Choosing a Keyboard

The choice of a keyboard for your computer is almost entirely a matter of personal taste. Some users are satisfied with generic keyboards, and others prefer a keyboard with a more responsive touch in the individual keys or a special layout designed to reduce stress or increase typing speed.

The inexpensive keyboards supplied with many new computers use a flexible membrane or a sheet with rubber domes under each key. When you press a key, the membrane or dome closes an electrical contact with a printed circuit board to send a set of codes back to the computer's processor. These keyboards have very few parts, so they're cheap to build and sell. More expensive keyboards use a separate spring-loaded pushbutton switch for each key.

Some keyboards use a short-range radio link to replace the cable that connects the keyboard to the computer case, or they include special function keys and controls along with the standard letters and numbers. And there's a whole world of specialty keyboards for left-handed typists (with the direction keys and the numeric keypad on the left side of the regular keys), keyboards for foreign languages, and keys with Braille key tops or high-contrast lettering. To find a special-purpose keyboard, search the Web for the one you want (such as "Russian keyboard" or "left-handed keyboard").

Tip 

Fortunately, many office supply stores and other computer retailers have a variety of makes and models on display, so you can try them before you commit yourself to a particular type. When you test keyboards in a store, try to place them at about the same height as your own computer table or desk.

If you already know what kind of keyboard you want to use with your new computer, you can often instruct the dealer to provide that make and model instead of their standard model. If not, go ahead and let them ship the computer with their generic keyboard. The additional cost is insignificant, and you can always keep it as a spare.

If you're happy with the keyboard attached to your old computer, it's easy to transfer that keyboard to a new system. Just turn off the old computer, pull the plug out of the case and plug it in to the new one. If the new computer doesn't have a socket that matches the plug on the old keyboard cable, you need an inexpensive PS/2-to-USB keyboard adapter that you can buy from a local computer supply store or through the Internet.

CROSS-REF 

See Chapter 12 for a lot more information about keyboards, mice, and other input devices, and Chapter 29 for information about special keyboards.