Switched to Apple / Mac

My New “Old Style” Keyboard

December 19th, 2007

For all the praise that Apple has heaped upon them for their innovative designs I would think that they would spend a little more time in the area of ergonomics. I recently wrote about what I didn’t like about the new iMacs and one of the things I attacked was the crazy new keyboard that I absolutely despise. Truth be told, I was not that thrilled about the keyboard that came with the “white” iMacs either. The keys were a bit stiff and spongy and had a tendency to stick. This was particularly noticeable to me when I used the arrow keys to navigate. So while the layout was fine, I never found myself feeling overly satisfied with the feel and use of the keyboard. Then again, I come from the “old school” and my favorite keyboard of all time was the original IBM branded AT keyboard. It weighed 100 pounds and sounded like a little boy dragging a stick down a wooden fence when you got going on it but that keyboard was pure bliss in my mind. The keys were spring loaded as I figured out first hand when I took one apart years ago and all the springy things went flying. (I actually got it back together!) I’ve basically used an old IBM keyboard most of my computing life and did all the way up until I switched to Mac.

Somehow I managed to run across a 3 year old TidBits article by Adam C. Engst about the Matias Tactile Pro keyboard and it piqued my interest in replacing my Apple keyboard. The Tactile Pro mentioned in the original article has actually been updated to the Tactile Pro 2.0 model that is currently available. After sitting on the fence for a long time I decided to try one and purchased one from SmallDog Electronics a couple of weeks ago. The keyboard uses the old Alps key switches which are not exactly like the original IBM key mechanisms but have always been recognized as a close second. After using the keyboard for a few weeks now I can absolutely say that I like it a lot. If you’re a bit old fashion when it comes to keyboards, I recommend that you check it out.

The Matias is almost the exact same layout as the factory Apple keyboard with 2 subtle differences.

1. F16 is gone. The Matias uses the old method of grouping the function keys in sets of 4 with a little space in between each group. As a result it gives up the F16 key. No loss for me.

2. The spacebar is slightly wider which results in the Option keys being smaller. The Option key is just slightly smaller than a regular key as opposed to the elongated Control and Command keys on both the Apple and Matias keyboards. So far this hasn’t been an issue for me.

Pros:

I can type faster on this keyboard and it feels more fluid and easier to use. The keys have travel and response. No stickiness and I can get on a roll!

It has all the special symbols printed on the keys so I that I can see that I need to use Shift-Option-K for the special  character or Option-G for the © symbol. This is nice when you need that sort of thing. However, it take a little bit of getting used to the extra text on the keys when you first get it.

Has a power button for the system on. Not that big a deal if you have an iMac but could be very nice for Mac Pros or Minis.

Moves a USB port to the front if you desire.

Cons:

No Caps Lock light – This may bother some people who need the light to let them know when they ARE TYPING IN ALL CAPS.

Uses 2 USB ports if you want to use the USB port on the keyboard. However, it is USB 2.0 unlike the Apple keyboard which is USB 1.0. (slow) Although I have this listed as a con, I also have it listed as a Pro because essentially it allows you to “move” a USB 2.0 port from the back to the front. You’re welcome not use it all in which case you are losing the USB 1.0 port the Apple keyboard gave you.

You don’t want to use this in the library. It’s noisy. This doesn’t bother me as I am used to this with the old IBM keyboard. All my favorite keyboards have been noisy. Maybe that should be my litmus test in the future.

Bottom line is that I am glad that I got this keyboard. Apple should have spent more time studying keyboard ergonomics as opposed to how cool it looks or how thin it is.

Entry Filed under: Macintosh