Typing code on the in-built keyboard for MacBook Pro, it turns out, is not a good idea for your fingers, especially if you type codes all day. Switching to a mechanical keyboard was the right thing to do.
So What are mechanical keyboards? I’ll quote from the Tactile Keyboards Group founded by the legendary Eric Raymond.
What makes them better than a modern soft-touch keyboard? The fundamental reason is ergonomic. Mechanical keyboards (and especially buckling-spring keyboards) provide clear tactile feedback that a keypress has taken place a handful of milliseconds before the key would actually bottom out. This feedback makes it possible for the typist to stop pushing before the key bottoms out, reducing total effort by up to a (measured) factor of two.
I wanted to get the CODE 87-Key Mechanical Keyboard - Cherry MX Green
but shipping it out to Australia is too damn expensive. $165 + $60 shipping.
Instead, I got the Steel Series gaming mechanical keyboard from Jb-Hifi, priced at $125.
So What’s the verdict ?
Typing on a mechanical keyboard feels absolutely amazing. I just feel dumb not knowing about them earlier. I’m now typing longer, faster and better.
Getting used to it took about a week or so, and to make the process fun I practiced at Typing.io.
For more information about mechanical keyboards, see:
Reddit Mechanical Keyboard Group
Tactile Keyboards Group
CODE Keyboards co-founded by Jeff Atwood.