The best keyboards for typists are made by Matias<\/a> and Keychron<\/a>. Sure, that\u2019s my not-so-humble opinion, but I type enough each day that I know what does and doesn\u2019t last. I know what does and doesn\u2019t handle high-speed typing, too. If you want complete control of the keyboard feel and customization, buy any Keychron hot-swappable model. If you\u2019re a professional writer using an Apple computer, buy the Matias Tactile Pro.<\/p>\n I use a Matias Tactile Pro. It\u2019s the best Apple-specific keyboard I\u2019ve ever owned.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n People who don\u2019t write 36,000 words per week dismiss my claim that a keyboard is the most important computing hardware I buy as hyperbole. How can I possibly care more about a keyboard than one of the important tech religious wars?<\/p>\n Some of the reasons I care about keyboards likely arise from my age and experiences. I like typewriters, especially the electric typewriters I used in high school and college. I learned to type on a Brother typewriter, a gift from my aunt, and IBM Selectric models located in school classrooms.<\/p>\n Even electric typewriters required significant force on the key caps to actuate the keybars. There was a wonderful \u201csnap\u201d or \u201cclack\u201d when the keybars would strike the platen. Today, who remembers the names of the typewriter parts<\/a>? The IBM Selectric with swappable \u201ctype balls\u201d or \u201celements\u201d (sometimes called \u201cgolf balls\u201d) were mechanical marvels.<\/p>\n The famous IBM XT\/AT Model M keyboards defined typing for me.<\/strong> I retained a Lexmark Model M and kept using it until 2002, moving that keyboard from computer to computer. The long cord coiled, which kittens found fascinating. That Lexmark keyboard was heavy and notoriously loud. I\u2019ve been searching for a twin ever since.<\/p>\n My fingers are accustomed to locating \u201chome row\u201d by the raised bumps on the \u201cF\u201d and \u201cJ\u201d keys. I don\u2019t know when keyboards added those bumps, but I certainly appreciate them. I also rely on other features: the concave shape of key caps; the double-wide Return key; and the wider Control, Alt\/Option, and Command keys, on both the left and right-hand sides of the spacebar.\u00a0I want a ten-key for data entry, an inverted \u201cT\u201d cursor pad, and full-sized function keys across the top. I don\u2019t want a cramped keyboard.<\/p>\n Writing, or more accurately typing, for hours on end requires a good workspace with attention to ergonomics. Typing strains the back, shoulders, neck, arms, and hands. Poorly positioned screens lead to all sorts of neck pain. A keyboard that\u2019s too high or too low might contribute to carpal tunnel syndrome.<\/p>\n I have tremors and a palsy. They are minor, but they can interfere with typing. Using a mouse can become difficult, too. Instead of using the mediocre keyboard of my MacBook Pro, I\u2019d rather dictate my words. The MacBook Pro has the worst keyboard I\u2019ve used since the Atari 400 membrane keyboard. (More on the nightmare that was butterfly keys later.) If I am experiencing any uncontrollable movements in my arms or hands, I end up with two and three copies of some letters.<\/p>\n With a good mechanical keyboard, my minor tremors and shakes don\u2019t matter. You have to strike the keys firmly. That need for force prevents unwanted double-taps and other typing problems.<\/p>\n As a touch-typist, I rely on the tactile feel and audible clicks of a mechanical keyboard.<\/strong><\/p>\n A good keyboard has a click you can feel, a tactile \u201cbump\u201d you notice when the key passes the point at which strokes are sent to the computer. Why does this tactile feedback matter?<\/p>\n As a student and scholar, I often type quotes from papers, articles, and texts. I will have the text off to my left on the desk. I type as I read the words. I might type 500 words without checking my word processor window. I also transcribe, though software transcription is steadily improving. As with copying a text passage as I read along, I want to focus on the words I hear and type automatically. I don\u2019t look at the keyboard or the input window.<\/p>\n I use Descript for some podcast transcription, which works well. However, even with 95 to 98 percent accuracy, you have to fix some of the resulting transcript. Let me focus on editing, not locating keys or wondering if I struck them.<\/p>\n Use the Force<\/strong><\/p>\n Mechanical keys feature an\u00a0Activation Point<\/strong>, also known as the Operating Position. This refers to the point at which the key press becomes a signal recognized by the keyboard and then the computer. The mechanism\u2019s Actuation Force<\/strong> is the numeric measure of the force required at the moment of activation. There are \u201csoft\u201d and \u201chard\u201d keyboards.<\/p>\n Some mechanisms require little force, causing a typer like me all sorts of headaches. But, minimal force is often preferred by gamers looking for fast responses. The Actuation Force is measured in centinewtons<\/strong> (cN) or grams-force<\/strong> (gf). For keyboard buyers, just think of these as roughly equal because 1 cN is nearly equivalent to 1 gf (1 cN = 1.02 gf).<\/p>\n The Mechanisms<\/strong><\/p>\n Most physical keyboards are mechanical, even the horrible \u201cbubble dome\u201d and \u201cmembrane\u201d keyboards that I came to despise on early home and school computers. So, what do gamers and writers mean when they mention \u201cmechanical\u201d keyboards and Cherry switches? And how do Cherry and Alps switches differ from standard keyboards?<\/p>\n That 36,000 words I type weekly adds up to 1,872,000 words annually. If the average word is five letters, then I\u2019m typing more than 10 million keystrokes each year, including spaces and punctuation.<\/p>\n Cheap keyboards are rated for\u2026 10 million keystrokes, at best.<\/strong>\u00a0A good keyboard might be rated for 50 to 100 million keystrokes per switch. Yes, \u201ce\u201d and \u201cspace\u201d might die first, but only after a ridiculous amount of abuse. I\u2019ll gladly pay $75 to $150 for a keyboard that lasts five years or more. It\u2019s not uncommon for a quality mechanical keyboard to last ten years.\u00a0Even if cheap keyboards are \u201conly\u201d $30 each, I\u2019d spend $300 on keyboards in ten years.<\/p>\n Welcome to the (Dis)Pleasure Dome<\/strong><\/p>\n Plastic, membrane, and rubber dome keyboards dominate today\u2019s cheap keyboard designs. If you are old enough to remember Atari VCS controllers, you\u2019re familiar with dome switches. The domes, no matter what they are made of, eventually collapse and fail to bounce or pop back into position for another click.<\/p>\n Dome switches range from horrible to okay, but never great. Deskthority has an overview<\/a> complete with close-up photos. The best domes are ingenious designs, collapsable towers that feel like springs. Apple\u2019s scissor and butterfly keyboards are both based on dome switches.<\/p>\n Die, Butterflies! Die!<\/strong><\/p>\n MacRumors featured a great comparison of Apple\u2019s scissor and butterfly keyboard<\/a> mechanisms. The scissor mechanism is shaped liked an asymmetrical \u201cX\u201d with a dome in the middle. You press and the X folds down, almost flat. The butterfly is shaped like a very wide, flat \u201cV\u201d with a hinge in the middle. Again, there\u2019s a dome in the middle.<\/p>\n No matter what, the scissor and the butterfly are really just ways to protect and stabilize dome switches. The actuation force of a dome might be as little as 20 gf. Most dome switches are closer to 30 gf.\u00a0The domes still get mushier and mushier over time.<\/p>\n If you are accustomed to striking keys with some force, the dome keys don\u2019t travel far and don\u2019t require much force. As a result, a fast and firm typist kills the domes even faster than a casual typist might. Sadly, I know programmers who have killed MacBook Pro and Dell XPS laptop keyboards within a year of purchase. Laptop keyboards are mediocre, especially because Apple and other companies keep trying to make the entire systems thinner and thinner.<\/p>\n Dome keyboards with less than 2 mm of travel aren\u2019t going to survive heavy use. Buy a dock and attach a better keyboard to extend the life of the computer.<\/p>\n In the Alps: Domes and Springs<\/strong><\/p>\n Alps Electric Company, and later Forward Electronics, made a lot of different switch types over the years. One of their lasting designs is known as the \u201cintegrated dome\u201d switch. A small plastic case holds a dome that is supported by a metal spring. This design looks a lot like the great mechanical designs, but it\u2019s still a dome switch.<\/p>\n The Alps keys leaped ahead with the Alps Simplified White Switch (SKBM), a wonderful mechanical switch that didn\u2019t use dome switches.\u00a0The Matias keyboards I love use the company\u2019s own Alps-inspired switch<\/a> design, crafted by Edgar Matias. I count seven parts in the switch<\/a>. There\u2019s no dome, but there is a rubber-like sleeve over a spring. Metal leaves do the real work. It\u2019s an elegant design, especially when compared to the original Alps designs.<\/p>\nWhy a \u2018Mechanical\u2019 Keyboard?<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n![seven parts in the switch<\/a>. There\u2019s no dome, but there is a rubber-like sleeve over a spring. Metal leaves do the real work. It\u2019s an elegant design, especially when compared to the original Alps designs.<\/p>\n](\"https:\/\/deskthority.net\/wiki\/File:Matias_click_switch_--_disassembled,_top_view.jpg\"){kind=link}