Sunday, 6 March 2011
Red Switch Filco
The New Filco Majestouch 2 with Cherry MX Red Switch will be listing on Amazon USA and www.keyboardco.com this week.
Thursday, 10 June 2010
Trusted Reviews.
Another great review for the Filco Majestouch keyboard.
Scored a maximum 10/10 for performance.
What a winner!
http://www.trustedreviews.com/peripherals/review/2010/06/10/Filco-Majestouch-FKBN105M-UKB/p1
Scored a maximum 10/10 for performance.
What a winner!
http://www.trustedreviews.com/peripherals/review/2010/06/10/Filco-Majestouch-FKBN105M-UKB/p1
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Great Review
Check this; http://www.geek.com/articles/games/review-filco-majestouch-keyboard-2010045/
Thursday, 28 January 2010
How good are these Filco Keyboards?
It's been a few days now since we stocked up on Filco Majestouch keyboards with a full UK 105 key layout.
I knew that Filco had developed something of a worldwide fanclub and were eagerly sought after by those in the know. There are many programmers, gamers, writers and serious typists who are not happy with anything else.
For a long time I have appreciated the feel of typing on a keyboard with a decent switch mechanism. It's like getting into a Mercedes after driving a Ford for the last ten years. But i'm starting to pick up on other benefits too.
Even the cost, the primary concern for most, can be spun into a positive because the lifespan is likely to be Five times that of a less well made keyboard. And they can be repaired down to component level which isn't possible or viable with most membrane switch keyboards.
This also helps on the environmental front as less will go to landfill.
Another benefit is in ergonomics. In the sense that we, erroneously, use the word. My last blog was about this.
I believe that a high percentage of computer users are typing away on keyboards that really aren't functioning very well at all. Membranes start to deteriorate quite soon after manufacture, this continues gradually and becomes noticable after a couple of years, but the keyboard will keep working if you bash it and you might easily get five years use from it. In this sense membrane is reliable and some membranes are better than others. Many of the 'ergonomic' keyboards on the market also suffer this.
Any form of RSI, ULD or unspecified ailment relating to pain is going to be aggravated by having to bash the keyboard to ensure switch activation. And it could be assumed quite logically, that these conditions are much more likely to occur when typing on a less responsive keyboard.
I'm not saying Filco are the only answer to this but they are amongst the very best and truly, if we value our fingers, hands and wrists, why accept anything less?
I knew that Filco had developed something of a worldwide fanclub and were eagerly sought after by those in the know. There are many programmers, gamers, writers and serious typists who are not happy with anything else.
For a long time I have appreciated the feel of typing on a keyboard with a decent switch mechanism. It's like getting into a Mercedes after driving a Ford for the last ten years. But i'm starting to pick up on other benefits too.
Even the cost, the primary concern for most, can be spun into a positive because the lifespan is likely to be Five times that of a less well made keyboard. And they can be repaired down to component level which isn't possible or viable with most membrane switch keyboards.
This also helps on the environmental front as less will go to landfill.
Another benefit is in ergonomics. In the sense that we, erroneously, use the word. My last blog was about this.
I believe that a high percentage of computer users are typing away on keyboards that really aren't functioning very well at all. Membranes start to deteriorate quite soon after manufacture, this continues gradually and becomes noticable after a couple of years, but the keyboard will keep working if you bash it and you might easily get five years use from it. In this sense membrane is reliable and some membranes are better than others. Many of the 'ergonomic' keyboards on the market also suffer this.
Any form of RSI, ULD or unspecified ailment relating to pain is going to be aggravated by having to bash the keyboard to ensure switch activation. And it could be assumed quite logically, that these conditions are much more likely to occur when typing on a less responsive keyboard.
I'm not saying Filco are the only answer to this but they are amongst the very best and truly, if we value our fingers, hands and wrists, why accept anything less?
Thursday, 14 January 2010
Roller Mouse
Contour Roller Mouse Station Pro
I spent some time today with the guy from Contour Design.
They make the Roller Mouse Pro, which is a superb ergonomic pointing device that is a pleasure to use and would save a significant amount of RSI type suffering if it was widely adopted. It's especially well suited to touch typists who don't like to stray too far from the 'home' row.
There is a video demonstrating the product here:- Keyboardco.com
Not many people know about the roller mouse in the UK but they are already very popular in Scandinavia, where ergonomics is taken seriously. At The Keyboard Company we're running a no obligation free trial right now - whereby you can try one out for a month at no expense. So let me know if you think it's a goer.
I spent some time today with the guy from Contour Design.
They make the Roller Mouse Pro, which is a superb ergonomic pointing device that is a pleasure to use and would save a significant amount of RSI type suffering if it was widely adopted. It's especially well suited to touch typists who don't like to stray too far from the 'home' row.
There is a video demonstrating the product here:- Keyboardco.com
Not many people know about the roller mouse in the UK but they are already very popular in Scandinavia, where ergonomics is taken seriously. At The Keyboard Company we're running a no obligation free trial right now - whereby you can try one out for a month at no expense. So let me know if you think it's a goer.
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
5 Miles.
Would you jog 5 miles a day in £5 trainers?
Now - this is purely a theory, and I have no medical training, no statistics and I do sell Keyboards for a living but this is the thing..........
Most computers have a keyboard that is manufactured using the cheapest type of switching, membrane switches. No big surprise there, it's probably what you'd expect and it is what the market demands - cheap. Most of the wireless Keyboards and Multi-media keyboards, even the 'ergonomic' keyboards also use membrane switching. Membrane switch keyboards are not universally rubbish, some are good, some are less good, but they all have very little 'feel' to them and they mostly degrade over time.
If you're anything like my age, you probably would have first used a computer in the early nineties. It all looked too complicated before Windows came along.
I believe it was sometime in the eighties that IBM stopped making their Model M keyboard. One of the finest keyboards ever made and based around a very good mechanical switch.
It was also around this time that we began to hear about RSI.
Can we link these things?
There are many reasons for RSI. Indeed there are many types of RSI and names for RSI, I think Upper Limb Disorders is the current favourite.
A high percentage of cases are diagnosed as 'mouse induced' and this is increasing. The sheer amount of people now using computers has to be considered, and the amount of time spent on a computer by each person. It all adds to the problem. Stress, poor posture, badly designed workstations, lack of exercise, lack of breaks, the list goes on.
Returning to the problem faced by the jogger, the answer has to be No, because you don't want to ruin your joints. Now I thought I was the dogs dangly bits in my Dunlop Green Flash and indeed they've made a comeback, but no-one in their right mind would go and pound the pavement without a pair of good modern running shoes. And running shoes are very technical now, beyond my kin to describe even.
If that slab of Dunlop rubber is no longer good enough to protect our body from a paving induced battering then it follows, to my mind, that the few bits of rubber and plastic in a membrane switch won't continue to give adequate protection from a Blog Induced Skeletal Malfunction (BIMP - I've invented an acronym to strengthen my argument).
There is some temptation to give a long explanation of how membrane switching works, and of the various mechanical switches available but it would be more slog than blog. And let's face it, who gives a ****. What we care about is what feels good, and that is the point, a quality switch in your keyboard makes it feel sooo much better when you type. Go google the technical stuff, it's all out there from smarter guys than me. I just wanted to air my thoughts and invite feedback. Not everyone is going to agree, and personal preference is king. That's why we sell all types, so I don't even really stand to gain.
Thanks for reading.
Now - this is purely a theory, and I have no medical training, no statistics and I do sell Keyboards for a living but this is the thing..........
Most computers have a keyboard that is manufactured using the cheapest type of switching, membrane switches. No big surprise there, it's probably what you'd expect and it is what the market demands - cheap. Most of the wireless Keyboards and Multi-media keyboards, even the 'ergonomic' keyboards also use membrane switching. Membrane switch keyboards are not universally rubbish, some are good, some are less good, but they all have very little 'feel' to them and they mostly degrade over time.
If you're anything like my age, you probably would have first used a computer in the early nineties. It all looked too complicated before Windows came along.
I believe it was sometime in the eighties that IBM stopped making their Model M keyboard. One of the finest keyboards ever made and based around a very good mechanical switch.
It was also around this time that we began to hear about RSI.
Can we link these things?
There are many reasons for RSI. Indeed there are many types of RSI and names for RSI, I think Upper Limb Disorders is the current favourite.
A high percentage of cases are diagnosed as 'mouse induced' and this is increasing. The sheer amount of people now using computers has to be considered, and the amount of time spent on a computer by each person. It all adds to the problem. Stress, poor posture, badly designed workstations, lack of exercise, lack of breaks, the list goes on.
Returning to the problem faced by the jogger, the answer has to be No, because you don't want to ruin your joints. Now I thought I was the dogs dangly bits in my Dunlop Green Flash and indeed they've made a comeback, but no-one in their right mind would go and pound the pavement without a pair of good modern running shoes. And running shoes are very technical now, beyond my kin to describe even.
If that slab of Dunlop rubber is no longer good enough to protect our body from a paving induced battering then it follows, to my mind, that the few bits of rubber and plastic in a membrane switch won't continue to give adequate protection from a Blog Induced Skeletal Malfunction (BIMP - I've invented an acronym to strengthen my argument).
There is some temptation to give a long explanation of how membrane switching works, and of the various mechanical switches available but it would be more slog than blog. And let's face it, who gives a ****. What we care about is what feels good, and that is the point, a quality switch in your keyboard makes it feel sooo much better when you type. Go google the technical stuff, it's all out there from smarter guys than me. I just wanted to air my thoughts and invite feedback. Not everyone is going to agree, and personal preference is king. That's why we sell all types, so I don't even really stand to gain.
Thanks for reading.
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