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My old keyboard gave up the ghost a while back and I went and bought a not so cheap Logitech keyboard.

I can't get on with it because I seem to keep hitting two keys at once and the function keys are too close to the top row.

I use a keyboard 8 hours a day.

Has anyone got any suggestions? This one is sending me barmy :)

The only thing I can think of is to go to a shop and try some out and see which one suits you.

I can only type with a couple of fingers so I get on with most keyboards.

Sorry I can't be of much help Simon.

I should have done that when I bought this one to be honest. Mind you I'm not sure where you go to test keyboards these days

Most shops will allow you to look at the products now as that's the edge they have over online. PC world usually have some display models and might let you look at the other keyboards of interest to you. Argos, Tesco, Staples also might also let you take a look if you get a staff member to help you. I can't think of anywhere else I've seen physically selling keyboards but if you know of any it's worth asking the question.

I hope you find one that is just right for you, plus if you've not had your new keyboard all that long see if you can send it back.

My local PC World generally has a good selection of empty shelf space. Honestly you'd think they actually *want* people to buy from someone else...

Given my experience in three different PC World shops lately I don't think the shelves are the only problem. Not one of them wanted to help me buy a new laptop even with a guaranteed sale I got ignored and left to leave the place to go to eBay who would take my money. This is with having people to actually talk to and trying to get some sort of service.

Not sure what it is with that company but they do have a really bad reputation for bad service

I actually think the general quality of keyboards might have gone down in recent years. Perhaps that is because everyone wants cheap computers so a £100 keyboard makes the price too high.

As for PC World, I don't think they have ever helpe4d me when I have been in there but I do worry what 'expert' advice they might be giving people who are unable to validate the sales advice they are receiving.

Simon (Highwayman) wrote: "I actually think the general quality of keyboards might have gone down in recent years. Perhaps that is because everyone wants cheap computers so a £100 keyboard makes the price too high.

As for P..."

I agree completely with that, I use an ergonomic keyboard as I can type better with them, but trying to find a decent one these days is terrible, I ended up getting work to order me one for home, so I have identical ones at work and home now, but I do miss the original style ones.

It's commonly called The Race To The Bottom, and it afflicts PC products and components in general (as well as TVs, DVD players etc. Once a product starts to become a commodity, price becomes the only differentiator and everything gets built down to a price, with cheaper and cheaper components. So the prices go down - or at least don't go up - but quality drops accordingly.

This is where you notice the difference between companies like Apple who still build and price for quality - solid machined aluminium laptops with high grade components vs cheap bendy plastic that's so thin it creaks when you pick it up... But of course you pay for it.

If you can afford it, Cherry make the best keyboards. The upper end models are designed to feel like typewriter keys, with that old fashioned 'resistance'. You know when you've hit a key. I note there are quite a few on ebay and shouldn't worry too much at being used - they're rugged. Mine is well over 20 years old, cost me a lot initially but is the most comfortable keyboard of the ones I posess. (It's cream. Yes, that's old! And PS/2 not USB but USB adapters are £1.) Make sure you buy full size and not 'compact'.

I've just bought a Logitech k750 keyboard from PCWorld. I think the RRP was about £70, but they pricematched with the same model I found at John Lewis on my phone there and then in front of them - so I got it for £47 (IIRC).

There are no wires and no batteries. It's solar, but that doesn't mean you need to have it near a window with brilliant sunshine on it. It'll charge quite happily from a desk or wall lamp and the charge lasts ages - it hasn't run dry on me yet.

I got it though not because of the solar powered thingy (handy though if like you me you alternate between sitting forward with your elbows on the desk, to reclining with it on your lap), but because the keys feel very solid, and have only a short travel - a bit like Mac keyboard.

I still wish I could configure my own keyboard. I dislike having a dedicated number pad on the right, and another row of numbers across the top that contain the characters I use only if I shift first (!" for example).

Overall I'm very happy with it.

Our local PC World are actually quite helpful, maybe we're just lucky. But when I wanted a keyboard I asked if I could help myself and then spent twenty minutes wandering round, trying various keyboards with various computers until I found one I liked. Which is the one I'm using now and have written two novels with. I also find those old Dell USB keyboards really good but maybe that's because I'm so used to them working in the NHS.

I think there's an adjustment period with most keyboards. It takes a while to get used to them, and then they can become second nature. I think that's why some writers get hooked on a particular keyboard or even a typewriter. It's not so much the quality of the keyboard. It is more about what you are used to.

I use a Logitech keyboard too. At first it was a bit of a pain - now it's an old friend.

Simon - unless you have picked up a particularly crappy keyboard (or one that just doesn't suit you), one option might be to persevere with it. It's one of those things that you can grow into.

The problem is that most keyboards are membrane ones. These have a reduced feel and woe betide anyone spilling anything on them. Most gamers won't give them desk space as the feedback is insufficient and inaccurate.

What you need to look for is a mechanical keyboard where each key is attached to a switch.

Here are some examples, culled from the PC World (spit) site.







Info about mechanical keyboards:



Steelseries and Cherry come highly recommended and are considered the poodles privates.

Andrew - here's a useful article to show you how to reassign keyboard keys. For example, making all the symbols on the top row accessible just by keypress without shift.

If you do it within Word, then the keyboard remains standards for other apps.



Another, slower tip: I always have the character map open in the toolbar for inserting foreign stuff.

That's great, Pete, thank you. I'll give that a go this week :)