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Can anyone recommend a silent keyboard?

J

jojoba

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 9, 2011
1,584
21
...or, as silent as possible. I use the Apple wireless keyboard both with my iPad and when my Air is connected to a larger screen, but have gotten several complaints that it's loud - including from my current office mate who I don't want to annoy on a regular basis.

Any recommendations appreciated.
 
jojoba said:
Nice, thanks. I like the solar charging, too. Do you have personal experience with this keyboard?
Click to expand...

I have for more than a month now and it is quite a good keyboard, but it makes sounds when pressing the keys, though it sounds more like one of those older keyboards with thicker keys.
But if your mates complain about keyboard noise, maybe there is something else they might be complaining about?
 
simsaladimbamba said:
I have for more than a month now and it is quite a good keyboard, but it makes sounds when pressing the keys, though it sounds more like one of those older keyboards with thicker keys.
But if your mates complain about keyboard noise, maybe there is something else they might be complaining about?
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot - are you able to compare it to the sounds of an Apple wireless keyboard?

I see what you mean with the bold, but I think it's really the keyboard - I work at a research institute where lots of people have issues with other people's keyboards as they're trying to think/focus. I think I also type a bit louder than many people, because I write very fast and probably put a bit more weight on the keys than I need to.

oldhifi said:
Yes I have one, and there is NO clicking keys!
Click to expand...

Thanks!
 
Does anyone know how the Logitech 811 fares for noise?
 
You need either a

Optimus Tactus

Or a

Virtual Laser Keyboard

Neither have keys ;)
 
If it is the old clunky wireless Apple keyboard with the numeric keypad then I suggest you buy the current model. It uses the same keys as on the notebooks. It is as silent as you can get. The older one was rather noisy compared to this one, sounds more like a mechanical keyboard (it's a rubber dome one). If that still is too noisy either your typing method isn't good (you are pounding the keys instead of pressing them) or your coworkers are the problem (they complain because they can).
 
jojoba said:
Does anyone know how the Logitech 811 fares for noise?
Click to expand...

Pretty quiet, slightly less than the apple wireless keyboard, and, honestly I prefer the angle vs the apple and that it's rechargeable adds to it.

Some of it is the typing method though, and honestly if coworkers are complaining about that noise perhaps they should consider offices instead of an open floor plan.

Speaking for myself, once I get locked in mentally I don't notice the noise. It takes longer to get locked in though with noise.
 
Gav2k said:
You need either a

Optimus Tactus

Or a

Virtual Laser Keyboard

Neither have keys ;)
Click to expand...

That laser thing is freaky :eek: :)


dyn said:
If it is the old clunky wireless Apple keyboard with the numeric keypad then I suggest you buy the current model. It uses the same keys as on the notebooks. It is as silent as you can get. The older one was rather noisy compared to this one, sounds more like a mechanical keyboard (it's a rubber dome one). If that still is too noisy either your typing method isn't good (you are pounding the keys instead of pressing them) or your coworkers are the problem (they complain because they can).
Click to expand...

It's the lastest version of the Appke keyboard and the bold is the main problem. I'm trying to work on my typing. But I still make more noise with some keyboards than others - for example, I type more quietly on my Air than with the Apple wireless keyboard.

John Kotches said:
Pretty quiet, slightly less than the apple wireless keyboard, and, honestly I prefer the angle vs the apple and that it's rechargeable adds to it.

Some of it is the typing method though, and honestly if coworkers are complaining about that noise perhaps they should consider offices instead of an open floor plan.

Speaking for myself, once I get locked in mentally I don't notice the noise. It takes longer to get locked in though with noise.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that - I think I would also prefer the angle, I tend to like flat ones better. I might go to a shop and have a look at the 811.

We have smaller offices that are shared. It's really not too bad, but some people are more distracted by keyboard noise than others. Personally I just zoom it out.

Regarding typing method, yes I think I pound. I was in a public seminar once with my iPad and the wireless keyboard typing away, and this woman sitting next to me who I'd never met before just spontaneously leaned over and started pressing the volume buttons on the keyboard, thinking it would decrease the sound of my typing :eek:
 
It's not the keyboard. It's your typing and it sounds like you know that. I work in an environment of mechanical keyboards and I don't find that annoying at all yet the few people who seem to think they have to smash the keys really do annoy me.

Learn to type correctly. Force yourself to if necessary. Always use the correct fingers. Are you tense when you type? The key is to relax. Don't let your shoulders go up or tense up. Only use just enough energy to get the computer to register your key press. All other muscles in your body should be relaxed. Keep your fingers very close to the keyboard so they don't have to travel far at all to press the key. The people I know who type very hard seem to keep their fingers very high off the keyboard, causing them to use way too much force to hit the key. Don't rest your wrists on the desk or a wrist pad while you type. Keep them elevated and straight. Sit up straight and don't slouch.

Not only will all of that keep the noise level down, it will also make you a better and faster typer. Just like playing piano (or any instrument really), the key to typing very fast is to relax.
 
mslide said:
It's not the keyboard. It's your typing and it sounds like you know that. I work in an environment of mechanical keyboards and I don't find that annoying at all yet the few people who seem to think they have to smash the keys really do annoy me.

Learn to type correctly. Force yourself to if necessary. Always use the correct fingers. Are you tense when you type? The key is to relax. Don't let your shoulders go up or tense up. Only use just enough energy to get the computer to register your key press. All other muscles in your body should be relaxed. Keep your fingers very close to the keyboard so they don't have to travel far at all to press the key. The people I know who type very hard seem to keep their fingers very high off the keyboard, causing them to use way too much force to hit the key. Don't rest your wrists on the desk or a wrist pad while you type. Keep them elevated and straight. Sit up straight and don't slouch.

Not only will all of that keep the noise level down, it will also make you a better and faster typer. Just like playing piano (or any instrument really), the key to typing very fast is to relax.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips, yes I am working on it. I touch type and I actually type very fast (can't remember the exact wpm right now). My fingers are pretty close to the keyboard, but I still put a lot of excess weight behind the key strokes. So I do realise I'm a big part of the problem, but at the same time, as I said above, I do make more noise with some keyboards than others.
 
So, I went out and got the K811 today, and so far I'm very happy with it. Very comfortable, and a quieter than the Apple wireless, although the space bar is a bit noisier than the other keys.
 
jojoba said:
Thanks a lot - are you able to compare it to the sounds of an Apple wireless keyboard?

I see what you mean with the bold, but I think it's really the keyboard - I work at a research institute where lots of people have issues with other people's keyboards as they're trying to think/focus. I think I also type a bit louder than many people, because I write very fast and probably put a bit more weight on the keys than I need to.



Thanks!
Click to expand...

Has anyone at your office ever heard of foam ear plugs?;)
 
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