[Jeebs]

I'm looking for a replacement for an Apple G5 keyboard. I do like the layout of the keyboard, but not its mushy feel and the way its open top catches snack crumbs, etc., and my second Apple keyboard has failed in the last three years.

Can anyone recommend a good replacement keyboard for a G5?

I bought a Matias OS X Keyboard, but I'm very disappointed in it. Here's why:

Having the third Control key struck me as odd, especially now that 2-button mice are standard on new Macs, but since I rarely use the caps lock key, it was kind of a non-issue. Or at least I thought: I had defined my right Control key to reveal the desktop in Expose, but since both of the lower Control keys appear to the OS as the right Control key and only the third Control key is recognized as a left Control key, I had to give up the Expose shortcut to continue to use the lower left control key for screen captures and as a modifier. I'm glad I'm right handed, because the arrangement of the modifier keys with the caps lock between Option and Control on the right would pose a problem for left-handed users of Adobe applications.

The escape key is also marked as a power button, but it doesn't work. According to Matias technical support, it only works on older Macs, older than my 3-year old G5. There's no manual and neither the box nor Web site says that. The layout of the Matias OS X keyboard doesn't enhance my productivity, it hinders it.

It's unfortunate that MacWorld magazine will review cameras, cell phones, etc., but doesn't review/compare common Mac peripherals such as keyboards. I don't want or need a wireless model, no matching mouse, no Windows key, no USB 2.0 hub, and certainly not an overpriced $120 Tactile Pro from Matias, a company that's already disappointed me once. I just want a reasonable, reliable replacement for the Apple keyboard. I suspect that'll be another Apple keyboard, and I'll cross my fingers that it lasts as long as my old G5.

Any recommendations on a keyboard--and why--would be very much appreciated.

[Cold Warrior]

I have used these in the past with both Macs and PCs and like them:

Amazon.com: Kensington 64366 SlimType Standard Keyboard for Mac (Mac): Electronics

[Jeebs]

Hey Cold Warrior, thanks, that keyboard seems to be kind of like a hybrid between an extended desktop keyboard and laptop keyboard. I wish they had a bigger picture of it on the Kensington site. I'd like to see what the key arrangement is. It looks like the cluster with the cursor keys, etc., is much narrower with fewer keys. Does it have the common single USB cable with two USB ports out? Thanks for the recommendation.

[OreoCookie]

Matias Tactile Pro. 'nuff said

[Cold Warrior]

Originally Posted by Jeebs 

Hey Cold Warrior, thanks, that keyboard seems to be kind of like a hybrid between an extended desktop keyboard and laptop keyboard. I wish they had a bigger picture of it on the Kensington site. I'd like to see what the key arrangement is. It looks like the cluster with the cursor keys, etc., is much narrower with fewer keys. Does it have the common single USB cable with two USB ports out? Thanks for the recommendation.

One USB to the computer, but no USB out. It's a full keyboard layout, but is indeed a "hybrid" of sorts, mostly borrowing a laptop keyboard's tactile key feeling when typing (which I prefer to a full desktop keyboard), and a thin frame (which I also prefer to a desktop keyboard).

[Cold Warrior]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie 

Matias Tactile Pro. 'nuff said

Matias Tactile Pro Keyboard
...replaced by version 2, Matias Tactile Pro 2.0 Keyboard

Those look very nice. I especially like the two USB 2.0 ports. It'd be great to have those because my MBP C2D has only 2, and they fill up fast.

[OreoCookie]

I have the first-gen Tactile Pro and I miss it (I left it in my office in Germany), it's the third-best keyboard ever made, here's my list of eternal favorites:
(1) IBM Keyboard M. Type. Kill somebody with it. Continue typing.
(2) NeXT keyboard. Almost as good.
(3) Tactile Pro. Not as good as the two above, but damn good.

I haven't tried old-school Apple and Sun keyboards, though
There are a few other keyboards with mechanical switches (this is what makes a quality keyboard) … 

[Faust]

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior 

Matias Tactile Pro Keyboard
...replaced by version 2, Matias Tactile Pro 2.0 Keyboard

Those look very nice. I especially like the two USB 2.0 ports. It'd be great to have those because my MBP C2D has only 2, and they fill up fast.

This looks like a beautiful option. Too bad they do not offer a German layout.

[OreoCookie]

Nope, I've tried to order a German layout and they had me wait for a year, telling me, it's coming out `soon'.

[shifuimam]

Go to Best Buy, Office Depot, or CompUSA and try out the keyboards they have on display. Any keyboard is going to work with a Mac - there might not be the Apple icon and fruity curly thing on the key labels, but the keys will still work normally.

Just find one you like. I have this keyboard that came packaged with an MX600 cordless optical mouse. The volume wheel and media controls beat any other keyboard I've found since - including Logitech's own replacement model.

And, FWIW, I've had that keyboard for four years and it still works great. Same goes for the mouse.

[Jeebs]

Given my past negative experience with Matias hardware and their disappointing customer support, I'll stay away from the Tactile Pro, especially at that price. I'm leaning pretty heavily toward another Apple keyboard. It has its flaws, but I'll know it's compatible and I can be sure the keys will all work as advertised.

Oh, and those keyboards with the extra USB 2 port: don't they also have an extra USB 2 cable to plug in, so you really don't gain a port, you just move it from the back of the computer to the keyboard?

[EndlessMac]

Originally Posted by Jeebs 

I'm looking for a replacement for an Apple G5 keyboard.

I never liked the keyboards that come with the desktop Apples so you are not alone. Actually even many of the free PC keyboards that come with computers I tend not to like much. I guess what can we really expect from "free" keyboards.

Originally Posted by Cold Warrior 

I have used these in the past with both Macs and PCs and like them:

Amazon.com: Kensington 64366 SlimType Standard Keyboard for Mac (Mac): Electronics

I also use this keyboard for my desktop and think it's a great keyboard if you prefer laptop style keys like I do. The Apple keyboard never felt that great to me for some reason and I've used several different keyboards over the years so I'm not saying this lightly.

If you like laptop keyboards you can also take a look at MacAlley's IceKey. What's nice about the Kensington keyboard though is that it has the volume buttons and eject button like the Apple keyboard but it doesn't have USB ports. I never used the USB ports on Apple's keyboard anyway so it wasn't that big of a deal for me. MacAlley's other laptop style keyboard IkeySlim does seem to have these buttons though and USB ports so it might be worth checking out. I haven't used it though so I can't say how good it is.

[ropeswing]

After extensive searching for an ergonomic keyboard, the best one I found was the kinesis-ergo "Contoured": Kinesis US Model Contoured Keyboards .

Plusses:

* super-comfortable to type on
* your typing speed will probably go up. (Moreso if you use the dvorak layout.)
* if you type a *lot*, your hands will love you for it
* fully-programmable

minuses:

* tiny little function keys (not a minus if you don't often use them though)
* Apple key (Command key) is sort of hidden -- you'll need to remap it to, say, the Insert key, or maybe the CapsLock key (you can always move Insert or CapsLock somewhere else, like to an F-key)
* it'll spoil you rotten, and you won't want to ever use lesser keyboards again.