SPDCA: Keyboards

I've been using a Macbook at home now for a few years, which means I've been typing primarily on a Mac-layout keyboard (different locations for the "system" keys, and on laptops, a lack of the keypad and Home/End/etc. key group.

Prior to that, it was the IBM Thinkpad A31 (from 2003-2008), featuring useless media/search/whatever buttons, and the indomitable mouse nub (which I loved):

Prior to that, it was my IBM mechanical keyboard (2003 and before), which was my parents' foremost reason for sending me off to college (CLACK CLACK. CLACK CLACK CLACK.):

My IBM mechanical met a grisly demise as part of a Halloween costume, and my Thinkpad has been decommissioned since its memory module cracked in half and I got a new Macbook (which, in the last week, met with hard drive failure (secure67.nocdirect.com), which I haven't had time to address). I've been trying to use my ASUS Eee 1215N Netbook kicker (a small Linux laptop I've been toting back and forth to work to watch TV at lunch), but the keyboard is constrained, and the touchpad is at once overly sensitive when trying to type over it and ignorant of your repeated strokes when you intend them.

While I'm getting my Macbook back in order, I've switched to using my Mac Mini at home, with a terrible, generic, "ergonomic" Dell keyboard. I'm not even going to try to find a screenshot. But I can tell you that having been torn away from good keyboards, it makes using a computer all that much worse, particularly if you rely heavily on keyboard commands.

After making a trip to Best Buy to get a DisplayPort-to-DVI adapter, I found this guy (Logitech K750) in the tiny "Mac Accessories" shelf in the back.

Turns out, this is a really, really nice keyboard. The fact that it is solar powered is entertaining, but the Logitech folks actually did a decent job replicating the feel of a Mac keyboard. Not just the button layouts, but down to the spacing, key resistance, everything. If I wasn't already used to the keyboard I have at work, I'd probably try to buy another one to use here (though, I'd have to re-wire all the key commands for working in Windows).

We'll see how it works in the dead of winter when it only has a desk lamp and the weak afternoon sun to keep it powered.

Also, having made a slight improvement on my home computing experience with the addition of a nice keyboard, it got me thinking about what better things I could do. I still have an incredibly shitty "computer desk" that is impossible to sit at comfortably, no less store any tools, computers, cords, what have you. Not that I really need any more of an excuse to spend more time on the computer, but, there are things that could be improved upon than just sitting on the couch, slumped over my coffee table. I've been trying to request a stand-up desk at work for two months now, but to no avail.