WTS Keyboard

19:45
Sat
02
Jan 2010

WTS Keyboard

It definitely wasn't a good buy. I was dreaming about new keyboard with multimedia keys to control mp3 player instead of binding strange global hotkeys like Ctrl+Alt+Home, so I was more than happy when I chose nice looking A4-Tech X-SLIM KL-7MU model with USB, headphones and microphone extension cable. It was part of my hardware upgrade together with new processor, motherboard, monitor and more. I've also installed Windows 7 then.

It took place 1.5 months ago and I've experienced many things since then. Most things work fine but I couldn't get rid of strange feeling that coding on my new computer is less comfortable than before. I blamed it on Windows 7 and I was partially right as there is a scandalous flaw in this new Microsoft product - GUI is no longer hardware accelerated! So it's no suprise that I can often see windows and controls being drawn as I move them, scroll them or type my code, even after turning off all the animations, transparencies and even all this beautiful Aero. As a proof, look at this YouTube video: Windows 7 GUI slowness. I just feel like working under Linux before installing graphics drivers. What a shame, a big step backward...

But after comparing my experiences from work with these from home I've noticed that it has to do something with the keyboard. I've always been opposing to "flat", laptop-style keyboards and my new A4tech one is just like this. So I returned to my old-school, white keyboard. Now the GUI of Windows 7 still annoys me a bit, but coding is much better. You may tell it's the matter of taste but as for me, I'm sure now that I prefer to code on a keyboard with high "step", where I can clearly see, hear and feel whether I've pressed particular key or not. I just type faster and make less mistakes on such keyboard. I'm also sure it's not the matter of getting used to it as I tried to use laptop-style keyboard now for more than a month as well as for three months when I've been in USA and in both cases I couldn't start to like it. So now I want to sell my new great keyboard (see the auction). Anyone interested? :)

Comments (7) | Tags: hardware shopping

Comments

ed 2010-01-02 20:35:03	What a rookie mistake ;) As a programmer always choose keyboard by checking "touch feel" not "multimedia features" :) On a side note: I've noticed that many of people is making lots of typos when using flat keyboards on keyboards. This is a proof that flat keyboard is just a better looking gadget than something practical.
ed 2010-01-02 20:37:38	Doh, I meant: "using flat keyboards on laptops". There should be an "Edit" option :) Enabled for 1-2min after posting.
Wyszo 2010-01-02 21:20:01	Heh, that's interesting. I had once made similar mistake - I was dreaming about keyboard with flat keys, so I bought one. And I liked it very much, but... after about two months I tried to write sth on my dad's computer with "normal" keyboard - and I was nearly unable to do that - I felt like a secretary, who never possesed ability to type fast :D I think my speed of typing (on traditional keyboard) dropped by about 1/3 (or more). That day I put my flat keyboard on a pile of other computer related rubbish and have never used it since then :) Maybe it allowed me to type a little faster, but only on that particular model. Besides, it was not nearly as comfortable as most laptop keyboards. Few months ago I have bought Microsoft Natural Keyboard 4000 (~120-150zł) and basically I like it, but... haven't been using it for a few months in favour of... my old (very, very chip - about 8 zł) keyboard, which is not as cool, pretty and geek, but it simply "feels" better - it's just more comfortable to use (although I still recommend MS Natural Keyboard) :D By the way - imo mulitmedia features in keyboard are useless - multimedia keys are too far away from other keys, so one has to look at his keyboard before pressing one of them. And do you know anyone who uses more multimedia keys than "vol up, vol down, mute, open winamp and open firefox"? I don't :) P.S. Happy coding in 2010 :D P.P.S. And please forgive me my grammar mistakes...
vashpan 2010-01-05 13:59:20	Hmm, iteresting thing about this "Windows 7 slow GUI". But for me at least, this is not a very big issue, but of course this is a thing to fix soon :) I didn't even notice this until this post - I'm using Windows 7 nearly a year now, from betas and RC to final, some time alongside with WinXP. I think maybe this is a problem with gfx drivers, which don't accelerate some GDI routines under the Windows 7 ?
Xion 2010-01-09 12:56:48	Flat keyboards generally enable to type faster and make it easier to employ other fingers (other than point ones) while typing. Making more mistakes that is a side-effect of worse coordination between those fingers. And about that GUI "issue"... You cannot really expect anything else. While windows themselves can be drawn as rectangular, textured quads, their interior cannot. It's because of API applications are allowed to use (you know, WM_PAINT, device contexts, GDI and all that stuff). So workaround MS seemed to use is to make GDI draw on texture that is subsequently used put on quad that is rendered as window's interior. If you rapidly resize it, you can see texture beyond its bounds. Since it's just black pixels, we can therefore assume Windows uses D3DTA_BORDER as texture coordinate addressing method :))
Xion 2010-01-09 13:10:29	Appendix: I actually found out that even the so-called "slowness" is intended. Quote after Wikipedia's article for Windows Aero: "When moving windows, the CPU and GPU load is reduced by limiting the frame rate that the Aero part is rendered in order to provide better performance to applications and programs." So once again: it's not a bug, it's a feature :)
novo 2010-01-29 10:09:29	It's funny, cause the keyboard you bought is the best one I've worked with :) I don't know why, but I always type faster when using the flat models. It's true that switching from flat to classic is much harder and takes some time(for me usually 2-3 days) but even though I'm currently using the classic one, when I occasionally write on my laptop, it's much faster. The only thing that I don't like in A4Tech flat keyboard is that they are easily destroyed when flooded. I lost 3 of those this way(that's why i use classic old optimus now). Disassembling them and cleaning didn't help(with one exception). All in all, it's a matter of taste:)

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WTS Keyboard

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