TUAW Braintrust: What are your views on keyboards?

I've got a new aluminium wired keyboard and a previous gen white BT full size keyboard. I'd recommend the latter for programmers, for sure. You can still get them new-old stock on eBay. Here's the place I got mine (UK-based, so not so useful for over-the-pond readers...) where I got an Arabic one which is the same layout as UK - large vertical return key.

http://stores.ebay.com/Buy-It-Love-It

(I'm not affiliated with these guys, just can recommend them.)

I can see the muscle memory niceness of the new Apple wireless matching the laptop exactly, though. I was pleasantly surprised how much work I got done when I had to use the laptop's own kb for a few days. But it just gets so hot!

My Apple Wireless Keyboard is the *best* keyboard I've ever owned. I don't miss those keys and have no probs with the small cursor keys.

I just love how light it is and so easily throw it aside when I need space on the desk. Other wireless keyboards have that ability but are so big.

I'd give it 5 stars.

Get the Das Keyboard Model S Silent Professional! It improved my typing speed from 80 to 105 WPM, has Mac keys, a powered USB hub for iPhone charging, is made by a small company in Austin, TX, is very solid, and has clicky keys that are not nearly as loud as the old IBM's.

I love love love it!

http://www.daskeyboard.com

PS they sponsor the World Typing Championship, which is having its final at the SXSW festival in Austin in March. The top speed I've seen is 175 WPM!

Highly recommend the Logitech DiNovo - it's like the fullsize Apple keyboard but wireless and black. And reassuringly expensive. Perfect.

I've got the Logitech DiNovo Edge Mac Edition keyboard and I really love it. It replaced my Logitech DiNovo Edge Windows Edition keyboard (used with the very awesome ControllerMate) after my daughter fed it a cup of coffee. This is a great bluetooth keyboard with tons of extra functions, including a cool trackpad. It makes a great general purpose keyboard and a really good "couch" keyboard for media controlling.

The Logitech diNovo Mac Edition Keyboard (non-Edge version!) should be just as awesome a board, without the trackpad and extra fancy keys.

As for a spill-shield... obviously I'm not going to say they wouldn't help after loosing my first Edge keyboard, but I'd suggest just tucking the keyboard away (it's so slim and cordless!) when you're not using it. You certainly don't want to type with a spill-shield on.

I do like the Apple Wireless keyboards, they're cool and sexy and don't collect crap, but the lack of a numberpad is a bit of an annoyance. Someone earlier on mentioned having a wireless version of the full-size wired as an option - if that was available I'd have it in a flash.

I like the action of the keys on the Apple keyboards, and even though I have big hands, everything's well - I'm a touch-typist and don't have any difficulty hitting what I want - just wish it had that numberpad. To be honest, the new apple keyboards are the best I've ever used, and it is useful to have it exactly the same size and arrangement as the keyboard on my MBP. Wondering what it's going to be like typing on a keyboard with LCD-generated pretend keys (cos it's only a matter of time).

i have been through a lot of keyboards; my first keyboard was an IBM Selectric, then an ultra-modern Olivetti Lexicon 82, then a Olivetti Lettera 32 ... my first Mac keyboard was the chunky foreshortened one that came with a Mac Plus; i just looked around and i currently own nine Apple models:

* two Extended Keyboard IIs: these feel great, but are too big for my desk and too loud; trying it today, it feels like the keytops are too small, and i can tell it would be trouble to always be switching back & forth from my laptop keyboard
* an ADB Apple Adjustable Keyboard: my favorite of all time, but as i recall there is a problem with the R key; the numeric keypad was a separate unit so it could be positioned beyond the mouse
* a compact beige ADB model: nothing special, but goes well with my Quadra 700
* two of the older clear models (says "Pro Keyboard" on the back): action seems horribly mushy to me, and i recall the feel degrading over time
* one of the newer clear models ("Keyboard" on back): nice compact design; slightly better action than the other clear version; bright white keys and clear "bucket" design make it a display case for dust & crud
* one of the flat aluminum extended models: my daily typer at work; much better action than any other Apple USB keyboard i've tried; the flatness seems to really make it more comfortable; was easy to get used to (i switched to a laptop with the similar keyboard at the same time) and is holding up well; i also like how quiet it is, and how the design resists dirt accumulation
* one of the flat aluminum bluetooth models: i use it with my home server, very petite -- it fits easily in a 12" wide pen drawer (with boxes of batteries underneath so that when the drawer slides out it's not down too deep); lasts a few months on an Eneloop charge

i recently resurrected my older MacBook Pro; i found i liked the action on the old keyboard almost as much as the new flat style in my current laptop; the key shape i like a bit better; but it also was much better at trapping cat hair

i've also used a few of the cheaper split keyboards from Microsoft and others, hoping to regain the glory of my days with the Apple Adjustable Keyboard, but these keyboards have always been short-lived, mushy feeling, and too big on my desk

if you've read this far, Erica, and if you're a fast touch typist, i'd skip the keyboard cover and put your new keyboard in a garage; and if you type while kids are napping, do not get one of the loud keyboards

I use the Apple Wireless Keyboard (without the numeric keypad) & love it. Then again I was going from a keyboard on an iBook G4 to an iMac using the wireless keyboard, so I didn't miss the numeric keypad since I never had one to begin with.
As for a protector, I use a ProTouch Vibe from iSkin. I got it close to a year after getting the keyboard. One day I found black marks all over the white keys due to my dirty hands after a session of drawing with some charcoal. Also, 3/4 of the letters/symbols on my iBook's keyboard were scratched off after many years of use. The iSkin will prevent any of that from happening. AND it's washable.

I have been through a lot of different keyboards and the one I have found which I enjoy the most is the BTC 6300CL 103-Key USB Ultra Slim Luminescent MultiMedia Keyboard (Silver) .

It IS a Windows keyboard so you do have to map the command/option keys but the feel and spread of the keyboard is amazing (at least to me it is) and has a chewy feel when you type with the keys just spaced out enough to make typing fast and accurate.

I love my new Matias Tactile Pro3 (replacing my dead 2) -- best keyboard I've ever owned. I can't say enough about it because I am all about the REAL tactile keyboards from back in the day....