anyone else hate the new apple keyboards?

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
this is very random, I know.



Unfortunately recently I spilled diet coke on my graphite G3 iMac's keyboard when the lights fused. The keyboard subsequently has been behaving erratically and not really working, much to my dismay.



I really needed a new keyboard and my mother happened to be near an Apple store in town and so she got me the £20 white Apple keyboard that I think is also supplied with new iMacs etc.



I hate it! It hurts me to use it, it has too much of a tilt on it and it's not flat enough to the ground. It's a strain on my hands and it puts me off using my mac just now. Why isn't it adjustable like the old keyboard, which I found comfortable?



I'm so desperate to go back to my old keyboard I've been trying to use it even though the shift key on the right (and many other keys) doesn't work and it's prone to suddenly producing random characters by itself. Often it doesn't work at all.



I've looked around but I can't see where I can get the older style of keyboard. The ones on ebay are tiny third party things without the eject key and without the seperate arrow keypad.



There's also the question of what to do with the new keyboard if I get a new one.



Don't suppose anyone has a newish graphite imac era keyboard they want to swap for a shiny new white apple keyboard..
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 33
    I dislike the new keyboards because of their color...that damn white gets dirty far too easily. I still have and use a keyboard from one of the G3 Bondi Macs, which has sticky keys and a partially-severed-but-still-functioning cord.
  • Reply 2 of 33
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    How about Macally Icekey? It has the basic features and layout of the Apple keyboards and a good reputation.



    Personally I like HH Lite2 best. It's a very different style of keyboard, but does have an internal hub.



    It's not like an extra intact USB keyboard is a problem. Stick it in a closet for a rainy day, sell it on eBay, whatever.
  • Reply 3 of 33
    eckingecking Posts: 1,588member
    I personally love the apple keyboard it's extremely comfortable to me but if you don't like it return yours. Other companies make mac keyboards.



    1. http://www.macally.com/spec/bluetooth/btkey.html



    2. http://matias.ca/tactilepro/index.php <-- this one sounds like the keyboard your using



    3. http://matias.ca/usb2keyboard/index.php



    4. http://matias.ca/osxkeyboard/index.php



    5. http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...lm=TF503LL%2FA



    6. http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...lm=TC851LL%2FA



    7. http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...lm=TC234LL%2FA



    8. http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...lm=TC232LL%2FA



    There 8 other choices, I'm sure there are more. Plus you could always just get a win keyboard and use that program to switch the window keyboard and alt.
  • Reply 4 of 33
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ecking

    I personally love the apple keyboard it's extremely comfortable to me but if you don't like it return yours. Other companies make mac keyboards.



    1. http://www.macally.com/spec/bluetooth/btkey.html



    2. http://matias.ca/tactilepro/index.php <-- this one sounds like the keyboard your using



    3. http://matias.ca/usb2keyboard/index.php



    4. http://matias.ca/osxkeyboard/index.php



    5. http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...lm=TF503LL%2FA



    6. http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...lm=TC851LL%2FA



    7. http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...lm=TC234LL%2FA



    8. http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...lm=TC232LL%2FA



    There 8 other choices, I'm sure there are more. Plus you could always just get a win keyboard and use that program to switch the window keyboard and alt.




    The Tactile Pro is not the default Mac keyboard, sorry. It's supposedly one of the best keyboards out there.
  • Reply 5 of 33
    What's different about it? I have the one that came with my Mac that I purchased in September, and while it is a bit of a pain sometimes, I don't see anything 'wrong' with it.
  • Reply 6 of 33
    Believe it or not, putting that diet-coke keyboard through an automatic dishwasher cycle may bring it back to life (google it). Similarly, I was able to clean a nasty crumby white iMac keyboard back to pristine quality in the kitchen sink; just remember to air-dry it for 3 days or so.
  • Reply 7 of 33
    eckingecking Posts: 1,588member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Placebo

    The Tactile Pro is not the default Mac keyboard, sorry. It's supposedly one of the best keyboards out there.



    What I mean is it sounds like the old mac keyboard he used to use that he had liked, more like the old pro keyboard. I wasn't talking about the current keyboards.
  • Reply 8 of 33
    justinjustin Posts: 403member
    I really love my Mac keyboard - the wireless clickety-clack version. Touch-typist heaven!!
  • Reply 9 of 33
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ecking

    What I mean is it sounds like the old mac keyboard he used to use that he had liked, more like the old pro keyboard. I wasn't talking about the current keyboards.



    Oh, sorry, I misunderstood your post.
  • Reply 10 of 33
    Fentek Industries, Inc. sells an ergonomic keyboard for the Mac. There are two models, one with a trackpad and one without.







    Features:

    Built in Touchpad acts as your mouse

    Left and Right mouse buttons on touchpad

    Contoured split key design for ergonomic comfort

    Two additional bus powered USB ports

    Built in wrist support

    Split space bar, one for each hand

    High quality membrane key switches

    Double injection keycaps for extended wear

    Separate cursor keypads

    Power OFF button

    15 Function Keys

    Dual ALT, SHIFT, and CONTROL keys

    LED indicators for Num Lock, Caps Lock, and Scroll Lock

    Dimensions 20.5 inches x 9.5 inches x 2 inches

    Operating System - Apple Mac OS 9.2 or later

    3 year manufacturers warranty
  • Reply 11 of 33
    Quote:

    Originally posted by troberts

    Fentek Industries, Inc. sells an ergonomic keyboard for the Mac. There are two models, one with a trackpad and one without.







    Features:

    Built in Touchpad acts as your mouse

    Left and Right mouse buttons on touchpad

    Contoured split key design for ergonomic comfort

    Two additional bus powered USB ports

    Built in wrist support

    Split space bar, one for each hand

    High quality membrane key switches

    Double injection keycaps for extended wear

    Separate cursor keypads

    Power OFF button

    15 Function Keys

    Dual ALT, SHIFT, and CONTROL keys

    LED indicators for Num Lock, Caps Lock, and Scroll Lock

    Dimensions 20.5 inches x 9.5 inches x 2 inches

    Operating System - Apple Mac OS 9.2 or later

    3 year manufacturers warranty




    But can it make my coffee?
  • Reply 12 of 33
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    Back in the day I had a Microsoft Natural Elite (PS/2) that was roughly that shape, no touchpad (I don't see why a desktop keyboard would need one...). It was a distinct step up from a standard layout Keytronic keyboards of that time, but quite cheap. However, the Mac laptop keyboards felt better, and the HH Lite2 I have now is a lot better still. I feel the only way to step up from the HH Lite2 is a Kinesis Advantage but I doubt I'll be dropping $300 on a keyboard anytime soon. Multiple, freely programmable thumb buttons would be soo awesome...
  • Reply 13 of 33
    amoryaamorya Posts: 1,103member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ecking

    What I mean is it sounds like the old mac keyboard he used to use that he had liked, more like the old pro keyboard. I wasn't talking about the current keyboards.



    It's meant to be emulating the Apple Extended Keyboard (from the beige era)...
  • Reply 14 of 33
    yes i hate my keyboard and am not using my mac now. i guess its a person preference deal. if anyone wants to buy it let me know
  • Reply 15 of 33
    Nothing beats the original Apple Extended or an IBM Model M.
  • Reply 16 of 33
    bentonbenton Posts: 161member
    Maybe Apple could be the in the vanguard and make available as an option a DVORAK layout. Would the education market be a good start?
  • Reply 17 of 33
    The iMac G3 keyboard is really easy to disassemble and clean. I spilled Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on mine once. I mapped out all of the keys, popped them off, soaked them, cleaned the board and it worked fine. Once you pop off a couple of the keys using a butter knife, it's easy to pop the rest of the keys off by hand.
  • Reply 18 of 33
    BTW, I'm talking about the iMac keyboard with the black keys (iMac with the round mouse). The keys are like working with Lego bricks which snap together.
  • Reply 19 of 33
    Quote:

    Originally posted by philmaker2004

    BTW, I'm talking about the iMac keyboard with the black keys (iMac with the round mouse). The keys are like working with Lego bricks which snap together.



    Yes, the ease with which they could be disassembled manifested itself more than once at my school (we used to have ~60 G3 iMacs), which led to some "interesting" key arrangements. Also popular was switching the colored plastic things on the mice, so we could end up with hybrid orange/blue mice. ah, good times...
  • Reply 20 of 33
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Benton

    Maybe Apple could be the in the vanguard and make available as an option a DVORAK layout. Would the education market be a good start?



    System Preferences->International. There's your Dvorak layout. You can open the Keyboard Viewer, too.



    Either you touch type or hunt and peck. In the first case, you don't look at the keyboard. In the second case, it doesn't help you at all to bother to switch.



    The niche group Dvorak would be best suited for is english typists and computer professionals, and even for the overwhelming majority of those people Dvorak is not cost effective to learn or handy to use. Getting a good keyboard and putting in the time required to learn a good text editor have far better return on investment.



    I'd consider switching from QWERTY when there is a fundamentally faster alternative, such as a chorded keyboard, with universal support across operating systems.



    (Yes I tried Dvorak.)
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