Worst 5 Computer Keyboards - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2017, 07:03:20 am
content: Grundy Newbrain, hated it from the moment I bought it and hacked the thing so that a standard Cherry keyboard could be plugged in.http://www.8bit-homecomputermuseum.at/repair/newbrain/newbrain_ad/IMG_9033_small.jpg

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2017, 11:51:48 am
content: This one:It stuck, skittered around the desk, refused to register key presses and was generally crap on too many occasions so, today, it was retired.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 16, 2017, 11:56:18 am
content: Quote from: blueskull on June 16, 2017, 01:22:23 amI'm with you on that one!I don't have particularly fat fingers but I even struggled on the Toshiba Portégé R200 back in the day (having to configure them up for Executives for the company I worked for).More recently, I find the Panasonic ToughBook keys to be quite small, however they are forgiven for making such nice, robust devices.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2017, 12:15:01 pm
content: The worst keyboards I've used are touch screen. I don't known how some people can put up with using a phone for so much.

author: Towger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2017, 12:24:16 pm
content: The poor Oric 1. Back in the day their keyboard was better than the ZX Spectrum.That reminds me of my AT Cherry Keyboard I threw out.. Look at the price of them now!

author: kalel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2017, 12:26:06 pm
content: I've had trouble finding, by order of importance:1) A quiet keyboard (okay, pure rubber keyboards exist and are likely the most silent option possible, but typing experience is awful)2) A quiet and quality keyboard3) Maybe an easy disassembly for cleaning?Of course LED lights, no matter how much I love them for lamps and ornaments and indication, are far from needed in a keyboard (usually you pay more to get those lights, and fair enough, some have microcontroller codes for changing colors and such, but these features are not worth nearly as much as quality typing). Mechanical keyboards seem advertised as better these days, but I doubt they can be quiet, so it makes them more difficult to consider.I'm not sure which keyboard is worst, however, having tried them, I vote for the rubber ones like this one:

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2017, 12:47:53 pm
content: If you're looking for a good keyboard check out Cherry G80-3000 series. A tad expensive but good for 10+ years, if you clean the keys once in a while.

author: Howardlong
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2017, 01:45:58 pm
content: I bought a reasonably expensive keyboard a few months ago with Cherry MX Red keys specifically because of the reputation.When it arrived, I realized that in order to allow the keys to be illuminated, the key caps with dual symbols (i.e. shifted and unshifted) were embossed the opposite way around from a standard keyboard. Although I've used computer keyboards for over forty years, I'm no touch typist, and probably too old to learn now. I gave up with it after a day.

author: peter.mitchell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2017, 02:17:53 pm
content: I bought the same keyboard, and I am a touch typist, but goddamn it is offputting! I agree 100%, its really messed up!

author: Howardlong
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2017, 02:53:44 pm
content: Quote from: peter.mitchell on June 16, 2017, 02:17:53 pmVery glad it's not just me.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2017, 08:15:13 pm
content: I wanted an illuminated keyboard, but am kind of cheapskate, and I like my current white Microsoft Internet keyboard Pro with the built in 2 port USB hub it has. Thus I took a cheap USB lamp with a flexible gooseneck head, and did a little work on it. Removed all 3 LED's in it, and the little 1/8W 47R resistor they had in there, and sprayed the silver painted ABS cover with some satin black spray. Then put in a tiny power switch in the one LED location, a 75R 1/4W resistor as current limiting and then took 2 of the original LED's and did a little work on them with a file to remove the dome head, and then polished them on 2000grit paper and finally fine paer to get a reasonably flat head that just spread the point of light out. Put them back in and plugged it into the spare USB1.1 port that is free, the other being used by the matching Microsoft Intellimouse I use. Now have a keyboard with lighting that works in the dark, and even with the screen off. Not a touch typist so need just a little light to type with as a hunt and sort of peck typist.

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2017, 08:31:50 pm
content: Quote from: SeanB on June 16, 2017, 08:15:13 pmPictures?Have anybody ever used such keyboard? I think it would be awful.

author: Jwalling
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 16, 2017, 08:38:49 pm
content: Quote from: madires on June 16, 2017, 12:47:53 pmIMHO this is the greatest keyboard ever made. Been using it as my daily driver since about 1990 or so. It's 30 years old now. I think it came with the original IBM 80286 based PC-AT. The keycaps look grubby, but when they get bad enough, I just pop them off and I run them through the dish washer.

author: Crumble
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2017, 10:39:37 pm
content: I still use the one that came with my fathers 1992 i486, the only part still in use. It clicks with every button, so typing is quite loud, but a pleasure to do. It contains all individual Alps switches rather than these "conductive rubber mat" type keyboards. I still like it, but after disassembing it I started having trouble with the larger keys hanging, so I think I cleaned out some lubricants. I still love it, and might take my time in replacing it. The resemblance with the 1987 AT unit is quite remarkable (but it is obviously different).

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2017, 11:40:32 pm
content: Quote from: rsjsouza on June 16, 2017, 08:31:50 pmI heard of these years ago. I seem to recall seeing them on Tomorrow's World once. Probably wouldn't be a very good typing experience but it probably wouldn't be any worse than a touchscreen. I've always been curious to try one.I find the Toshiba Libretto and HP 100LX type keyboards to be kinda bad, but that is just because they are small.

author: Howardlong
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2017, 06:53:08 am
content: Quote from: steve30 on June 16, 2017, 11:40:32 pmThey are small, and you have to use a different technique. I have a couple of Librettos and a 200LX, when I used them all thise years ago the 200LX was definitely a thumbs only experience, but it didn't take long to become reasonably adept, and I still much prefer that experience to touch keyboards, much less chance of a mis-key.Back to Toshiba laptops, I found the location of the right shift, arrow and enter keys on all their laptops to be extremely irritating as it was too easy to accidentally select text and overwrite it. Even after a few years with a couple of Poerteges as my daily drivers, I still experienced the problem. I moved to a Dell next, then Sony, then Apple and haven't had the problem since.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 17, 2017, 07:15:57 am
content: Quote from: Jwalling on June 16, 2017, 08:38:49 pmI have a couple of the old IBM keyboards at home and love them. They are so solid and heavy, they won't move around your desk. I do find they are a bit too noisy for a daily keyboard (hmm... maybe I should take it to work for when I'm writing lengthy e-mails and documents).

author: LazyJack
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2017, 07:21:37 am
content: Quote from: Howardlong on June 16, 2017, 01:45:58 pmI hate the MacBook keyboard for a similar reason. I'm using a non-English version. On the PC keyboard special characters like {>[& printed on the corner of the keys accessible by the Alt key. Same on the Mac, except they are in different keys (that is fine, I can live with that, since I'm not a touch typist). However with the exception of the @ char they are not printed on the keys! Looks like Apple made the stupid decision of sacrificing look for usability. There is an app that shows the keys, and what they produce whet using the various modifier keys, but come on.So that is a big fail.And I dont even mention missing keys like home, end, pgup, pgdown etc. I know their function is there with the command, etc modifiers, but for me it's cumbersome to require two hand for gound to the end or beginning of a line for example.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 17, 2017, 07:29:20 am
content: Quote from: blueskull on June 17, 2017, 07:26:26 amI could type quite easily on a non-printed keyboard, provided I don't look down at the keys... once I do that, I'm stuffed because muscle memory is fighting with the confusion the eyes see.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2017, 11:13:34 am
content: The two worst?The keyboard on the expensive Dick Smith System-80. No key de-bounce anywhere. So random repeating keys was a BBBBBBBIG problem.The made in China keyboard that was imported into Australia with a"Power off" key near the delete/page_up/page_down keys. Just typing away and the entire PC would shut down without warning. Whoever thought that design up must have been smoking something..

author: Crumble
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2017, 12:02:57 pm
content: YES, I remember those!It's one of those things that is only funny afterwards... They had an additional row of buttons under the Del/End/PgDn button for OnOff/Stby/Sleep, so sloppily hitting the arrow was dangerous too. (For me) it was quite shortly after the ATX system was introduced with soft power-off. I had those in my school, after having previously worked with computer with big, "hard", power-killing, clunking, double-pole mains switches, making it look even more absurd to have a power button on the keyboard. Quite some unsaved work was sent to homework heaven due to these buttons. Luckily, I haven't seen those keyboards since.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2017, 12:28:18 pm
content: Quote from: Crumble on June 17, 2017, 12:02:57 pmYes you are right. It is the same keyboard.On the back of the keyboard was the name of the Australian importer. These keyboards were imported from China around the year 2000 and I inherited one for use in some test gear. Once, after losing about 4 hours work after a sudden power off, I smashed the keyboard and threw it in the bin. I also contacted the importer and told them where they can stick their keyboard.

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2017, 01:35:02 pm
content: Quote from: Howardlong on June 17, 2017, 06:53:08 amI can't type with thumbs. I find I can use the HP 100LX effectively with my fingers, but it does take a bit of practise, especially when you are used to a Model M. I've attached a picture for comparison.Also, you may notice that back when that photo was taken (around 2011), I was using a German layout keyboard, with some of the English symbols written on in pencil.I recently acquired some IBM ThinkPads. They have very nice keyboards, but I sometimes find myself hitting the trackpoint instead of a key. They also lack Windows keys, which as a Linux user, I admire, but on PC laptops, I primarily use Windows, where a Windows key is quite useful.

author: stj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2017, 11:59:26 am
content: best keyboard IMO is SUN Type5i own a few of them, but you need to build adapters - shouldnt be a problem if your on this forum.

author: 3db
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2017, 03:46:37 pm
content: I agree with @Jwalling. That IBM keyboard is best ever made.When you first use it you think Hmm but you soon realise that they're awesome.3DB.