[Sussex] Check Out Tesco for a Cheap MP3 Player

[Stephen Williams]

I have an Apple extended USB keyboard. It feels quite nice for a
membrane keyboard, and looks much nicer than the average beige PC tat.
It also has a 2 port USB hub built in.

The only snag is that the keys don't match a 105 key intnl PC keyboard.
You can swap two of the keycaps over, but the left alt and " and @
symbols are misplaced. Mind you if you touch type it's not an issue. The
other great thing is that you plug it into a decent linux box and it
JustWorks™. In Windows it's the usual interminable wait for a driver to
be found.

Of course being white it does show the dirt a bit, but then you should
clean keyboards regularly anyway.


On Tue, 2007-02-06 at 10:49 +0000, John Crowhurst wrote:
> On Tue, February 6, 2007 09:02, Jacqui Caren wrote:
> > Fay Zee wrote:
> >> Anyone else spotting bargains like this, please do mention it :-)
> >
> > The great Keyboard hunt
> > -----------------------
> > Using a keyboard for a living I tend to go through a new one every year
> > or so. I am not a touch typist and tend to hammer the poor sods to
> > death. So I have been hunting for a decent split layout keybaord to
> > force me to type correctly.
> 
> My suggestion is buy a more robust keyboard. I use an old Dell keyboard
> from my first Dell computer as its heavy and mechanical with proper click
> to the keys. My niece (11 months) and nephew (3) play on it with no fear
> of damage.

Sadly I don't think they make these any more. I had a couple and they're
the best keyboards I have ever used. I still have one for use with my
desktop and, with any luck, it'll last until we have DirectThought™
input.


> When I worked at Demon, we were using Olivetti keyboards that had
> Coca-cola and foodstuffs in the keys so we'd regularly pull the keytops
> off, open the keyboard and wash the board, case and keys in a sink before
> drying under the hot air dryers.
> 
> Cheap keyboards simply won't last. You may find that a membrane keyboard
> will have an odd feel to it, that and repeated hammering will resort in a
> worn out membrane.
> 
> > Item#1
> >
> > Maplin have a split keyboard for sale at 7.99 - the catch is that it is
> > US not UK layout :-)
> > The advantage is that it does force you to ty[e correctly.
> > The disadvantage is that you type much slower for a day or two and
> > heavily used programing keys are no longer in easy reach. (such as # and
> > \)
> 
> The European keyboard has typically 102 (105 with a Win98 keyboard) and
> the US keyboard has 101 (104), so you will soon miss that key. You can get
> keycaps for the key quirks but its not the same as having that key.
> 
> > Item #2
> >
> > Aldi were selling a rubber rollup keyboard for ~8UKP.
> > This is a membrane jobbie but real handy for a firled laptop
> > where you want to do data entry with wet/dirty hands and dont want
> > "crap in your lappie".
> 
> This keyboard won't last 5 minutes if you are percussive with the keys.
> 
> Have a look at Cherry keyboards for their reliability. Something like the
> Cymotion for £10+VAT for instance:
> http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=175498
> Or for the novelty of a Master Linux keyboard for £20+VAT:
> http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=137168
> 
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