http://www.barneyb.com/barneyblog/2009/05/12/das-most-disappointing... ?

The Model M is still superior in the sense that it lacks the now ubiquitous windows key and the even more hated windows-menu key. I can begrudgingly admit a use for the Windows key but that Menu key can eat a ____!

I wrote a somewhat long review of the Unicomp Customizer keyboard here: http://jseliger.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/product-review-unicomp-cus... which would probably be of interest to keyboard enthusiasts and to those of you wondering how to use Windows keyboards with OS X (there's an option for key remapping under system preferences). Incidentally, that's one reason I prefer to use keyboards with a "Windows" key: OS X keyboard commands assume that you'll have crtl, option, and command.

The Customizer is a remake of the Model M and has the same sound and feel, but you can now buy it with a USB cable. In addition, at $70 it's close to half the price of the Das Keyboard, which might be a significant factor in some purchasing decisions.

I don't understand the weird obsession with large clicky keys on keyboards, especially at a ridiculous premium. I hate key noise and low-profile laptop style keys have given me far less wrist pain than anything else I've used. I'd even say that I type more now than ever before, and my Enermax Aurora and Cherry keyboards haven't caused me the slightest difficulty and are quiet.

Why is there a market for this product? What are people getting out of this that is beyond me?

Thanks, bought an PS2-> USB adapter to connect my 20 year old keyboard to my pc. Found a DIN-> PS2 adapter too, and it seems to work fine. Now if I could find model M with SWE/FIN layout to try it out how it compares to my cheap taiwanese copy :--)

Edit: I don't know if it counts, but this BTC Model 5349 seems to have a backplate made of metal, and inside the keyboard is a huge brown circuity with switches... no two plastic films pressing togheter like on newer keyboards.

Yeah yeah, I tried the Model M and still have the '89 model in my closet somewhere as I said before. It was very well made, heavy and bulletproof but typing on it sucked compared to my MS Natural Multimedia keyboard. I suffered with the typing machine sound and awkward wrist position for a day and then reverted back to the MS keyboard and never looked back. Recently got a free MS Natural 4000 and it's been awesome. Definitely NOT planning to pull that Model M out of the closet any time soon. Maybe just keep it long enough to sell as collectible in a while. Ergonomic MS keyboards FTW!

A keyboard I really like, that is the antithesis of these clicky keyboards is the Logitech UltraX. It's has key-travel like a good laptop and is REALLY nice to use. I got it after I enjoyed typing so much on my wife's Thinkpad T60, a laptop with a very nice keyboard.

Link for the UltraX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126022

I might get one or two more for work. I got it at home to go with a silver/black LCD too.

Someone I work with has a 'clicky keyboard' fetish. They're using some dinosaur Dell AT101 thing. I just don't see the attraction to that.

Cyril, have you noticed the key transposition problem of the keyboard?
http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?t=909

I was going to buy this keyboard 'till I saw that posting - looks like a total deal breaker for me...

Only keyboard that ever topped the model M was the the Northgate Omnikey Ultra. Left and top rows of F keys, dips switch to convert the keyboard layout to dvorak (came with a tool to help you pull off the keys), and heavy enough to sink a houseboat.

Regardless, I still use a model M to this day.

Do some people really try to avoid having media keys on their keyboards? I know that goes against the nature of the Das kb so its a little off topic. Personally I would love to find a kb that has this same design with basic media keys+volume control (and a lower price tag lol).

While buckling spring and mechanical switch keyboards are somewhat similar in terms of audible feedback, the tactile feedback is quite different. I went through several buckling spring keyboards before I realized that wasn't what I was looking for.

Really, though? I type just fine on the keyboard built-in to my Toshiba hard drive...?

Posting videos is becoming somewhat of a liability. You never know what's going to show up in that filmstrip of "related" videos after it's done. (I particularly enjoyed the guy typing in the nude.) I wonder what your, um, exposure might be.

I personally prefer laptop style quiet scissor keys. They don't distract me and I just plain like them.

"Keyboards" has joined the list of threads I no longer bother posting in because it's so subjective and personal.

"I love X. I can't stand Y and can't understand how anyone could possible like it."

"I love Y. I hate X. People who like X are crazy."

There's nothing but personal taste here, and no use arguing about it.

I have to say though, Unicomp seems to offer most of what Das does, at a much lower price (especially if you want PS/2; on the other hand, if you want USB, having a hub in the keyboard is nice).

Good lord that thing weighs as much as my netbook.

Your use of 'let alone' in the last sentence on the first page is somewhat non-standard, Cyril.

Typically, the usage is 'X does Y, let alone Z!' where Z is a bigger/more difficult goal.

In other words, the more standard usage would be 'find a rubber keyboard that feels good after 10 years, let alone 20!'

"I sometimes have to oil up the space bar mechanism to prevent it from squeaking"

I laf'd. That just sounds wrong.

Unicomp still makes model-M style keyboards. Their Customizer 104 comes in USB or PS/2, and in beige or black, with Windows keys (for those of you frustrated by what your Model M lacks) for a far more reasonable $69. They bought the buckling-spring technology, so you can expect it to behave just like your favorite Model M.

As for the Das Keyboard, you can't HomeRow someone with it (well, more than once anyway), the cord isn't detachable (for easy cleaning of the keyboard or cord replacement, and it probably can't be dropped off a 3-story building and still work. ;)

Look at the Ione Scorpius M10.

It uses the same Cherry MX blue stem switches as the Das Keyboard, but is much, much cheaper (about $50.) Although, there are some build quality concerns...

I'm about to get one from someone on a keyboard forum I'm on ( http://geekhack.org for the curious,) and decide whether I like it or not.

Also, just because a keyboard has springs doesn't mean it'll be loud - look at Cherry MX brown stem switches (the cheapest with those would be the Compaq MX 11800, which can be found on eBay for $10-15) or damped non-clicky Alps switches (most common example I can think of would be the original version of the Apple Extended Keyboard II.)

And, the Model M doesn't have individual sealed switch units - the buckling spring mechanisms are purely for tactile feel, the switch unit itself is a membrane sheet, just like you'd find in a rubber dome keyboard.

When my Model M died i got a Das Ultimate and I've loved it. Fits the aesthetic better and i can actually roll in my keyboard trey.

Did you have any of the problems i described here?
http://techreport.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=63907

Thats been driving me mad for ages

Have you ever tried a quality keyboard with ALPS switches like the CVT Avant (updated version of the old Northgate OmniKey series)?
http://www.cvtinc.com/products/keyboards/menu.htm

The actual name should be :

Das (ist zu teuer) Keyboard
(translation: too expensive)

Hmm. I really like my Model M but there's no way I could pound away on it at work. Far too many people would be irritated.

Damn Cyril you got some rockets for wrists. Maybe I just never realized how much finger movement goes on when one types, but you seemed to be typing at a blazing speed.

I really hope I get the opportunity to try out a buckling spring keyboard like the model M at some point. Just to see if I like the feel. In my house we have used the standard ergonomic microsoft keyboards for maybe a decade now (two keyboards of the same model that are reaching the 10 year mark with no problem... other than finger grime). To me those things are blessings on the wrists. I use the defacto keyboards here are school for typing papers and my wrists are aching when I'm typing. To me that slow slope to the keys makes a huge difference.