Keyboards and Chicken Parm
Oh mighty keyboard.
Thou hath been with us for some decades. Ne'er really a change. Always QWERTY, sometimes slim, sometimes fat. We love you in all your forms. The keyboard may be the most basic input peripheral we use daily, but how many people see the importance?
EVERYONE seems to make their own keyboard. HP, Dell, Sony, Gateway ... all are just rebranded pieces of Chinese manufacturing. They didn't create the keyboard, nor spend much time analyzing it. It ships with your desktop computer and it's usually mediocre at best.
Enter Logitech. Now this is a brand I can get behind. Certainly not all their keyboards are fabulous, but the vast majority are. They always work, have a nice touch and are available at any store you can purchase computer accessories.
My Experience
Lately I have been noticing hand fatigue with my awful HP mouse and really just disliked the accompanying wireless keyboard. Not awful, but certainly far from ideal considering how much time I use both of them. I really wasn't looking forward to spending a thousand dollars on a keyboard and mouse, but I was definitely willing to drop money for something that reviewed well.
My quest ultimately brought me to journalism forums. Here are these people whose living it was to type. Lots of people had nice things to say about Logitech, but then I read the header of this post:
"Mac Keyboard compatible with Windows"
Come to find out that people are singing the praises of the stock iMac keyboard with a titanium finish. They're not big on wireless and say if you don't actually need it, that wired versions of keyboards save you money and batteries. I read further and this diety of a keyboard is available brand new from mac.com for $49. I ordered one 5 minutes later.
Fast forward to today, where I realize that the true measure of any computer is its weakest part. Normally we would think of that as memory, monitor or something else - and it is. However, most people's weakest link is their keyboard and mouse. While they all do the same thing functionally, few are comfortable and a pleasure to use.
I think the true measure of any Italian restaurant is its ability to make basic dishes like lasagna, or my favorite, Chicken Parm. Chicken Parm should melt in your mouth. It should be so good, you doubt it's chicken you're eating and that they replaced it with some Chilean Sea Bass, or other delectable protein. It's a VERY simple dish with only a few ingredients so really anyone *should* be able to make it. But they don't all.
I feel the same should hold true for a computer manufacturer. They should put some time, thought and effort into creating a nice set of input peripherals to ship with their computers.
Apple puts so much time into not only the design of their computers, but the tactile elements, look and feel, and the general user experience. I personally can't buy a Mac right now due to the pricing, but I must say, this Chicken Parm ... err ... keyboard makes me want to save up for another meal.