Editing Introduction to keyboards (section)

==More on sound and feel==
Computer keyboards used to be very noisy. Coming from typewriters, they were quieter, but few keyboards were anything like as quiet as they are today. Some of this noise was simply due to how keyboards of the day functioned, but some of the noise was intentional! Throughout the 80s and well into the 90s, it was considered desirable for the keyboard to provide audible feedback. Keyboards that couldn't physically offer this would instead contain a solenoid or buzzer to generate a sound each time a keystroke is registered.

Although workplace practice and lifestyles have changed, with open plan offices and the ability to use a computer on the bus or train, the innate need and desire for audible feedback has never gone away. Fortunately, keyboards are still manufactured today that offer this audible feedback. Such keyboards are called "'''[[clicky]]'''" keyboards, because most of them produce a click sound during each keystroke.

In addition to hearing keystrokes register, many people also wish to feel the keystrokes register. Most desktop and laptop keyboards already do offer a weak version of this. When you press down on a key on a typical keyboard, it doesn't move smoothly. After pressing the key part of the way down, it seems to stop, and then drop the rest of the way. When typing, you can feel this; this behaviour is called "'''[[tactility]]'''". Keyboards that physically generate a click are also tactile: arming and triggering the click mechanism causes this same behaviour. Clicky switches are tactile, but tactile switches are not all clicky: there are ways to generate the change in feel without creating much noise, but not the other way around.

<gallery widths=320 heights=360>
File:Force animation -- tactile.gif | Tactile key demonstration: notice how the key "drops" at the half-way point
File:Force animation -- linear.gif  | Linear key demonstration, with completely smooth operation
</gallery>

You will recall the earlier picture of a rubber dome keyboard. If that's what is inside a typical keyboard, then what is inside one of these clicky or tactile keyboards? The answer is: it depends! There are a huge amount of different designs, so many so that there is a whole [[switch recognition]] section of the wiki to help people identify what is inside their keyboard.

If you're looking to buy a brand new clicky or tactile keyboard, then some of the most well-known products on the marketplace are the following:

<gallery widths=250 heights=187>
File:Cherry MX red switches.jpg                 | [[Cherry MX]]: available in clicky, tactile and linear versions
File:Topre Normal.png                           | [[Topre switch]]: tactile
File:IBM Model M (1996) -- buckling springs.jpg | [[IBM buckling spring]]: clicky (and therefore tactile)
File:Matias MTP caps switches 2.jpeg            | [[Matias switch]]: available in clicky, tactile and linear versions
</gallery>

These are all described as types of "'''switch'''", even though not all of them physically switch electric current. In many cases, these switches are discrete modules that solder onto a printed circuit board:

<gallery widths=250 heights=187>
File:Matias switches (6).jpg     | Matias switches
File:Cherry MX -- opened, 2.jpg  | Cherry MX switches
File:Logitech Romer-G -- top.jpg | [[Logitech Romer-G]] switch
File:MagitronicK156PCBright.jpg  | [[Cherry MX Blue]] switches soldered into the keyboard's PCB
</gallery>

Cherry MX switches are used in keyboards from many brands, including Cherry themselves, as well as [[Filco]], [[Corsair]] and [[Cooler Master]]. Matias switches are chiefly used in their own keyboards, but they are gaining traction and now feature for example in the [[KBParadise V60]] MTS.

There is no reason to restrict yourself to a switch that is still in production. Due to market demand, most switch types ceased production in the 90s and 2000s due to the demand for cheap keyboards. However, with the use of a converter or adapter (as mentioned earlier) then many types of older keyboard can be successfully connected to a modern PC or Macintosh. This will likely cost you the use of the Windows keys, but if you're flexible about layout then you can still have an interesting layout:

<gallery widths=250 heights=187>
File:Monterey K110 SMK -- top.jpg | The venerable [[Monterey K110]] with [[SMK Alps mount]] switches
File:Unitek K-258 NTC front.jpeg  | [[Unitek K-258]] with [[Alps SKCM White]] switches.
</gallery>

To see all the switches presently recorded on the wiki, see the [[:Category:list of all keyboard switches|list of all keyboard switches]].

[[Category:Guides]]