For the second time in my life, I have a real keyboard. I didn’t much appreciate it the first time around – I was too young to understand why people loved the Apple Extended Keyboard II with it’s Alps key switches and unbeatable durability. Sadly, they are in short supply (having been discontinued for 20 years now) and require ADB->USB adapters to make them work on modern computers.

For Christmas this year, I got a Das Keyboard Model S Ultimate.

This time around, I know what I have. It’s really a world of difference for people who use the keyboard to interact with a computer all day long, as I have done professionally for almost 15 years now. (The sad hipster part of me wonders how I ever got by with the rubber membrane keyboards or the laptop-style keyboards that Apple sells). It’s such a difference that I’m probably going to buy another real keyboard to take to the office with me, even though they cost $100+, and go up quickly.

As a side note, the new keyboard doesn’t have printing on the keycaps. So, looking at the keys really doesn’t help you at all. I’ve become a significantly better touch-typist over the last two-ish months that I’ve been using this keyboard.