I ordered this keyboard and the Smartboard at the same time. I had read several positive reviews, though they all mentioned that this keyboard does not have mechanical switches. It’s main claim to fame is that it splits down the middle, with an adjustable split angle. The user can also adjust the tilt of the keyboard (i.e. how far to raise up the back side).
I actually used this keyboard for quite a while, as it was either this or the Smartboard, the latter of which I gave up on right away due to reasons elaborated below. While the feel of the keys was definitely what one would call mushy, it’s closer to a linear Cherry switch kind of mushy, rather than a typical rubber dome switch kind of mushy. That is to say, when first depressed, there is not ‘hump’ that you have to get over before the key starts to push back. Rather, the response is very smooth, and simply gets stronger as you push down more.
Once I got used to the feel, I was actually able to type on it quite quickly. The trick was to learn not to bottom out on each key press, and rather push each key in just enough for it to register, before moving onto the next. I ended up using it for about 6 months before I tried the MS Natural Elite which I switched to. In the end, the MS Natural just had a more tactile switch, and I preferred that over the soft feel of the Maxim. However, in the 6 months that I used it, it served as a comfortable ergonomic keyboard (it definitely reduced the wrist pains I was getting from the Dell keyboard I was using before it), with no major flaws and no ghosting problems whatsoever. It’s number pad-less layout also meant more room for my mouse, which was a useful feature. One downside was the escape key was relatively far away, which may be annoying for some vi users (My co-worker who uses the keyboard now has restorted to using control-c often instead of Esc in vi).

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