Mechanical Keyboards- Justify this please?????

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > Mechanical Keyboards- Justify this please?????

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

Today my 20 year old Logitech MX300 mouse died so I replaced it with something from this decade, a MX Master 3S. $100 on a mouse felt a bit ehh but if I can get another 20 years out of it, sure.

Anyways, for mechanical keyboard folks, how is the MX Mechanical (Mini)? My primary keyboard is a Model M that I'm plenty happy with, but I've been thinking of supplementing it with a modern mechanical for portable/testing use.

A few years back I looked at a WASD with Cherry MX greens (I bought a key tester and liked the greens the best), but I like the idea of the Logitech now since I can share the Bolt dongle with the MX Master (I use the dongle to frequently switch between test machines while using Bluetooth on my primary desktop).

# ¿ Jun 24, 2023 04:26

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# ¿ May 14, 2024 06:21

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

Wizard of the Deep posted:

Note that the standard version only works on the Bolt dongle.

I have the standard version and it works fine over Bluetooth. Now, maybe it doesn't on a Mac, hence the "for Mac" version?

# ¿ Jun 24, 2023 16:36

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

ExcessBLarg! posted:

Anyways, for mechanical keyboard folks, how is the MX Mechanical (Mini)? My primary keyboard is a Model M that I'm plenty happy with, but I've been thinking of supplementing it with a modern mechanical for portable/testing use.

Update: I picked up a MX Mechanical Mini (tactile) and it's a surprisingly competent alternate/backup keyboard as a Model M user. Maybe it shouldn't be so surprising given its price, but I bought my Model M for $4 from the recyclers 20 years ago so my calibration is way off on that anyways.

I went with the tactile (brown) key switches instead of the clicky (blue) ones for a few reasons:

Reviews of the Kailh Choc V2 browns were excellent, blues less so.
Logitech seems to promote the tactile model as the primary option (linear and clicky use alternate packaging).
Microcenter only had open box (previously returned) clicky boards, which didn't give me confidence.
I already have a loud primary keyboard, so I should probably have a quiet alternate.

Going in I was a bit worried about the low profile keys but I don't mind them. They feel miles better than the scissor keys on my laptop, so I guess my issue there is t just due to shortened key travel.

Honestly the only thing I'd really change about it is that I wish the Mini was an actual TKL or at least had a dedicated Insert key (for Shift+Insert paste) instead of making it a sub of the Delete key. Maybe I can reverse them in software bindings.

ExcessBLarg! fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Jul 6, 2023

# ¿ Jul 6, 2023 03:15

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

mes posted:

Years ago, I remember having to make sure that the keyboard I was buying had a DIP switch to swap the mappings of the keyboard so that the Command key would be in the right place. Now with QMK/VIA you can just remap stuff however you want and have different default layers if you need.

It's funny how vendors will prioritize Windows/Mac command key placement but nobody (except WASD?) bothers with correct placement of the control key.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2023 14:53

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

Capslock belongs behind the monitor.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2023 20:33

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

god please help me posted:

I could also get by remapping the right hand alt key to something else, but I'm not sure what.

It comes in handy as a compose key.

# ¿ Jul 26, 2023 05:22

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

god please help me posted:

I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not. My keyboard doesn't have a numpad on it, so I can't even type unicode characters anyway.

No I mean an actual compose key. I map right-Alt/Alt-Gr for this on all my keyboards.

# ¿ Jul 26, 2023 14:42

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

Eric the Mauve posted:

If you're a bad enough dude for a real keyboard, Unicomp now has both the New Model M and the TKL Mini M in stock. Grabbing one of the latter right now for the office.

The SSK was a pretty neat keyboard. I don't have a need for one these days, but it's nice to see that Unicomp finally got a "modern" version of it out.

# ¿ Aug 12, 2023 03:06

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

SwissArmyDruid posted:

Goons, how much am I asking for when I am looking for a bulletproof mechanical keyboard?

I have a PS/2-era Model M that's been my primary keyboard for nearly 20 years. The springs and contacts still all work great. Every couple of years I take out all the keys to vacuum debris and clean the caps.

One time I did spill coffee on it. I probably should've just let it drain naturally, dry, and then open it up to clean. Instead though I tried to pour it out which got a bit of coffee stuck near the top of the membrane layer and some of the key matrix stopped working at that point. I thought it might need a decent repair, but it turned out that cleaning the affected area with alcohol and letting the whole thing dry thoroughly for a day brought it back to life and no problems since.

# ¿ Sep 27, 2023 17:31

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# ¿ May 14, 2024 06:21

ExcessBLarg!: Sep 1, 2001

Nobody Interesting posted:

1) I would not be able to use it at work, because I don't work from home (wtf??)

I use an 89-vintage Model M as my primary keyboard, but I also have a Logitech MX Mechanical that I use for various wireless purposes, but also use on calls when the Model M is too loud.

Otherwise I don't see an actual problem using a Model M at work. They had offices full of them. You can productivity shame people with its loudness.

Nobody Interesting posted:

2) Oh god what happens if a cat throws up on it.

It's a good excuse to disassemble the whole thing and clean. Cat puke isn't actually going to harm it.

# ¿ Apr 2, 2024 17:34

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > Mechanical Keyboards- Justify this please?????