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Mechanical Keyboards (piefed.social)
submitted 10 months ago by to c/mechanical_keyboards@programming.dev
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Are not all keyboards mechanical?

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[–] [S] 4 points 10 months ago (3 children)

I forgot about the- touch screen (LOL, even that is all I have to use, this time in my life), projected & VR keyboards.

You are more knowledgeable about keyboards, than I am. So I do not know what you mean by switch type & Rubber domed, Cherry & Alps are.

For a second there, I thought you were referring to the analog type typewritters’ keyboards. Of course is if those are keyboards, they probably are not.

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  • [–] 3 points 10 months ago* (1 child)

    A switch is a thing that selectively completes a circuit. There are several types of switches that work for keyboards, “mechanical” being one of them.

    “Rubber domed” is a type of switch that has fewer parts, using a metal “dome” for each key that is pushed when you type. They don’t use anything “mechanical,” which makes them take up less space and makes them feel different than a switch that has actual mechanical mechanisms.

    Mechanical switches, “cherry” and “alps” being specific types of those, have an actual spring, rail components, and other parts.

    The latter is referred to as “mechanical” because it has mechanical parts, whereas the domed switches do not.

    Then over time, people shortened “a keyboard with mechanical switches” to “mechanical keyboard.”

    Hope this helps!

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