I will mildly disagree with #3. Not because I want my function keys remapped, but because it’s really not a big deal to always have F-lock on.
#4 for your list of bad keyboards:
Thou Shalt have a double-sized Backspace key.
I agree with Paul and disagree with Jeff on point 1. I’ve used MS keyboards with mangled home clusters for years and I believe the Home-End/Delete-PageUp/PageDown arrangement is much more productive than the native 104 keyboard layout. It takes a bit of getting used to but it feels much nicer to me.
In reference to point 3, leaving F-Lock on should keep you from having any problems with your F keys unless you don’t like them being arranged in different groups.
I wholeheartedly agree with point 2 though. The few keyboards I’ve used with the goofy arrow layout have driven me absolutely nuts.
I’ve got one of the old style Northgate keyboards (OmniKey Ultra). It’s super clicky - great feel for touch-typing, with function keys across the top and on the left (where $Diety intended them to be), and supplemental ‘*’ and / keys. The only downside is no Windows key, but it can be keymapped to take care of it. It’s apparently indestructible, since it’s over 15 years old.
The Apple keyboard is excellent. Beware the wireless one however; it doesn’t have a numpad.
What the heck is the Caps Lock doing there next to the A key?!? That is an abomination. That is the holy place reserved for CTRL, and only he may reside there. Caps Lock must be relegated to the outer reaches of the keyboard. Long live OmniKey!
And stop waltzing my tilde! 
I have the Apple keyboard at work with my iMac. Love it surprisingly. I thought for sure it would suck but I love it. Very easy to type on and doesn’t make a ton of noise. Just enough to let you know you are typing.
The Apple flat keyboard is what dreams are made of, if they ever ruin it I will continue to buy up any I find forever.
Not the fanboy talking because I can honestly say I REALLY REALLY hated the dust viewing window keyboard they had before it and its unreliable return and shift keys.
One before that was ok but nothing I’d write home to my Dad about
Jeff,
Your timing is as immaculate as ever - I’ve spent a serious amount of time this morning considering just how stupid the home key cluster is on my keyboard.
Having built a new PC a couple of months ago, I opted for the Logitech Easycall keyboard - mainly because the keyboard and mouse are both wireless, communicating with the PC via a smart - wired - speakerphone that supports skype and MSN messenger.
The end result is a very clean desktop layout with no wires trailing across the surface of the desk.
I’ve been vaguely aware of how annoying the Home key cluster layout is (I Never hit the End key when I want to) but have become even more aware of it today, due to a snow induced ‘working from home’ session. (The snow isn’t that bad, really, but I’m in the UK, so it gets translated into - We’re all gonna die!!!)
Now that I’m doing my first serious stint of typing at home, the Home key cluster layout has become even more annoying.
Should I consider sticking with it long enough to develop a muscle-memory for the new layout, or will this just conflict with the habits developed on the normal keyboard layout at the office?
Having had a quick peek at the Logitech site today, not only is the Easycall discontinued, most of their wireless keyboards use this strange layout.
It’s a shame really, as this one small point ruins an otherwise excellent keyboard.
Why do companies have to change things that not only work fine, but people have become very used to?
I want a wireless keyboard that is split into 2 and is rigidly affixed/attached independently to both wrists. So, it is like part of my body. Does anything like that exist?
funny I rarely use the arrow keys, home cluster, or function keys when programming. probably something to do with using vim but it shows that the keyboard is not really good for programming per-se, but good for a particular piece of software
I’m thinking of replacing my 13 year old keyboard (apricot - a by then Mitsubishi company) - not because its broken, but because it doesn’t match the colour of my new LCD monitor!
The new monitor replaced a 13 year old 17 monitor (also Mitsubishi) that also still works (even more unbelievably than the keyboard in my opinion).
Since I mostly write code in Emacs, I’m not so sensitive to the home/end/paging, cursor and function keys. I rarely use them. That is one benefit of using a programmer’s editor like Emacs or Vi - they use mostly standard keys for all of these basic cursor movement operations. So it’s more important to me on the feel of the keyboard than the size and placement of these special keys.
The holy grail of keyboards was the MSFT Natural I bought in 1997. Hands down the best keyboard ever. Classic layout, no stupid media keys, ergo form factor. LOVED IT.
Tried to restore it last year. Failed :(. Now using a newer basic Natural keyboard that is…ok.
My problem with the Media Natural keyboards is the ergo form does not seem as pronounced. The last one I bought broke relatively quickly, too…only lasted a year or two.
If you’re in the UK, a double height Enter key is pretty much essential too. I’ve been a fan of Logitech keyboards for a long time, but they’ve taken to mangling the home cluster lately. Except on their awesome G15 that is, which I can recommend if you have the money.
I own a Logitech G15, and even though the extra buttons on the left are a bit awkward to reach, they sometimes pay off in VS2008 ([Ctrl]+[Shift]+[B] versus [G12]?).
What I love most about the (old) G15, are the media player controls under the LCD (which displays what I’m currently listening to). Extremely convenient.
#5 (for vi users at least):
Thou shalt not muck with the position of the escape key.
I love my 14 Thinkpad T61 except that they positioned escape above F1. This also is an abomination. Thankfully I’m not programming on the laptop keyboard itself that often. I guess laptop keyboards are in a class of their own …