[esw]

Agreed, and it's so subjective. I was a long-time Apple keyboard user (I had the flat chiclet board for years), and struggled with whether a mechanical keyboard would be too loud, or the extra key travel would bother me. I ordered a key/switch sampler, but even with that it's pretty hard to get a sense what they'll feel like on a board. I obsessed about keyboards for probably a month before breaking down and ordering a WASD with Cherry MX Blues. For what it's worth, I found that the loudness of these keyboards was wildly overstated, and I think you probably get used to whatever you've got after a few weeks of use anyway. I never really think about my keyboard until one of these threads pops up, which is funny considering how much mental energy I devoted to choosing one.

[pbowyer]

Thank you, this is really helpful. I find the keyboard on my 2009 MBP pretty good so the chiclet board is appealing - but equally I know I hit these keys too hard for my own good, and bottom them out all the time. It's more tiring to type on than a good desktop keyboard.

> I obsessed about keyboards for probably a month before breaking down and ordering a WASD [...] I never really think about my keyboard until one of these threads pops up, which is funny considering how much mental energy I devoted to choosing one.

Oh boy, that sounds just like me! You should have seen the months I took to spec out my new desktop computer. Drop me an email if you want to have a foil for these times :)