Mechanical keyboards.

Mechanical keyboards are cool, just not in the open space offices

and in what time dimensions do you think @24th-Dragon?

They're not even a fad, they're a niche hobby that a small segment of people have enjoyed for year and will continue to do so.

Anything that involves skill with electricals and a soldering iron will always be niche.

Being delighted to use your computer is a fad.

Being able to type fast is a fad?

@smoq That's the problem of the office, not the keyboard.

Open plan is fine for socializing and pair programming sessions, not for productive focus work. Private office boots and attic rooms is where the chicks of big work is done.

Fuck employers who don't understand focus. Also, people can stick their "but just use headphones" argument up their ass. For serious lone wolf work, I need foamed walls and a lockable door.

And I will use mech keyboards until I die.

MX Brown for life. No RGB crap or gamer switches, just a plain Ducky typing keyboard.

@bittersweet I absolutely agree with you. Working in open space now. I've agreed with my boss to change my core hours, so I now start later and therefore finish later than the rest of the office. I do the best work when everyone is gone.

In other words, my day now splits nicely into the meeting part and the working part.

@smoq I tend to just hang around the office, possibly slightly drugged, brainstorming things, attending meetings.

Then the implementation comes at home. I did manage to get a few private booths (almost like a toilet room, but with a standing desk and a display instead of a shitting bowl) installed at the office as well, which are amazing.

In the end, I do prefer a darkened room, a bottle of tawny port and my lovely desk at home though.

@bittersweet exactly my setup. Wanted to use silencer rings (also wondered how it feels) but they never arrived.

I use mech keyboard because it feels nicer, easy maintenance and sturdy as hell (also contributes to nice feel). Any increased productivity is fad imho. If typing is where most of your time is spend you are doing it wrong. Propper dev tools/setup can help greatly. Perhaps learning Dvorak can contribute a bit of you still worry about type speed, will help more than mech keyboard...

@SortOfTested Wait... what?

@hjk101

For me the main reasons are durability and accuracy.

10 years ago I would buy cheap $30 keyboards, and eventually you start noticing that one letter is missing very often from sentences. The keys & contacts just wear out. You get a new keyboard, and that one will last another 3 months... until you realize how much you spend on your "trash keyboard subscription".

Granted, I went slightly overboard, bought 3 mech keyboards and built a fourth one myself (Ergodox layout in aluminum & cherrywood, spent probably around €1.5k on materials & tools).

I use the Ergodox a lot at home, but the other 3 are €90 Ducky One 2 Horizon keyboards which are amazing as well.

And in my opinion, MX brown switches are at the exact same sound level as Macbook butterfly switches -- I've never heard anyone complain about it even when I used it in a larger office space.

"You've gotta try mechanical keyboards, I never went back"

Tried one, went straight back.

@odite Your fault if you didn't try long enough for Stockholm's syndrome to take in!

@bittersweet
Browns are fine, and if they're not, people can use a couple of o-rings. I vacillate between the keyboard I use at work, but thanks to noise cancelling headphones, even blues aren't an issue.

@bittersweet 62g aqua zilents for me...and it's quieter than some of the people typing on membranes around me.

The custom key mapping is just amazing IMO. I love having more desk space and placing keys where I need them. Factoring in my enjoyment of building electronics just makes it all a fun hobby. I can understand why some clicky tactile rainbow board would be obnoxious but personally I don't have issues ignoring things I don't like.

@jbrandona119

Jim randomly yelling "HEEEEEEY BOB HOW WAS YOUR HOLIDAY YOU GOT A NICE TAN DID YOU HAVE A GOOD FLIGHT HAHAHAHAHA YEAH HOLIDAYS ARE ALWAYS TOO SHORT RIGHT BUT TELL ME ARE YOU GOING TO ROSA'S BARBEQUE PARTY YOU REALLY SHOULD LAST TIME WAS A BLAST WELL I'LL SEE YOU THERE"

That's reason number three I have a mech keyboard.

The keys are more silent than my coworker's voices, but the added weight turns it into an excellent blunt weapon, the switches can withstand the impact, and with a bit of isopropyl you can flush Jimmy's blood out of the keycaps.

Mechanical keyboards are for connoisseurs