But lately all I've found it crap.

I currently have an old Dell "Quiet Key" keyboard, from '99, and it's okay. Good feel to it, a bit ugly (dirty because I was stupid with it) but I don't want to use it anymore than I need to, because a number of keys aren't working anymore. (Water splashed on 'em while it was running, bad idea, let it dry when you do that) I don't think it uses a system anywhere near that of the Model M, but it's no quiet-key, I'm sure of that; I have one in my basement on another PC... and it's craptastic. Can't feel your way across it, always have to keep your eyes on it, and all the keys feel the same even when some are pressed...

I've also got a LabTec "Wireless Desktop Edge" combo I got for like 15$ one time... But I'm not a fan of the whole "wireless-for-everything-yay" movement, exception being WiFi for laptops, and that's it.

So I thought of getting another labtec, but all their wired keyboards have been replaced by "soft-touch" ones. I'm probably going to use the wireless one I guess, but I'd like to have another keyboard around as back-up, or when I'm too lazy to charge my batteries. Speaking of which, for those of you with wireless sets (Nothing overly fancy; I don't even think the thing has any lights :P) how long can you usually go for without recharging?

So... Any innexpensive (Really, 15$ is my limit, maybe 20$ if it's got a mouse or hard to find) REAL-touch keyboards out there?... I need to be able to find it in retail though... So if you know of larger brands, of either manufacturers or stores that sell them (In Canada prefferably) I'd love to know.

Thanks guys,
Cheers,
Joro.

You need a Model M.
Best keyboard ever made.

Seriously.

Holy crap. I think one of my spares is a model M "clone". But one of the arrow keys isn't working right now ;-;.

Well, it looks like this one might be a buckling-spring design too. Even the wireless one looks like it. Are buckling-spring keyboards the only one with that specific look to the underside of the key? (The one given on the Wikipedia page) The membrane-keyboard page puzzled me for a second, because that would mean all of my keyboards are non-membrane-style, which is good, but one is still soft-touch ...

If that's the case... What do the actual Model-Ms have to offer over other keyboards that use a similar system? Just better feel to it?

IBM held the patent on the buckling spring switch, so until they sold it to Unicomp, they were the only people making them.
If your keyboard isn't an IBM or a Unicomp, then it's probably not a buckling spring. If you pull a key off the keyboard, you should see a little coiled spring sticking up out of the hole if it's buckling spring.

Another reliable indicator of whether it's a buckling spring, is if your neighbours bang on the walls when you're typing at night. These things make a serious racket when you're typing at full pelt.

Advantages?
1) You know when you've hit a key properly because you can feel and hear the clack when the switch in the key trips. I can't touch type, but I can accurately correct missed keystrokes without looking at the screen because I can feel whether or not the keypress actually happened.
2) There's a long throw to the keys, so your fingers get a chance to move properly. The amount of movement required also forces you to 'hover' your hands instead of resting your wrists on the desk, so helping to avoid RSI.
3) The springs on the keys are stronger than modern keyboards, so you can rest your fingers on the keys without accidentally pressing them. Useful for touch-typists I would imagine. Also probably a good thing to help RSI.
4) They're built for combat. Use them as impromptu weapons.
5) Because of the weight of them, they don't 'walk' across your desk when you're typing (a problem I used to have with those cheap boards you get free with computers).
6) They never, ever, wear out. I've been typing on this 1995 built keyboard for nearly 5 years now, and it still feels crisp and joyous under my fingers.

Some people swear by Alps (the old Apple Extended II keyboards used them, for example) or Cherry keyswitches, but they are misguided. As nice as they are, only the buckling spring keyswitch gives the positive key click you should demand from your keyboard.

Hit eBay. Joooooooooin uuuuuuuuuuuus.

Dave

+1 for the Model M. I'm typing now on a vintage March 1989 beauty, and liked it so much I bought another for the office (Feb 1990 if you're interested).

Generally speaking these keyboards run for about $50 or so, which might seem like a lot but not when you consider that the Model M will outlast probably dozens of el-cheapo $10 no-name brands. I would have no reservation at all in recommending them.

As ilikejam mentioned though, they do make more noise than regular keyboards. That said, once you've used a Model M for a while, all other keyboards seem so flimsy and weak that you'll wonder how you managed to survive with the M.

~50$ isn't too bad. I've seen keyboards go for 100$, and they were still the membrane type.

Speaking of which, is it possible to switch keys off of a membrane keyboard? Or are they like all glued/built together?

And what would be other keyboard types other than buckling-spring and membrane? And how the heck do I figure out what kind of keyboard do I have? It looks like the buckling-spring mechanism, but it's not very loud, and not as quiet or mushy as the membrane kind.

I must say that Microsoft's keyboards are very comfortable. I own one since January this year, and I love it.
MS is in the wrong business with software

A lot of the MS keyboards are, supposebly, just from the same source as Logitech's : ).

But those black & white laser mice they have are tempting...

The keyboard I'm using now, while not a Model M, seems to have followed the same design principles...
The backing for the keyboard membrane is a solid steel plate and, although it's a membrance keyboard, it's clicky.

It's a seven year old Keytronic KT800 and has stood up to a fair bit of abuse. I would never trade this keyboard in (except maybe for a Model M. ).

It came with a PC in '00 and has lasted longer than any other keyboard I have ever had. The newer 'free' keyboards that come with a PC don't last a month, never mind seven years and counting.

They don't make 'em like they used to.

(On lighter note, I was force to use a 'normal' stock keyboard while I was cleaning my clicky keyboard, and I was able to throw it around like a beachball. It was so light compared to my LART^w keyboard.)

I have a couple of very old Sun Keyboards laying around. Those are very solid, heavy, strong keyboards (I hope nobody starts a thread "Who uses Keyboards for real men"). I wish I could hook them up on my PC's, but it is not possible (in an easy way).

I also like Microsoft keyboards. I am personally a big fan of ergonomic keyboards.

I have a few Microsoft Multimedia keyboards, none have let me down.

I find the buckling spring types to be too harsh, I like the mushy keys.

Well, turns out I might have dome-switch keyboards, thanks Wikipedia. But for some reason, mine is nowhere near quiet ;P, at least compared to some membrane-typed ones I've seen...

The Model Ms are pretty darn harsh, but it feels better to me than "mushy" keys. With "mushier" keys, I can't tell if I've clicked or not, not just because it doesn't make much of a noise, but all the keys feel the same, and when I press I don't really feel it. Of course, the other extreme, hammering on a Model M doesn't seem so great either.

Ergo keyboardss like this one (http://www.robmanuel.com/wp/wp-conte...06/11/keyb.jpg, sorry can't find a better pic) I don't really like... But that's just me. A lot of the time I'm typing one-handed (If I'm busy doing something else at the same time) so the ergo ones would have me jumping all the time.

How about something "different", like Dvorak layout?. I've never got used to it (need sometime to learn it well). However, I usually type in Korean from my keyboard and when using Korean layout, vowels and consonants are similarly divided: Vowels at the left side and consonants at the right (kinda). It really helps the hands, since nearly every word we type are composed of a consonant followed by a vowel anyway .

Finding those keyboards are not easy. You can use a standard keyboard, but the keys can be a bit annoying. My suggestion is a blank keyboard:

http://www.daskeyboard.com/

You can pull the tops off the keys on Model M's - just swap 'em around and set your keyboard layout on your machine.

http://www.pigdog.org/model_m_retrofit.html

Model M for the win. Again. Yay.

Dave

Real (Wo)Men use BenQ keyboards held down with Blu Tac.