[VLM]

We live in a weird world where insane prison overcrowding like conditions and total lack of privacy exists in some dysfunctional workplaces, but its only culturally acceptable to complain about the quiet little keyboards. Sure if my stomach rumbles, we're so tightly packed that I just cost the company $500 by throwing ten developers out of "flow" for an hour and thats OK, but oh god no not a keyboard that clicks.

At home I think my model M is pretty quiet and its certainly not disruptive but my entire family is not required so spend ten hours per day within an arms reach of me as though we're on a small rowboat together. Also textile floors and textile drapes and my office has acoustic foam ceiling tiles makes an extremely quiet environment whereas a hipster office of steel glass and concrete might reflect and echo all sounds.

[kpgraham]

I am using a model M right now. I bought three at a computer fair for $3 each about 20 years ago to save space on my desk. The advantage, other than the tactile and sonic feedback, is that my wife can tell when I am working.

[wojt_eu]

So can construction workers on the other side of the street.

[creshal]

> whereas a hipster office of steel glass and concrete might reflect and echo all sounds.

Yep. I had my second Model M shipped to the office and kept it there for a few days, but thanks to it being feng shui certified (wtf?) it was an open floor office, with the company meeting room only separated by a thin glass wall.

Sudden 140wpm bursts on a Model M under that conditions surprised quite a few visitors, even with the door closed, and was compared to "machine gun fire" when I was asked to finally take it home.

[johnward]

I don't think I've ever heard a Model M to compare but if I my uses the DasKey (blue switches I think) while I'm working it can get to me after a bit. Oh I did use a Model M in elementary school a couple times.

edit: they include the sound of the switches here. I don't hear a difference between blue and brown though http://www.daskeyboard.com/switches/

[groovy2shoes]

I've got a cmStorm with green switches as well as a Model-M. The green switches make the same sound as the blue switches, and all I can really say is that the sound of the buckling-spring switches is very distinctive. Where the Cherry MX switches give you an alto, medium-volume "click!" sound, the buckling-springs give more of a loud, tenor "clack!" sound.

While I do very much like my cmStorm for many tasks, when it comes down to just typing (writing documents, writing code, etc.), I very much prefer both the feel and the sound of the Model-M. The solid steel plate backing makes it into a suitable weapon, too -- I could probably cudgel an intruder to death with it and the thing would still work for another 30 years. Nice and heavy, it won't slide around or anything even during intense sessions.

Another thing that's great about the Model-M is that the keys actuate at precisely the moment the spring buckles and you hear the "clack!". This means that the keys need to fully reset before they will actuate again. I've noticed on my cmStorm that the Cherry MX switches click just a tad before the keys actually activate. As a side-effect, with some practice, you can actuate a key multiple times without letting it reset, and thus bypassing the click and a good amount of initiation energy.

In terms of feel, the Model-M has a bit more travel, and perhaps a tiny bit less resistance than the green switches (but still far more than blue switches).

Added bonus: the Model-M's circuitry is completely sealed within a membrane, while the actuators are sealed within the plastic housing, and it's got drainage built-in. Like, it has some shallow little canals between the keys, complete with drain holes on the bottom. Did you spill coffee on your Model-M? Whoops! No big deal. Maybe rinse it off with some water and wipe up your desk. No harm done!

Unicomp, the current holders of the buckling-spring patents and the Model-M IP, sell PS/2 and USB variants of the classic Model-M (though rebranded). They're even manufactured on the same equipment. Furthermore, they run considerably cheaper than most of the Cherry MX boards I've seen. Mine was, I think, $90 USD including shipping, compared to $130 for my cmStorm. And, yeah, despite the fact I got it in different colors than the original Model-M, it feels just the same as my Model-M. 10/10, would buy Unicomp again.

One potential drawback to the Model-M, though, is because of its matrix activation, only 2 or 3 keys will register at one time when multiple keys are held. This is true even for the USB model, because the connector is not the limiting factor, but rather the way all the keys are wired. For typical typing tasks, this is not a problem, but if you're a gamer you may want to consider sticking with the Cherries.

Another potential drawback is its size. The thing is huge compared to modern keyboards. To compensate, it's got a handy "pencil tray" up top.

Anyway, hope this helps!

[malnourish]

Where do you work that ten developer hours is only valued at $500?

I also totally understand the feeling that we're overcrowded, and that may be true in a lot of cases. However, products do take developers, and to be responsible citizens we can't use a too much space. So it's kind of a necessary evil.

One way this can be assuaged is with a stronger commitment to remote work or flexible hours.