You may not think much about the switches that sit underneath the keycaps of your keyboard, but there's a large contingent of enthusiasts who really, really care. And for those users, Cherry's various MX-branded switches are somewhat of a standard. Because they include a number of mechanical parts, though, you won't see a lot of laptop-like thin mechanical keyboards or mechanical keyboards on more than a handful of laptops.
The trend, however, is clearly going toward slim keyboards — and that's not lost on Cherry. So at CES this week, the company is introducing a completely new line of keyboard switches that may just be small enough to bring mechanical keyboards to more laptops (or at least more niche gaming laptops) and thinner keyboards. These new switches are low-profile versions of the Cherry MX RGB switch, a switch that features colored LEDs and which is especially popular with gamers. The company tells me that, if successful, it'll launch thinner versions of its other MX switches, too.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday January 16 2018, @05:00PM (4 children)
Does this mean that we can have "clakety" laptop keyboards now?
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by meustrus on Tuesday January 16 2018, @05:51PM
Maybe not, because it looks like the RGB switches are only the silent linear-actuation types. Which would also prevent them from being marketed effectively on consumer devices, because without the pressure point it's very difficult to train yourself not to bottom out on every keystroke.
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 16 2018, @07:03PM (2 children)
The best keyboard I've ever used was a ENORMOUS 48 function key (two rows of 24) keyboard on an IBM terminal (circa 90's). It was likely a buckling-spring design.
These were likely custom ordered for the university, as they had at least 8 APL characters per key (the key-caps were covered on every possible corner and side). If the APL language wasn't bad enough, trying to figure out how to get the keyboard to output a specific character was a nightmare.
My home desktop uses MX blue switches, and though nice and noisy, it still doesn't have as much tactile feedback as I'd like.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Tuesday January 16 2018, @09:50PM (1 child)
That was nothing special; those were derivatives of the famous Model M keyboard, but used on minicomputers or other non-PC systems. They weren't anything terribly rare; you can easily find them on Ebay today.
(Score: 3, Informative) by damnbunni on Tuesday January 16 2018, @10:07PM
Ebay heck, you can still get them brand new.
http://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/40L5A [pckeyboard.com]
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Grishnakh on Tuesday January 16 2018, @05:17PM (7 children)
Unlike PC keyboards, where you can buy and plug in any keyboard you want thanks to the USB standard (and PS/2 before that), with a laptop you're stuck with whatever POS keyboard they stick in there, unless one of these keyboard companies decides to offer aftermarket replacement keyboards for select laptop models. I think there's a grand total of 1 laptop out there right now with a mechanical keyboard, and of course it's a very expensive, specialized "gaming" laptop. I hate these island keyboards in laptops now with a passion, but even I'm not going to shell out thousands of dollars for some big, heavy laptop with mechanical keys just because of this, when I can get a good laptop (aside from the keyboard) for a few hundred (I tend to buy off-lease business laptops, but even good consumer laptops aren't that expensive). Also important is the sound: I probably wouldn't be welcome in many coffee shops if my keyboard was making too much noise.
Why can't we just have the keyboards that Thinkpads had about 5-10 years ago? Those were perfection; slim enough, easy to type on (no stupid flat-top island keys), good tactile response, not too much noise; they were the perfect balance for what you need in a business/productivity laptop. The Dell Latitude E-series keyboards were a close second BTW.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by bob_super on Tuesday January 16 2018, @05:22PM (2 children)
> Why can't we just have the keyboards that Thinkpads had about 5-10 years ago?
Because Apple. The slim laptop and copy-Apple crazes killed the good keyboard.
Still have a small Dell at home with a great real keyboard. Off my cold dead carpal-tunneled hands! (anyone has a spare H key?)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 16 2018, @10:49PM (1 child)
While I normally go along with a good apple hate, at least in this case it is not at all apple's fault that the "copy-Apple crazes" came into being.
The real fault here lies with the copy-Apple crazes who decided to copy everything apple did to the most minute detail. If they had not gone "apple mad" we wouldn't have every laptop attempting to look like a low-budget apple laptop.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday January 18 2018, @05:08PM
I don't think bob_super was blaming Apple there, he was just citing them as the initial cause. Truthfully, those stupid island keyboards were first invented and commercially used by Sony years before, but it wasn't until Apple decided to ape them that they really took off. I think it's fairly obvious that the Apple-copiers are really the ones to blame; you can't blame Apple for a bunch of other idiots copying them. But Apple and their design choices are the root cause; if Apple hadn't adopted this design, most likely we wouldn't see island keyboards at all today, or maybe only on Sonys.
Honestly, I really am sick of other companies copying Apple and their crappy designs and conventions. If I liked Apple that much, I would just buy an Apple product. No one in their right mind buys a Thinkpad wishing it were more like a MacBook; that's like shopping for a full-size Ford truck and wishing it were more like a Nissan Cube.
(Score: 4, Informative) by tibman on Tuesday January 16 2018, @06:06PM
Pretty sure i despise laptops. Usually get two stand-alone monitors, decent keyboard (cherry mx clear), and decent mouse. Plug it all up to the laptop, close the laptop lid, shove the laptop to the back of the desk and pretend it doesn't exist. If companies still employ me when i'm old then they'll probably hate me.
You shouldn't have to throw out your nice keyboard when your computer gets old : /
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(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday January 16 2018, @09:09PM (2 children)
I'm using a laptop with a USB mechanical keyboard plugged into it right now, also a 21" external monitor... of course, I'm using it like a desktop workstation, but... if you've got the space and don't need to be mobile all the time.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Tuesday January 16 2018, @09:31PM (1 child)
Well yeah, you can do that with any laptop, that's no revelation. Lots of people who use a laptop on the same desk every day have some kind of USB keyboard they plug into it, especially in corporate settings where docking stations are the norm. But that doesn't help when you take your laptop with you somewhere; no one is going to bring their 104-key keyboard on the plane with them, or to the coffee shop, etc.
(Score: 3, Informative) by tibman on Tuesday January 16 2018, @09:45PM
Maybe not a 104 but an 87 (tenkeyless) is portable and usually the same width as the laptop. https://deskthority.net/wiki/Tenkeyless_keyboard [deskthority.net]
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(Score: 4, Insightful) by looorg on Tuesday January 16 2018, @05:51PM (2 children)
OK I do admit that I am one of those enthusiasts that like (and require) a mechanical keyboard. It should be a IBM model M keyboard. But other mechanical once might do it in a pinch. I might try one of those as a laptop keyboard, it might be ok -- at the moment I have a separate keyboard for my work laptop just so I won't have to use the disgusting keyboard it normally comes with. The problem with laptop keyboards tho is the layout and they won't change that anytime soon as having a mechanical keyboard on the laptop just won't change the layout issues.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by inertnet on Tuesday January 16 2018, @10:44PM (1 child)
You can get the closest thing to the original IBM keyboards here [pckeyboard.com]. I bought their Classic 101 White Buckling Spring years ago and can't really work with anything else. People on the phone always complain about the noise it makes though.
(Score: 1) by dwilson on Wednesday January 17 2018, @04:06AM
Opened the comments on this specifically to make sure someone mentioned Unicomp [pckeyboard.com]. Thanks!
I own three of them, as well as numerous original Model M's in various states of disrepair. They even sell a Dvorak-layout one that's actually Dvoark, not just re-labeled-keycaps-but-still-a-qwerty-board. So nice.
- D
(Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Tuesday January 16 2018, @06:46PM (3 children)
It is not specified in the specs or in TFA. Hopefully these new keyboard switches will have improved durability when repeatedly exposed to bodily fluids.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 4, Funny) by MostCynical on Tuesday January 16 2018, @09:16PM (2 children)
Is coffee a bodily fluid now?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 3, Funny) by tibman on Tuesday January 16 2018, @09:49PM
Thanks, you owe me a keyboard. Just snorted out coffee all over : /
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(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday January 17 2018, @12:36AM
Coffee is definitely a vital bodily fluid for many.
But I suspect the topic was rinsing the blood of the coworkers dumb enough to point out your clicky keyboard disturbs them. The good-old IBM ones are fearsome weapons.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 16 2018, @10:47PM (1 child)
How to get Lenovo keycaps back on my x201 currently has three off and for the life of me I can't get the scissor to fit properly
(Score: 1) by Wong McGregor on Wednesday January 17 2018, @08:03AM
Check Youtube for videos on how to replace them.