I needed a new keyboard. After spending years typing on rubber dome keyboards (I reckon my 2006 Macbook Pro had the worst keyboard I have ever encountered), I finally decided to shell out some money on a decent one, my reasoning being that I would be spending a considerable amount of time typing on it in software engineering, and buying a decent one will last much longer than a cheap rubber dome one.
After some research, I decided the chosen one:
- Would be good quality
- Would have Cherry MX blue switches. Apparently the best ones for typing (I dont really game that much)
- Didn't have useless gaming or macro keys
- worked on a mac
- had a detachable USB cable on both ends incase the cable got frayed or damaged
- Have rubber feet on the bottom that weren't going to peel off
- Be reasonable looking, but didn't have to be too flashy.
I used my friends blackwidow keyboard which I kinda liked, but it had a whole bunch of macro crap on the side, and it had a shiny finish on the keys that was greasy and kinda unpleasant to use, so I decided against it. I also had a good look at the Filcos, but every Filco owner on Geekhack.org seemed to be a pretentious wanker (I know I'm shallow, but shit like that puts me off things). The Das Keyboard put me off because it had an ugly hump on the right hand side (I dont need a useless USB hub on my keyboard), and the newer ones are made in China and some members on Geekhack.org felt that there was a decline in quality, and the SteelSeries didn't have any keyboards that used Cherry Blue switches.
Finally I decided on one. And before I start I have to say what great service I got from pccasegear.com. Relax I'm not getting paid (because I'm a nobody) but they responded to my email inquiry in 11 minutes, and their shipping from Melbourne to here (Newcastle) only took a day!
I purchased the Ducky DK9008 Shine II for $149.00 AUD. When it arrived, I was struck at how minimalistic the packaging was. I guess the reasoning is that most high end keyboards aren't going to be sold in stores but rather online, and if you know what you want, there's no point in flashing advertising on the box. Either way the box had a nice professional look to it.
Inside you get the keyboard, a detachable mini (not micro) USB to normal USB cable, a key puller and red WASD caps, velcro cable tie, and a very poorly written "guide"
The model I chose has Cherry MX Blue switches with blue backlighting. The keyboard is extremely heavy, and feels very high quality.
What I like:
- It sounds like a real keyboard. Very clicky
- the Cherry Blue switches are nice and clicky. maybe I'd prefer something that is a touch lighter to depress, like a Cherry MX brown, but overall I still think the Blues were the best choice
- Nice and heavy
- the surfaces are super shiny like the BlackWidow, so they shouldn't attract as much grease
- a very attractive keyboard, it looks like a solid panel of keys which is the look I'm after
- fulfils all of the criteria I layed out earlier such as good quality, MX blue switches, no useless keys, works on OS X, has detachable cable, has solid rubber feet that wont peel off, and it good looking.
The only issues I have with the keyboard are:
- the name is stupid
- the caps, numLk and scrLk have the same coloured backlighting as the rest of the keyboard, so it's difficult to tell when these keys are engaged, furthermore, they are almost impossible to tell if they're engaged when the normal keyboard backlighting is on. Having the key LED a different colour, such as bright green is a much better solution
- the spacebar and other larger keys use Cherry black stabilisers, this results in those keys feeling slightly mushier than the other keys (It could be my imagination but they seem to be getting more springy and clicky now that I've been typing on them for a day. Or perhaps my fingers are getting stronger ;] )
- I've just had to buy a wrist rest. Because the keyboard is so solid and high off the ground, you can't use the desk as a wrist rest like you can on a flat, low Apple aluminium keyboard.
- The vast majority of the LED lighting options are useless.
- The main function of the keycap is indicated on top, and the secondary function indicated below. This is the reverse to every other keyboard on the planet, and for the rare occasion when I actually need to look at the keyboard (I'm bad at touch typing characters such as <>?":{}_+| etc, it confuses the hell outta me
So overall, I'm very happy with the keyboard. Minor issues aside, it's very solid and by far the best keyboard I've ever typed on.
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