Author：Maria Lena

Just as a hairdresser or a tailor needs good scissors, a painter or a makeup artist a good brush, people who write for hours every day should have a good computer keyboard. When it comes to keyboards, there are many options to suit all tastes and budgets. There is no ideal keyboard, the solution is to find the product that best suits our uses and habits.

The easiest way to connect your keyboard to your computer is with a wired USB connection. Keyboards are generally plug-and-play devices that do not require the installation of any additional software (except for some gaming keyboards). Unlike wireless keyboards, wired devices are powered via USB, so you don't have to worry about batteries. Wired connections are also recommended for gaming because they don't have the lag and interference issues that wireless alternatives often have.

7 tips To Consider When Choosing wired Keyboard

• Stability

Keyboard stability and grip are important, because a keyboard that slips or moves on the table is a nuisance. In addition to accidental keystrokes, it forces us to put it back in place each time, which wastes time. Stability depends not only on the weight of the keyboard, but also on its materials and anti-slip stops, as well as the material of the table itself. It would be advisable to avoid those folders traditionally used in the desk area under the keyboard, which are very aesthetic and practical for calligraphy, but a torment for typing because they do not stop wiggling in most cases.

• Ergonomics

In terms of ergonomics, it is preferable for the front part to be a little higher. Many keyboards come with pins that allow the back of the keyboard to be raised, but they force the angle of the wrist too much. Ideally, the keyboard should be at the correct height so that the elbows form a right angle. For this purpose, height-adjustable tables or chairs are very practical. Ergonomic keyboards can be found on the market due to their shape: curved and with different key inclinations. The aim is to promote a natural hand and wrist position; however, it is not always easy to get used to them, which is why there are variants: from slightly ergonomic to very ergonomic.

Best Low-Cost On keyboards

	Redragon K552 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard	$38.99 at Amazon	See It
	Gaming Keyboard and Mouse and Mouse pad and Gaming Headset	$54.91 at Amazon	See It
	CORSAIR K55 RGB PRO-Dynamic RGB Backlighting	$49.88 at Amazon	See It
	Logitech G PRO Mechanical Gaming Keyboard	$83.00 at Amazon	See It
	Razer Ornata Chroma Gaming Keyboard Hybrid Mechanical Key Switches	$46.99 at Amazon	See It

• Keystroke technologies

The keys on a keyboard can be divided into four main categories of technology: virtual, membrane, scissor or mechanical. Virtual keys are not physical, but are an image of keys projected onto a surface. A sensor determines which key is being pressed. Virtual keyboards may eventually catch on as computing and technology evolve, but at present they are not a great advantage for people who use the keyboard a lot because their responsiveness is not yet very well developed. If we type quickly, the sensor does not always recognize all the characters typed and we find ourselves with incomplete words that make us lose time to retype them correctly.

• Membrane keyboards

These have become the most common in recent years, mainly due to lower manufacturing costs. All keys are located on the same structure that covers the keyboard: a bubble-shaped rubber membrane under each key. When a key is pressed, it must travel a certain distance until it reaches the stop, where a metal component creates a short circuit when it comes into contact with the membrane and detects the keystroke. The key returns to its original state thanks to the bubble that pushes the key upwards. Its qualities include a slim design and absolute silence when typing, in addition to the touch - depending on taste - which is more rubbery and soft, like a TV remote control.

• Mechanical keyboards

They are the most durable, resistant and traditional. Each key has an individual mechanism, with a metal spring that generates a contact when the key is pressed and pushes it back to its original position when released. Although the keys are very tall and may appear to have too much travel, it is not necessary to press the key all the way down for the keystroke to be detected. This reduces noise and finger fatigue. They have different types of switches that vary from softer to harder and are usually classified by color, and we must not forget that the keystroke on a mechanical keyboard is more accurate and faster: it is more difficult to make a wrong keystroke and accidental keystrokes are greatly reduced.

Thanks to video games, these keyboards enjoy great success due to their resistance and precision, but their usefulness transcends to workers who spend most of their days in front of a computer. The gamer option is characterized by its backlighting, which generally allows customization in terms of colors and function keys.

• Keyboard options

Numeric keypad: absolutely useful and recommended. Many brands choose to dispense with it for reasons of aesthetics, lower costs or uselessness for the average user. However, it is very practical for typing numbers, increasing productivity, as well as for using ASCII codes that do not have their own key, such as Latin quotation marks, the degree symbol, the hard space, the dash or the ellipsis, to name just a few essential examples. Although it is true that we can create customized keyboard shortcuts to compensate for the absence of the numeric keypad, it is possible that some of them will not work because they interfere with the shortcuts of certain programs. Moreover, we will be forced to reconfigure them if we change computers. Therefore, it is preferable to memorize the key combinations of the ASCII codes we use most often because they will always work on any computer.

• Maintenance

One last important aspect when it comes to keyboards, although often neglected, is the cleaning of the keyboard. In addition to the proliferation of bacteria on its surface, dust tends to accumulate very easily and quickly in the interstices of the keys and underneath. The keyboard should be vacuumed and brushed regularly. For the keys, you can use 90° alcohol or any disinfectant solution and a piece of absorbent cotton, but be careful not to rub too hard, at the risk of seeing the characters engraved on the keys disappear when the quality of the finish is mediocre. Fortunately, technology is always on our side to evolve according to the needs or particularities of different types of users. We can now rest assured that there are keyboards that can withstand anything, such as the Adesso Easy touch 630Ub (AKB-630UB) or the Rocksoul (KB-101F106B), washable and dustproof keyboards.

In conclusion, wired keyboards continue to be the classics among computer peripheral devices. They continue to develop, evolve and modernize without losing the connectivity necessary to fulfill ALL the functions that a keyboard MUST fulfill.

We hope we have guided you in the selection of the keyboard that best suits your needs.