Hi, I love the look of these keyboards and I'm especially interested in the quality that everyone says they deliver. I like gaming, and haven't any doubt as to the merits of this keyboard in that regard, but I'm also a college English major, and as such I frequently have a great deal of writing to do on my computer. I hate the way my cheap keyboard feels, and lighted keys would be awesome for late-night assignments. My question is this, how does this keyboard stack up for those who are typing for extended periods of time, with regards to comfort and such? Does the fact that it's shorter lengthwise cause any problems? What about the shaped keys, I don't think I've ever used a keyboard with caps like that before, how do they feel on the fingers after long periods of typing? Does the different layout as opposed to a generic microsoft layout cause any problems?
These are really the only questions holding me back from buying one of these right now. However I was wondering, I live in Thunder Bay Ontario Canada, and I was curious as to how much shipping would be? And also, I noticed that one of the links someone provides to a review of this keyboard at lanaddict.com describes the price as being $99, is this a typo?

Thx for any help and information you can provide,
Shug

Sorry guys, I just reread some of the things and rechecked the pix and realized that the keycaps are in fact standard. Haha, sorry, please disregard that part of my question.

Thx again,
Shug

One of my questions when I was looking to get my Deck was how well it handles typing chores. I tend to go on marathon typing sprints (well two or three hours, i'm not in college anymore) and I wasn't sure how the size of the board and the keys would treat my hands.

So I wanted to give some feedback to those looking at the keyboard but worried about the typing aspect. This is the best typing keyboard I've used since my early days on the apple IIe. Remember that firm feel that bounced back and made typing easy and precise? That is what you get from this board. I have only two minor issues: when I'm sitting lazy the edge on the space key can wear on the thumb a bit, but this could be changed if I ever got motivated enough to get a new space key. The second issue is that the right shift key is a tad too small for my big fingers. I find that I overutilized the right shift key (i.e. use it when I should be using the left one). This coms up in game chatting most frequently because I tend to ask a lot of questions in game and hitting the right shift and the question mark button (hmm, maybe it's that the "?" is too small, no, cause I hit " with that poor typing technique also).

Short summary, I'm not a hardcore FPS, i play turnbased action (KOTOR or COH) so I was more interested in the ability of the Deck to allow me to find keys easy in the dark and how good the typing feel would be. I can confidently state that it is the best keyboard I've ever used and I can't imagine going back to anything else (well, especially once the number pad comes out, I'm dying without it.)

Shug------ Yes you can buy the DECK kb in Canada. go to thinkgeek.com......they will help you. yes its $99, but worth the bucks as it's EASY-ON-THE-EYES at night. you can dim the LEDs in 7 levels. Myself, I recomend the red (FIRE) as the red is the best for your "night vision", when your eyes get used to the dark, then you don't want to be staring into bright light. As for typing, I think it's great but everyone has thier own preference. Hey, it's got a 30 day money-back offer if you don't like it. Tom G

Hi guys, thank you very much for the information. I am somewhat curious about the red being the most appropriate for 'night vision' though, can you elaborate, or provide a link to some type of information? I noticed another thread on this, and it piqued my interest, as I was initially interested in an 'Ice' board, but with the $20 price difference (I'm cheap I know) and the comments I'm hearing I'm considering the 'Fire' board now instead.

Oh, also, I noticed that Hudson directed me to thinkgeek.com to buy in Canada, does this mean that Deck won't deliver to our beloved snow-capped nation?
Thanks again for the replies, I very much appreciate them
Shug

Shug D

As far as the RED being easy on the eyes for " night vision" this has been the feedback from past customers and our own opinion. All the backlit are great from typing in the dark but we have had more responses to the FIRE on this issue.

For shipping to Canada because we are not set up on the website to ship outside of the United States it is much easier to order through THINKGEEK and they sell for the same price. Can we ship to Canada, yes, but the cost for shipping, and duties/taxes(customer responsible) are very high. That is why we refer international customers to THINKGEEK.

Thanks,
Cathy @ DECK Keyboards

i actually measuered the deck and my old keyboard and the distance between all keys is the same, spacing is the same, everything is the same space wise. its not cramped at all.

I belive that it has something to do with it having the shortest wavelength in visible spectrum.... http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/eng99/eng99235.htm

I think getting red because you it helps your night vision is moot.

Using red in the cockpits for night vision is because the pilot is staring into the vast black of night. Unlike us computer users, we have a dark room yes, but our monitors are bright, much unlike a pilot staring into black nothingness. The reason for the red is so that the pilot can see other things in the dark because the red won't obscure the rest of the pilot's vision.

For us computer users, it dont matter.. buy whatever color you like.. remember you're still staring at a bright screen anyway.

I read comments about red being the easiest on eyes. How about gold? any feedback on it? It'd be my color of choice. To my eyes, read is to intense. gold seems to me to be the best balanced since we are staring at bright screens.

thanks.

that is exactly right... which is why I went with fire... easy on the eyes at night... and I do a lot of work at night in low lighting situations. getting my KB today... can't wait.