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Das Keyboard, a popular keyboard manufacturer that specializes in "clicky" mechanical keyboards like the Apple Extended Keyboard or the IBM Model M, has announced a Macintosh-edition of its Model S Professional keyboard.
Das's keyboards are a favorite of many computer users, including MacRumors chief Arnold Kim. The Model S Professional for Mac is the same keyboard as the Model S that Das Keyboard has been selling, but with the appropriate "control", "option", and "command" keys for the Macintosh, plus function keys for sleep, brightness +/-, mute, volume +/-, eject, play/pause, next and previous track.
CNET gave the Model S Professional 4/5 stars, praising its "tactile feel and satisfying clack" and noting that "power typists will find comfort, utility, and nostalgia in the Model S Professional's sleek design and springboard performance." The keyboard "brings back the same mechanical key switches and provides tactical and audible feedback that might even improve your typing speed and accuracy." The mechanical key switches of the 2.6 lb. Model S are designed to withstand more than 50 million strokes.
The Model S Professional for Mac will be priced at $133 when it's released, but is available for pre-order for $113. Das Keyboard says it has a limited quantity available for immediate shipping, but the keyboard will be shipped in volume on April 16, 2012.
Top Rated Comments
I never understood the allure of the clicky keyboards - I just assumed it was for people who wanted to sound busier than they actually were.
It's less about the "click" as much as it is about the feel of it. The mechanical keys feel very different than standard non-mechanical keys.
arn
However, I was asked to take it home when I worked at the Sony San Diego Studio. I was told that there were "several complaints" about the noise!
The Model M is not actually a mechanical keyboard. The contact mechanism is, in fact, a dome in newer models. (In the very earliest IBM models, it was hall-effect, I beleive). No IBM Model M has true mechanical switch contacts. (e.g. wiping action).
The magic of the Model M is the patented buckling spring mechanism. It is designed to give positive feedback as to switch actuation. When you hear and feel the "click", the switch has been operated. It is designed to always click AFTER the contact has been made. You know you can then lift your finger.
It is also designed such that this occurs prior to the key bottoming-out. When you type "correctly" on a model M, you are releasing the keys before they bottom-out, minimizing stress on your fingers.