Re: Northgate Keyboards

[Carl Distefano CLDistefano@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to note from ML Solla  Fri, 21 Feb 97 01:27:21 +0000
>  
> Just curious - (Never hear about Northgate nowadays)
> How many of you out there use a Northgate keyboard?
>

My only experience with a Northgate was long ago, and brief. As I
recall, it was a very loud, "clicky" keyboard, and I intensely dislike
clickety keys. Until recently, my console of choice was the German-made
Cherry G80-1000, which has an easy action and makes a pleasantly soft,
"clacking" sound.

In November, though, I discovered the KeyTronic Lifetime Series (made in
the USA). This is far and away the best keyboard I've ever used.
Extremely sturdy and well-made. It has a luxuriously padded action -- the
keys evidently sit on some sort of rubber cushion -- and it's almost
totally silent. It's guaranteed to something like 25,000,000 keystrokes
_per key_ (hence the Lifetime appellation). The only downsides are
weight (considerably heavier than your run-of-the-mill $20 special) and
cost: I paid $125 at J&R Computer in NYC for the model with the built-in
touchpad; a fews weeks later, in December, it had gone up to $150. The
basic model (no touchpad or trackball) is maybe half the cost, but the
touchpad is worth every cent in my book. No more reaching for the
rodent under a pile of paper somewhere. No more point-and-click; now,
it's point and tap, and it's all blissfully _quiet_.

--------------
Carl Distefano  * * *