Definitely looks to be from a DEC terminal of some kind, based from the switches and layout :D

Well this is the dumbest thing I've read. If I needed confirmation to stay on Plasma, this is it.

Plasma looked good but it didn't handle suspend very well :( So I had to go back to Cinnamon.

I've heard keyboards that use dome with slider designs, like Packard Bell keyboards, are about as cheap as generic non-mechanical keyboards, but avoid the mushy bottom-out, making the typing experience infinitely better.

Something like the Topre Realforce keyboards are nice if you want something a bit softer but still high-end. Most of the reasons we end up with bad feeling keyboards is companies looking to cut costs. I highly encourage other developers/typists to find an opportunity to give a good mechanical keyboard a try.

Topre Realforce keyboards are expensive, but very good quality, and pleasant to use. A pair of them have been my daily drivers at home and at work for the last 8 years.

I think the OP's article is quite a good rundown on basic usability features that are perplexingly missing on many keyboards. The Realforce ticks the boxes - except for extra media keys, which YMMV on. I also appreciate the ability to swap the CTRL and CAPS LOCK key on the keyboard by flipping a dip switch, which allows my preferred layout (it even includes the extra replacement caps lock key, and it actually has an LED under where the old CTRL is, so you keep your caps indicator).

I just bought a Topre Realforce R2 (variable weight) not too long ago, and I love it!

Nothing in the article indicated that this is a mechanical keyboard.

This is some generic rubber-dome over membrane keyboard.

Oops, you are right! I re-read it, and... not sure where I got that impression from.

So, Amazon made a status quo membrane keyboard. OK, uh, then yeah I guess I'll just move on then.

On fullsize keyboards, Num Lock is less useful than Scroll Lock.

Numlock would make a lot more sense if fullsize keyboards both didn't have arrow keys at all and also split the 0 numpad key into numlock & 0, so that way it's easier/simpler/ergonomic to toggle. We could also do away with Page Up, Page Down, Home, End, Delete, and Insert, since they're already integrated into the numlock key.

The numlock key exists today because of the keyboard layout of the original IBM PC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IBM_Model_F_XT.png).

That original keyboard did not have separate arrow and pgup/pgdown (cursor control) keys, and numlock was how one toggled between the calculator keypad being 'numbers' vs. cursor controls (see the image above). The current 'separated' cursor controls and number pad layout arrived sometime during the IBM AT era, and at that point the 'numlock' key started to make less sense. It was kept around for backwards compatibility with old software that used the state of the numlock key to change its behavior (and/or that relied on the exact scan codes output by the number keypad in combination with the state of the numlock bit).

You see, my comment was made because I do believe that numlock makes sense. The ANSI layout is wider than it needs to be because of duplicate keys separating the main area from the numpad. Remove those keys, move the numpad further in, put numlock in a more ergonomic spot, and now they everyday keyboard has become more compact, ergonomic, and useful.

These are just things that most generic keyboards already have.

I see no reason why anyone should buy this keyboard over the one that probably came with their computer.

Unique features, like doubleshot keycaps, N-key rollover, layers and macros, actuation that is seperated from the bottom-out, good build quality, and more can all be found on a decent mechanical keyboard.

Also, mechanical keyboards don't have to be loud! Linear and tactile Matias switches, Cherry MX/Gateron silents, and Topre are all great keyswitches that are as quiet, if not more, than your standard rubber dome.