Input devices.

Hmm...I was going to say how I like having to take half the mousepad to cross the entire screen, because I like being able to make subtle motions, but testing just now I found that I can, in fact, cross the screen with a quick flick, though that's likely due as much to the force sensitivity setting or whatever it is that Windows has as anything else. I don't ever recall fiddling with sensitivity settings except within a game. My mouse already has five buttons including the scroll wheel, and I consider that to be as much as a mouse can feasably hold; and I don't really know how ergonomic my mouse is, but I've never had my hand get upset with me, and I use my computer for 12+ hours at a stretch on occasion.

As for my keyboard, it does in fact have media keys, if what you mean are things like play/pause, skip left/right, stop, and some volume functions. I have noticed a tendency to lock up with certain key combinations, but I hardly ever notice it; we're talking like, trying to press Insert, Home, and End at the same time, which I've only ever attempted to do whilst emulating a Game Boy Advance.

 

Thank you, but Cherry MX switches usually all look identical except the color. And I anticipate I will not be using mine without keycaps ever.

Just a note for everyone else:
Where else can you troll the forums of a game developer and have one of the actual staff offer to dismantle their keyboard and take pictures so you can better decide? I simply love you guys at GLG.

Back to the subject...

I think I can live without backlit keys. And I have no use whatsoever for any media keys. That puts Das keyboard in front due to the Cherry MX Browns on the Silent model, the quality build, and the lack of useless media keys.

My second choice at this point is the Corsair K90. It has backlit Cherry MX Reds. As I said, I could live without the backlighting. But the Reds are preferable to the Browns due to being linear and requiring only a tiny amount of pressure to register. The K90 also has loads of negatives due to being more complex and having extra buttons on all sides that I will simply never use. The issues include the paint on the keycaps wearing thin quickly thus requiring you to use the backlighting to see they key lettering, and the chances of one or more of the 90 LEDs going dead as soon as you get it is fairly high. This is slightly offset by the brushed aluminum chassis though.

If no-one can tell me a reason to change my mind, then the Das Keyboard Professional Silent is the winner. I will save up for months to get it, but I am certain I will love it once I can afford it. (I live off of Social Security Disability, so money is almost a foreign concept. I live off ~10K annual.)

 

I definitely prefer wireless input devices.

 

Many people prefer everything wireless. But batteries and signal loss while gaming and device lifespan are all negatively effected by wireless inputs. I have a twenty foot PS2 extension cord from a decade ago. (Two of them actually, one for the trackball and one for the keyboard.) So distance is simply never as good with wireless for anyone who has bothered to get good extensions. I certainly understand that anyone with kids and/or animals that chew on such things would probably be better off with a wireless version.

But I live with my (Also Disabled) mother and neither of us, nor my ugly cat chews on cords.

Battery life in wireless devices is much better now than in the past. But even with the best of wireless devices, there will eventually be a contaminated field of battery debris that cannot be recovered or reused without significant expense. Usually it is far more than the cost of making new batteries. (That is why most batteries are not recycled in the first place.)

 

...why the hell hasn't anyone thought of this earlier?

 

They may. I however would feel like an ass for asking them to cut their profits for me. I already live on the charity of our society. Although I paid into Social Security when I was working, I have reaped far more than I contributed.

But I will probably do so anyway. It would take me a very long time to buy one at full price, and perhaps they have one that is slightly damaged but still works that they would consider selling at a discount. I have little more than gratitude and a good review to reward them with if they are generous enough for me to be able to buy one this year.

Thank you for the encouragement deek.

 

It just occurred to me that Das Keyboards is cheating themselves of a really easy way to make their keyboards even more unique. The Ultimate line has no lettering, and utilizes USB as the connection type, so why not put a simple converter on the USB plug with a switch to change between QWERTY and DVORAK layouts? It already has to convert the signal for USB. this would cost them a quarter or so per keyboard and allow them to grab an entire category of products without otherwise changing a thing.

If they wanted to go all out, they could add a second switch to enable/disable the Windows keys. That would make it more competitive with "Gaming" keyboards too.

I think I will mention this when I get around to emailing them to beg ask for a discount.

 

Well they seem not to have read my e-mail at all, or they scanned it and sent me a default reply based upon the word "Discount" in the message. They told me about their student discounts. How helpful for a disabled person...

Oh well. I will save my money and eventually buy one anyway.

 

I quite enjoy my microsoft arc touch mouse. It's light, portable, easy to use, AAA batteries means it's not terribly heavy despite being wireless.

 

Hmmm. Now I have another problem. I may be able to afford the keyboard this upcoming month, but it will be a significant drain on my ability to stay afloat. (I have enough groceries to last a month without buying more, but still.)

If I buy it outright I will be broke. That is a given. But I was thinking of getting a nice 5.1 speaker setup for my PC. (Actually the same speakers I had before my Headset, the Logitech X-540)

It costs almost the exact same as the keyboard. But I am unable to decide which I would prefer to starve for this month. (I am always broke before the fifth of each month, so that is no issue.)

I have a Corsair HS1 headset. It works well enough, but I will eventually have to buy real speakers again.

I also have a working keyboard, and even a backup keyboard too. What would you do if you had to choose between a great keyboard and a great speaker set?

I just wish there was a way besides panhandling that I could get both and still pay my meager bills.

 

You could save a small amount of money a month (say, $20) and get it that way.

No point shooting yourself in the foot over a keyboard. It'll still be there in 5-6 months.

 

Saving money is not something I am good at. Plainly I will give in to some temptation before the end of the month either way. It usually works out best if I just buy what I can afford after paying my normal bills and endure the rest of the time broke and free of temptation.

Both the keyboard and the speakers are options. I can live without them. But both will improve my quality of life for an extended duration.

Every last time I have tried to save any amount of money I have failed. Before the end of the month I will see Coffee on sale at a price that in my eyes would save me money the next month. Or something else. It always happens like that.

And waiting six months would be like slow torture. Every time I see an item I frequently consume on sale I would think "Well this is good timing now that I saved that money. I can just put more into saving next month to compensate." But that never works.

I swear, if I were born with the opposite gender I would whore myself out for a keyboard...

 

a) Male prostitutes exist.
b) Now's as good a time as any to learn to save.

 

Male prostitutes exist... Yucky. Anyone who would pay me for services would have to make Jaba the Hut look good.

Now is always a good time to learn anything. But I have tried. I managed to have a small amount of money saved for a week or two once. But then it went poof. I know you are right. I should try again anyway.

 

Their are tools around to help you budget and save money.

For example, some banks allow you to automate regular bank transfers. I have a monthly transfer set up from my checking account into savings. That works out really well. Online banking is great.

Also, it helps to learn to pay cash or use debit cards whenever possible. Paying with a credit card doesn't feel as real as paying cash. People really do tend to spend less money when they use debit cards than credit cards, since the debit card forces a greater degree of discipline. And make sure you record all your debit purchases in your checkbook.

 

I do not utilize credit cards in any way. I keep getting the offers, but I reject them since I have probably a few hundred thousand in unpaid medical bills that I could not pay off if I magically had a winning lottery ticket.

I have a debit card with my bank and have not had one single overdraft in four years. I do not keep a log, but my expenses are simple enough to do without a log. (Phone, Internet, Cable for my Mother, and a few other things.)

I always anticipate the bills that have yet to post but I know will at some point in the month.

Savings accounts are a sure fire way to have no access to the money I require for bills at some point in the future. I would sooner accept the godawful CCs I am offered than a savings account.

Literally the only reason I have a debit card and do not use cash and checks is the fact that some vendors no longer accept anything other than the credit monopolies. This is a sick world.

I am not fully sure I understand which of the ten thousand different definitions of online banking you refer to, but I pay all my bills via my debit card. That is as close as I get to e-checks.

 

I was talking about automated transfers. For me, not actually having the money in my checking account helps me to keep from spending too much. But obviously, you are more familiar with your own situation than I am.

Savings accounts are not evil, they are just an option, a tool like anything else. Unlike credit cards, they don't cost you anything, nor do they encourage spending (in fact, it's the opposite. Clearly if you have one, you have to manage it like anything else so that you aren't short on cash when you have to make a payment.

I use HSBC == I have an internet savings and checking accounts with them. When I have to pay for something big (like I had to pay a contractor to repair some flood damage we had) I log into my online account and move the money. If I were to have too much money in my checking, I move it into savings. It does take a little bit of work, but it helps me to save. Because the transfers are within the same bank, they are, effectively, nearly instantaneous (bank to bank transfers take about 5 days, which isn't very convenient).

IF you seriously cannot afford to save money with your current expenses, then it's a good idea to look for things you can cut from those expenses. Because all you need then for serious trouble is a bad day. And we all eventually have a bad day.

 

Not to be rude, but I live on $882 USD each month. Do you really think there is any way to save or cut expenses?

Lol. Do not get me wrong. I appreciate the advice. And it is the thought that counts, but I just cannot seem to squeeze blood from the carrots I have.