19.4 Choosing a Keyboard
Use the following guidelines when choosing a keyboard:
- Consider layout
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The position of the primary alphanumeric keys is standard on all
keyboards other than those that use the oddball Dvorak layout. What
varies, sometimes dramatically, is the placement, size, and shape of
other keys, such as the shift keys (Shift, Ctrl, and Alt), the
function keys (which may be arrayed across the top, down the left
side, or both), and the cursor control and numeric keypad keys. If
you are used to a particular layout, purchasing a keyboard with a
similar layout makes it much easier to adapt to the new keyboard.
- Give personal preference top priority
-
Keyboards vary both in obvious ways—layout, size, and
form—and in subtle ways like key spacing, angle, dishing,
travel, pressure required, and tactile feedback.
People's sensitivity to these differences varies.
Some are keyboard agnostics who can sit down in front of a new
keyboard and, regardless of layout or tactile response, be up to
speed in a few minutes. Others have strong preferences about layout
and feel. If you've never met a keyboard you
didn't like, you can disregard these issues and
choose a keyboard based on other factors. If love and hate are words
you apply to keyboards, use an identical keyboard for at least an
hour before you buy one for yourself.
- Make sure your operating system supports extended keyboard functions
-
Some keyboards provide dedicated and/or programmable function keys to
automate such things as firing up your browser or email client or to
allow you to define custom macros that can be invoked with a single
keystroke. These functions are typically not built into the keyboard
itself, but require loading a driver. To take advantage of those
functions, make sure a driver is available for the OS you use.
- Consider weight
-
Although it sounds trivial, the weight of a keyboard can be a
significant issue for some people. The lightest keyboard
we've seen weighed just over a pound, and the
heaviest was nearly eight pounds. If your keyboard stays on your
desktop, a heavy keyboard is less likely to slide around. Conversely,
a very heavy keyboard may be uncomfortable for someone who works with
the keyboard in his lap.
- Avoid multi-function keyboards
-
Keyboards are low-margin products. As a means to differentiate their
products and increase margins, some manufacturers produce keyboards
with speakers, scanners, and other entirely unrelated functions built
in. These functions are often clumsy to use, fragile, and have
limited features. If you want speakers or a scanner, buy speakers or
a scanner. Don't get a keyboard with them built in.
- Consider a wireless keyboard for special purposes
-
Various manufacturers make
wireless
keyboards, which are ideal for presentations and TV-based web
browsing. Wireless keyboards include a separate receiver module that
connects to the PS/2 keyboard port on the PC. The keyboard and
receiver communicate using either radio frequency (RF) or infrared
(IR). IR keyboards require direct line-of-sight between the keyboard
and receiver, while RF keyboards do not. Most IR keyboards and many
RF keyboards provide very limited range—as little as five feet
or so, which limits their utility to working around a desk without
cables tangling. Some RF keyboards and a few IR keyboards use higher
power to provide longer range, up to fifty feet or more. These are
often quite expensive and provide relatively short battery life.
Whichever type of wireless keyboard you get, make sure it uses
standard (AA/AAA/9V) alkaline or NiMH batteries rather than a
proprietary NiCd battery pack, which is subject to the infamous NiCd
memory effect whereby NiCd batteries soon begin to lose the ability
to hold a charge.
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The Northgate OmniKey keyboard, with its function keys down the left
and a satisfyingly clacky feel, has attained nearly cult status among
some users, although Northgate itself is long gone. Original
OmniKey
keyboards haven't been produced for years, so
remaining working examples are sought after like Old Masters.
Fortunately, there's an alternative.
Creative Vision Technologies, Inc.
(http://www.cvtinc.com) makes the
Avant Stellar keyboard, which is more or less a clone of the
Northgate OmniKey Plus. It isn't cheap, but
it's as close as you'll find to the
OmniKey in a current keyboard.
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