Picking the Right Keyboard

While the key layout of keyboards hasn't changed for more than a century, that doesn't mean you shouldn't think about what might be wrong with the keyboard you use right now. In addition to concerns about repetitive stress injuries, you may want to consider the usefulness of a keyboard that feels right to the touch, or that offers handy extra buttons.
Until recently, there were two major methods of keyboard manufacture: mechanical and membrane.

In a mechanical keyboard, each key has its own internal switch that signals a keypress that's separate from that of the next key. in that the switch inside each key clicks as you depress it; these offer more resistance as you push down and are quicker to snap back to the ready position than keys on membrane keyboards.

Inside a membrane keyboard, all the keys sit on a keyboard-length sheet of plastic membrane. The membrane is imprinted with a pattern that, when touched by a key, acts like the switch in a mechanical keyboard and sends the "key depressed" signal to the computer.

To connect to your computer, keyboards use either the PS/2 port or a USB port. Most PCs and all Macs now use USB connections. Almost all keyboards come with a USB to PS/2 converter plug in case you don't have a USB port available.

The latest trend in keyboards is wireless: A battery-powered keyboard sends a signal to a USB transceiver connected to your PC. The advantage of a wireless connection is that your keyboard is not tethered to the PC, which eliminates the wire that would drape across your desk. This is especially useful for businesspeople during presentations or conferences, because the wireless keyboard can be placed anywhere from ten to 30 feet away from the transceiver.

Deluxe keyboards add lots of features, from dedicated keys for launching applications or Web addresses to multimedia controls for CDs and DVDs. These features add convenience, but they require that you install additional software.

Choose your keyboard...!