I went to Compusa today, and I have 2 keyboards to recommend.

The Logitech Wireless Comfort Pro (Black) noise definately muffled, still audible though.
The Microsoft Wireless keyboard (black) was also pretty quiet.

I still stand by my recommendation for the Apple Pro, too since they all cost the same pretty much, and the keyboard has a 2 port USB hub on it for all intents and purposes.

This is a really weird question in my book...I don't know anyone that has complained about a mouse click being too loud.

My suggestion would be to go to CompUSA and/or Best buy and just tap away on their display models.

i am surprised to see the lack of enthusiasm for this topic. it is disappointing that all you silent pc'ers make so much time for your boxes, spend so much money, and are indifferent to the loudest thing in the room that is right in front of you. silent computing is about silencing your environment when working at a pc, and the loudest things by far are keyboards and mice. they can be heard in the next room! working late at night can disturb others. personally i hate it when i'm talking on the phone and someone knows i'm clicking away on my pc.

why does the mouse need to make a sound when we click? why do keyboards have to be so loud? there's absolutely no need for it. its noise pollution.

and as far as people suggestion about 'try this one, its pretty quiet, or go to the store and check them all out'. what is this, quietpcreview? no. i thought our agenda was silence, not quiet. besides, i've done that... reality is pc manufacturers make garbage and sell it to people who don't care as long as its cheap.

ll.

I think as it is truly uncharted waters, the majority of readers just think "Wow, that'd be great" and can't really add anything else. Or maybe that's just me, who knows!

Alright... a keyboard thread... I just gotta do it.

Its not exactly a quiet/silent keyboard, but I absolutely love it. And thinking that folks here are willing to 'think outside the box' I'd bet that someone here would really like this one. Here's the Kinesis keyboard I've been using for nearly 4 years now.



Really no comparison to any of the 'standard' ergo boards.


Zyzzyx
-spreadin the good word

you won't get a silent keyb/mouse as they require movement. what you need is a telepathic input device ;)

for keyboard, use a notebook keyboard and put cloth/rubber underneath the keys for quiet operation. i haven't found a clickless mouse, but you could remove the switches on the buttons and replace them with non-clicky ones.

Good keyboarders like and need some tactile feedback to type well & fast. This virtually requires a bit of noise. Such folks (my better half, for example) generally do not like soft mushy keyboards or the touch film types.

My experience is that most of the noise from the keyboard is not from the switch, but when the finger hit the key. If you push the key down very carefully it doesn't make much sound. If you tap your finger on the key without pushing it down, there are a lot of noise.

Probably a different surface on the buttons would help. Hard plastic is probably not the best material for the top of the buttons.

Another thing I think would help, is to have the button rest on three tight spring mechanisms instead of one. Three feets are the ideal to make things steady (ref. tripods).

If anybody would like to try a different surface than plastic, try http://www.woodcontour.com/ (though it seems to be down at the moment due to high traffic). They sell wood keyboards to the tiny amount of $550 Don't know if they are quiet though

Wear gloves .

PlayDead

Maybe try some 1mm neoprene, or as thin as you can find. Maybe a thin mouse mat? This is to go round the inside surfaces of the mouse right? Or perhaps a thicker block of foam, that would fit in the front of the mouse, and you cut holes in it for the mouse clickers?

Actually, on a slightly more serious note than my post above, I've just (this minute) recieved my new Microsoft Wireless Pro Keyboard (and optical Mouse) and the keyboard action noise is a lot quieter than my old keyboard. Any quieter and I think you'd lose the sonic feedback that makes it easier to type correctly...

Great thing is, I can now put my PC in the closet where it's close to being silent . Still haven't recieved the fan that I'm waiting for though .

PlayDead

I've been resisting the temptation since Zyzzyx mentioned the Kinesis keyboard, but now I'm giving in.

If I could choose any commercially produced keyboard, then on the basis of what I've read I think it would have to be the Maltron.
See www.maltron.com (UK) and www.teleprint.com (USA). The teleprint site seems to be more informative.

The Kinesis-ergo imitates the Maltron's overall shape, but the Maltron has a number pad in the middle and an extra thumb key on each side, and it has a key to switch between the highly inefficient qwerty layout and the well designed Malt layout (devised by Lillian Malt).

Both are very expensive, sadly.

of course a light tapping sound from the keys may be necessary and unavoidable. but the level i'm imagining is that from a good laptop keyboard. they build those with quality in mind, they are tight but soft, and they don't rattle. they give a nice damp tap sound. i wish a manufacturer would make a full size keyboard layout using the same technology, but i guess i'm dreaming, or crazy.

I just came across this keyboard:
http://www.ennyah.de/english/products/m ... _index.htm

Anybody tried it?


www.KustomPCs.co.uk say:
Key travel is quite short (similar feel to a laptop keyboard) but is precise and spacious.

Maybe it's quiet as well?

Yes I have tried it. I bought one about five months ago. It's sold here in the states as a Viewsonic KU-201. You can get it for $29 from Newegg. I got it because I've been looking for a keyboard that will replicate the feel and sound of my Dell laptop keyboard. Short travel with a nice, positive stop and very quiet. This Viewsonic keyboard fits the bill just perfect. It is much quieter than a regular keyboard and it has the nice short travel of a notebook keyboard. Keyboard "touch" or "feel" is a subjective thing though, what I like you may hate, and visa versa. The only reason I'm not using it is that I'm a gamer and the layout of the arrow keys is buried in the area of Ctrl-shift-enter on the keyboard and I was always hitting the wrong keys during a game. If anyone wants to buy a brand-new Viewsonic KU-201 I'd sell it real cheap, say $10 + shipping.

How about the IBM Stealth "silent" keyboard at Amazon.com?

I just ordered a Logitech Zero Tilt keyboard, do they really cause hand and wrist problems like that guy was saying?

I've gone threw whole slew of testing running to stores around to figure out what works and what doesn't... and ended up settling with Logitech Elite. (cordless is out of question as the delayed reaction time can be felt still... unlike my MX700 mouse)
My wife commented how it is quieter compared to microsoft internet keyboard. (I find their multi-media one to be quiet as well) As for IBM, it is rather quiet but pricey and isn't any quieter than offering from MS or Logitech.
Funny thing about kbd is...
1) gotta have tactile feedback.
2) gotta have those hotkeys, etc to ease my life.
3) gotta look good (or match with what I have). (as for looks, I finally got everything black/silver combo except the printer which I don't plan to change anytime soon).
The only QUIET keyboard I found was virtually indestrutible kbd. Quiet for sure but I just couldn't get used to it after trying for 1 week.

Strange, I wonder if anyone has come across this before. My friend has a Samsung keyboard, although the keyboard was not very quiet, like any other keyboard made. There was a Silicone type cover that went over the keyboard to keep it clean. But you could also type on it extremely well it just flexes. It certainly reduced noise drastically, you don't get any thumping noise and the bonus it keeps the keyboard clean. I think I will ask him to buy me one when he comes over from abroad.

The thing with pc noise is that its a continuous drone or hum. At least input device noise is erratic. But its true - my compaq keyboard is noisy as hell if I am trying to sleep and someone is tapping away ...... my laptop keyboard i am using now is nice - similar to the excellent apple keyboard.
Acutally my noisest pc part is my speakers when playing MOHAA. I have to keep that down a lot.

I've actually been looking at these recently and wanted to get one. Are you still offering? email me at [email protected].

This would probably be as quiet as you could get. Of course you loose all tactile feedback.

VKB Virtual Keybaord

I use the Dell QuietKey myself and they're not bad. But definitly not silent. I remember one guy I worked with that didn't like the QuietKey. He liked his big old keyboard that made a "ka-chunk" sound every time you hit a key. You could hear him typing accross the office.

I think I'm more interested in a quiet mouse than a queit keyboard. The tactile feedback is helpfull when typing. But I don't see why you need it for a mouse.

I am not sure about any of these products as I have not used them yet but they would sound like they have potential. I use the Logitech Cordless Elite and it is quieter than other keyboards I have used, but not silent by any stretch of the imagination, even while typing lightly.

For a silent mouse replacement http://www.fingerworks.com/igesture.html
Finger contact would be the only sound – No mechanical clicking.

Keyboard everyone mentions the foldables. They seem like they would be quiet, though not all that tacticly responsive. http://www.rbmods.com
They have a review under their Reviews in the Misc: Section. Subject Foldable Keyboard

You would think there would be a silent solution out there somewhere.

check out this review of one of those tactile sensing keyboards:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,1039254,00.asp

if you still cared Alistair the noise that comes frm those microswitches in a mouse is due (as far as i know anyway) to the electrical contact being made by bending a small circle of metal/plastic onto a contact to make an electrical conection, then the switch springs back(over a very short distance) when you release the button due to the metal taking its natural shape. its the same as the buttons on nokia mobile phones and to a lesser extent calulators (they tend to be contact switches not the clicking microswitch kind).
i would imagine that the main reason contact switches are used is because of there very definite action - they take very little press to 'make' a contact and give the user feedback that they have done. i remember when i had an amiga i used to very specifically look for joysticks that had this kind of microswitch as they helped me play, i suspect due to the feedback they gave.

you could probably find other switches of a similar size that could do the same thing with almost no pressure applied (like a calculator) and be simply swapped with the current ones, however i would think that the action would be left dead, and perhaps a little unpleasant.

as to the kaybourds, i would think that
a ruber ring applied to the underside of the key(on my ms keyboard anyway) would reduce the 'thud' and then a cunning use of blutack or similar could be used to take the 'rattle' out of the return action.

just my few pence.

thanks for that explanation mynci, it inspires me to return to do more experimenting. silent mice and quieter keyboards are still very much on my mind. i'm a 'compulsive clicker'.
the other night, my girlfriend yelled from the other room: "hey shut the door i'm trying to sleep and your little clickity clicks are getting into my dreams"...

but i was obviously in the wrong place at the wrong time. ;o)

a.

How bout this membrane style board, should be quiet

http://www.svc.com/auelslilkebl.html

There is this mouse I got, don't remember the brand but it says on the box "silent click" or something. The wheel makes very little noise and the buttons are pretty quiet. Something I found at Frys' for cheap.

I ended up with one of these and really like it. The keys are solid and quiet, and having the touchpoint gizmo is addictive. Getting the one with the trackpad would be even better since you can click or drag or scroll with jus the pad, no buttons!

Hello:

It costs $155?!!

Yikes!

I have used maybe a dozen keyboards in my life. The one I got with my dad's computer (from PCClub) was so quite that I traded him for it. Its a Chicony KB-9908. I am a very violent typer and this keyboard helped a bit. It should be pretty cheap.

I bet mice with wheels are quieter: you don't have to click to scroll.

JV

Here we go a4tech and the silent mouse wheel, I don't recall how quiet the buttons are.

http://www.a4tech.com/EN/product3.asp?C ... MNO=SWW-53