> The CODE keyboard is just a very expensive version of your standard keyboard that can make cool clicking noises (which some of your co workers may not find that cool).
From the product page:
> These switches are unique in the Cherry line because they combine solid actuation force with quiet, non-click activation, and a nice tactile bump on every keystroke. These hard to find switches deliver a superior typing experience over cheap rubber dome keyboards – without deafening your neighbors in the process.
Yep, he didn't even bother to actually read and understand all the features even. He complains right at the end that it's noisy, but they mention right in the details that it uses the silent version of cherry switches so it isn't in fact "clicky".
An interesting rant. I ordered one of the keyboards to play with and see how it holds up. For me the "features" for keyboards are:
1) accuracy
2) repeatability
3) positional awareness
#1 is about hitting the right key that you wanted to hit and is facilitated by keeping distances correct. I had a vaio keyboard where the keys to the right of the home key were a bit further away from the home row than the left ones and it drove me nuts.
Repeatability is about allowing your muscles to actually train. Since much of what I type is by muscle memory anyway the more often the exact same muscle sequences are actuated the more 'trained' into the muscles they become.
Positional awareness is about "feel" and knowing where your fingers are, relative to where they should be, by how the keys feel. This is something I really didn't appreciate until I learned to play the piano where playing a chord can happen anywhere your hands are in the right place, and getting from one chord to another is again a function of where you are vs where you want to be.
I use a Logitech G15 at work (a G10 at home) which is ok, although I can type faster on my old ThinkPad keyboard. (black with cherry key switches and heck-a loud.) I like the programmability of the "macro" keys so that I can put basic sequences in them, but would appreciate better Linux support :-) Anyway, we'll see how this keyboard compares.
Yes, it's the thing with keyboard preferences - they are highly subjective. They can depend on what OS you use, IDE/editor, shell, even your least hated browser.
For example, I don't care for the Step in/Step out keys because I don't use debuggers much and even if I did I probably wouldn't need a special key for those tasks - I would've just mapped them to a chord that I use without looking at the keyboard - or something like that.
I think the "ideal programmer's keyboard" should cover the tactile front (key-press depth and feel, size and arrangement of the keys) and allow as much customization as to mappings as practically possible - perhaps going as far as providing several sets of stickers on a sheet and letting the user attach them to the keys.
It should be noted that the maker of that keyboard (WASD Keyboards) sells customizable keycaps for their other keyboards. It seems reasonable that if the CODE keyboard sells well they'll probably offer to sell customizable keycaps for it as well, so you wouldn't even need stickers, just order a handful of custom keycaps and swap them out yourself.
Yeah, how did this thing even make it to the front page? He's completely off base with 90% of his critique. About the only valid concern he seems to have is whether or not the keyboard can take a coffee spill. From what I've seen of it, I'd say it probably stands a better chance than a lot of keyboards do, although it's certainly not "spill proof" by any means.
If it made cool clicking noises, I'd be more interested. It makes a standard quiet cherry noise. Now if it was a complex white ALPS switch or something completely new, we'd be talking something genuinely interesting (or at least actually rare/difficult to come by).
> Why not put special keys for things programmers use, eg: Build, Debug, Step In, Step Over, Step Out, and a special key between Ctrl and Alt just dedicated for ‘Auto Complete’ so we don’t have to hit Ctrl+Space ever again!
Because those aren't system commands, where as media keys are.
Another fact which is ignored in this "review" is the possibilities for tweaking and customization; e.g. switching the layout, pulling of key-caps, etc.
> The CODE keyboard is just a very expensive version of your standard keyboard that can make cool clicking noises (which some of your co workers may not find that cool).
From the product page:
> These switches are unique in the Cherry line because they combine solid actuation force with quiet, non-click activation, and a nice tactile bump on every keystroke. These hard to find switches deliver a superior typing experience over cheap rubber dome keyboards – without deafening your neighbors in the process.