> Anyway, as I'm sure many of you know, OmniKeys are the best keyboards in > the world. One of the good things about them is that they are heavy as > hell. > I now have ONE working OmniKey, and four that kinda work. Anyone know > somewhere that can fix them? Anyone know of a current keyboard that's even > remotely as decent, save the Avant Stellar which costs WAY too much? Is > eBay my only hope? I personally like the early-mid 80's IBM keyboards. I picked up a few at gov't auction a couple years ago. very clicky, very good feel. unfortuantely, they do die occasionally (one or two keys will stop working and/or get stuck down occasionally); and I'm down to my last two (one of which has served me for many years and millions of keystrokes and is looking awfully nasty). I just went and bought a Kinesis Ergo Essential (www.kinesis-ergo.com) from CSI Ergonomics in Mpls. (www.csiergonomics.com). it was anything but cheap; but doesn't strain the wrists like a regular keyboard does. the issues that I have with it; are that it seems to be laid out for word-processors, and not programmers/computer geeks. - the arrow keys are completely different. right hand has the up & down arrows; left hand has the left & right arrows. it's completely different from the 'inverted T' layout that your fingers have always been used to. - the <enter> key and the <space> key are both under the right thumb, and right next to each other. this makes it very easy to hit <enter> when you meant <space>, which has the possibility of bad consequences on a command line. - the <esc> key is a small rubber nub; which actually isn't too hard to hit, but I'd still rather have a real key there. makes using vi tad slower. the alternative <esc> method, <ctrl>-[, is much worse than on a regular keyboard. - the <alt> and <ctrl> keys are about the hardest ones to reach (probably since winblows-using secretaries usually aren't bright enough to use them); being located midway between the thumb & forefinger. - running it one-handed is much more difficult. all those chords you're used to hitting (<ctrl>-a, <ctrl>-e, <ctrl>-w, <alt>-<tab>, <ctrl>-<esc>), are nearly impossible one-handed now. so you can't use the keyboard in one hand, and the mouse in another. - <left alt>-<function key #> to swap between consoles, is a lot harder, since it's only the left alt key that works, and the span <left alt> to <f#> is pretty long (even with reasonably large hands like mine), and requires dexterity to hit the little rubber f# keys. I've been using it for a couple of weeks now; and my fingers are starting to get used to it. I'm still slower than with the regular keyboard; but considering how bad a typist I am, that's not saying much. :) I may have to remap some keys; like swapping the <ctrl> and <caps lock> keys, eventually. ever get the impression that geeks have been largely ignored when designing keyboards, ever since the <ctrl> key and <caps lock> key got moved to where they are today? the Happy Hacking keyboard (www.pfuca.com) looks like a cool idea; but wrapping my head around the changes necessary to use it seems a bit much (it's a modal keyboard... so if vi is as natural to you as breathing, it may be the right thing for you); also, I would prefer to avoid a flat keyboard. the Cramer split keyboard seems like a cool idea (www.ergo-interfaces.com); but the construction is kind of flimsy, and the trackpad pointing device is really frustrating (especially since there's only two tiny little buttons). At Real-Time, we've got one of the chair-mounted versions, and it's generally been quickly abandoned by everyone who tries it. they're also ridiculously overpriced and not designed well (lack of any convenient way to replace the trackpad with a better pointer; inability to use a chair-mounted version as a desktop version... at least not without a hacksaw and grinder). the /. people were using them for a while; but I don't know if they still are. (make Bob an offer and he might part ways with it at a reasonable price). among my computer junkyard/museum here in my living room (described by one wit as 'the petting zoo'), I have a keyboard from an AT clone, which has the <ctrl> key in the proper place, and the <caps lock> relegated to where the right <ctrl> key normally is. it also has the <f#> keys arranged vertically along the left side, reminiscent of the Commodore. if anyone wants it, I may be willing to part ways with it, if it's going to a good home. :) Carl Soderstrom -- Network Engineer Real-Time Enterprises (952) 943-8700