I spend a great deal of time every day typing. Either typing at the command line, typing in emails, or typing case notes. When i’m at home, i’m doing the same thing - typing emails and chatting with friends. I can rock about 80 WPM on the right keyboard. What is the right keyboard?

You are probably familiar with a modern keyboard. On the inside, it has tiny little silicone or rubber bumps that collapse when you press the key to make electrical contact.  In short, these keyboards suck. It’s possible to get misfires, and as time goes on, you may or may not notice the keys getting harder and harder to press. God forbid you spill anything in there; those rubber nubbins don’t take kindly to soda or beer. You’ll likely never use that keyboard again. No, this is not the right keyboard.

The right keyboard uses Buckling Spring technology. You’ve seen this before. I know you have - on those old computers in your schools computer lab or maybe your dad had an old IBM 386. THIS is the keyboard you want:

Now, unfortunately, the original Model M keyboard is out of production. You can buy them on ebay, but if you can find one new in box, it will go for well over $100. Used Model M’s typically go for $20-50. If you need street cred, this is probably the only option.

For the rest of us - those of us who just want a badass keyboard and don’t want to pay a high price for something that already has a lot of miles on it - there’s Unicomp. This amazing company is making Model M reproductions in both black and white, with and without the windows key, in multiple languages and form factors. I’m pretty fond of my Customizer 105:

These keyboards are indestructable and an absolute dream to type on. Bonus: If you spill something in the keyboard, the special “drainage channels” keep the liquid from ever coming in contact with the mechanical or electrical parts of the keyboard. You’ll most likely be able to continue typing, although i would probably recommend letting it air out for a while.

A google search for Unicomp will drop you at the yahoo store, or you can follow this link. You won’t regret it.