I recently replaced my chiclet-style low-profile keyboard with an RGB keyboard because I was getting fed up with maintaining the rainbow stickers I had on it but I still wanted the rainbow aesthetic! It’s been hard getting used to the “fat” and curved keys again. Thankfully, it still has the same rubber dome switches that I prefer.
It got me thinking about how unpopular chiclet/laptop-style keyboards for desktop computers must be for me to not be able to find an affordable RGB chiclet keyboard.
So, what’s your preferred keyboard type? Big chonky keys or almost paper-thin laptop keys? Clicky or smooth? Decorated or not? I want to know!
i usually don’t mind laptop keys/chiclet(?) since it’s what i’ve basically used all my life (even my bluetooth keyboard im using right now from logitech is chiclet for ease of transportation), so i’ve never gotten used to the chonky keys. i do like clicky clicky sounds though!!
i dont do much decoration since there isn’t space and i can’t do key swapouts :(
I like my keyboards chunky and sturdy, like the IBM Model M. I’ve got a New Model M from Unicomp that I bought in 2020, and it’s still going strong. Except that the shift and backspace keys occasionally get stuck despite my keeping the keyboard clean. Might need new springs…
i love big clicky keys, but i don’t live alone right now so out of respect for everyone else i don’t use that kind on main pc unfortunately. there’s something great about coding with those clicks though, feels like a modern typewriter.
i do most my work on my laptop anyway so i guess it doesn’t matter so much, but i’d love to have one of those cool to the touch metal clicky keyboard one day.
actually, now that i think about it, i’d love to have one of those old apple keyboards. love the way they look and seem to feel.
chiclet is such a cute/funny term for a type of keyboard!
bigger chunky keyboards are more satisfying but feel a little slow to me, and smaller chiclet keyboards feel faster but also a bit more wimpy/frail, the shallow presses can feel too shallow. ups and downs. i’m not a keyboardhead at all haha.
my current keyboard for my desktop is “girl gear” brand for some reason on google i’m just seeing pictures of a different version with a pink body and purple keys, so here’s a pic i took when i bought it! it was only 4.99 ! i think it’s very funny and cute.
My preferred keyboard is a FULL keyboard, numbpad and all, with mechanical switches that are fast, with little to no resistance. I don’t care about clicking, I care about typing quickly and being able to do so for years to come and mechanical switches just have better longevity. I just really dislike this trend of mechanical keyboard without a numpad. (I Keep hearing ‘but you don’t need it’ yeah, okay cool, but I use my numpad, I want a numpad)
I don’t mind laptop/clicklet keyboards but they appear to me as something temporary. They often break faster, I’ve had situations where I just get keyboard deadzones on my laptop and have to replace the whole thing. So that’s what I associate with most membrane switch keyboards. Some can be troopers, but not always.
I also just like standard key size because that’s what I’ve been using most my life. Smaller keyboards don’t have the same feel so I’m more likely to make typing errors on them because they don’t have the same physical space.
i am a big fan of TKL keyboards! i dont enter numbers that often so using the toprow isn’t too big of a deal for me !
i also enjoy clicky mechanical keyboards, the louder, the better. (unpopular opnion ik ik)
i also like my keyboard pretty! i didn’t really decorate it but it has pink keycaps and a pawprint keycap for my esc key!!
also laptop keyboard is also nice!! but i don’t really tolerate regular (desktop) rubber keyboards… they feel too weird to type on
One of the first keyboards I ever used was on a Macintosh Classic! I think my absolute first was a Commodore 64 keyboard, and THOSE were some clunky chunkers!
Same. My work laptop is a tiny wee thing and I always get frustrated having to use the number row. I wish I had the space (and USB port!) to hook a proper keyboard up to it!
scissor switches seem to be what i gravitate to. but no real preference on switches honestly. i have had different types and i own a genuine IBM Model M SSK i just don’t really feel pulled in any direction so i mainly stick to scissor switches since there’s nothing i don’t like about them
other things i usually like:
backlit (white led only though, not a huge fan of RGB. preferably through the letters as well rather than around the keys)
wireless or wired is fine
numpad is not necessary, function row depends on my mood and how much of a “sick hacker” i’m feeling like