recommend picking one up at that price. Personally, I like the smooth red switches, but even a clicky blue switch one is more pleasant than a membrane keyb.

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Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: phigan to Nightfox on Mon May 04 2026 10:01 am

That said, I've always heard good things about mechanical keyboards. I'm
ju not sure I feel like I can justify the extra expense right now. Also
I'd li to find one that's quiet, as I don't really like loud keyboards.

I'm thinking the days of the cheap clones for $20 (or less) are long gone, but I still see some come down to around $35 every once in a while.

Clones of what? The classic IBM mechanical keyboard?

Nightfox

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Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: Nightfox to phigan on Mon May 04 2026 11:13 am

Clones of what? The classic IBM mechanical keyboard?

Name brand or "established company" mechanical keyboards.

Atm, I'm using a Lorrik from Walmart ;).

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phigan wrote to Nightfox <=-

Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: Nightfox to Mortar on Thu Apr 16 2026 02:29 pm

That said, I've always heard good things about mechanical keyboards. I'm ju not sure I feel like I can justify the extra expense right now. Also I'd li to find one that's quiet, as I don't really like loud keyboards.

I'm thinking the days of the cheap clones for $20 (or less) are long
gone, but I still see some come down to around $35 every once in a
while. I would highly recommend picking one up at that price.
Personally, I like the smooth red switches, but even a clicky blue
switch one is more pleasant than a membrane keyb.

I played with a colleague's keyboard at work - the fact he had it in an
open office was a good sign. He mentioned that he bought brown
switches, which I'd heard were much quieter than the other switches.
Can Confirm - it was unintrusive in an open office.

The one thing holding me back, besides cost, is needing to connect two
devices to one keyboard. I use one Logitech keyboard and mouse in my home
office, and connect my monitor to my work laptop and home desktop. each
system has a logitech unifying receiver. To switch, I switch the
monitor, keyboard and mouse between the systems.

The logitech MX Master keyboard isn't mechanical, but it's quiet and
has nice feedback for a laptop-like keyboard. It feels more like an old
Thinkpad keyboard.

Some of the cheap keyboards can do Bluetooth and use a
single-PC dongle, which would work. And Logitech makes a mechanical
keyboard. Considering that Logitech has discontinued the unifying
receiver and now uses an incompatible receiver technlology (apparently,
a new protocol encrypting the data between the keyboard and dongle was
a DOD requirement) which means when I replace something I'd either need
to have 2 dongles in each system or buy a keyboard, desk mouse and
travel mouse. :(



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Re: Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: poindexter FORTRAN to phigan on Tue May 05 2026 12:25 pm

Some of the cheap keyboards can do Bluetooth and use a
single-PC dongle, which would work. And Logitech makes a mechanical

My setup is similar, switching between multiple computers with the same keyboard and mouse. My cheapie does USB, bluetooth pairing with three
different devices, and has its own 2.4ghz dongle. On top of that, I have a 2port KVM switch (just make sure if HDMI it does that thing where it leaves
the HDMI on when youbswitch away.. that was like 30 usd). So, multiple ways of accomplishing switching between computers.

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Re: Re: Hardware keyboard upgrades
By: poindexter FORTRAN to phigan on Tue May 05 2026 12:25 pm

Some of the cheap keyboards can do Bluetooth and use a single-PC dongle, which would work. And Logitech makes a mechanical keyboard. Considering that Logitech has discontinued the unifying receiver and now uses an incompatible receiver technlology (apparently, a new protocol encrypting the data between the keyboard and dongle was a DOD requirement) which means when I replace something I'd either need to have 2 dongles in each system or buy a keyboard, desk mouse and travel mouse. :(

I still prefer a wired keyboard & mouse, at least when I'm using a desktop PC. If the keyboard & mouse will always be near the computer, I don't really see the advantage of having them be wireless - The disadvantage is having to change their batteries or recharge them when they go dead, and you don't need to do that if they're wired. If I'm using a device/computer that I'm sitting far away from (like something connected to a TV), I'd use wireless peripherals though. Also, I've used a wireless mouse for a laptop at work when going to meetings because a wireless mouse was easier to pick up & take with me.

Nightfox

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