What is your personal preference based on experience? I Assume because Mac is Unix and Linux is Unix based, it would be more suited, but I have no personal experience with the layout. I am willing to try something new if i hear enough merits for it, and I also find the windows layout somewhat inadequate(The grass is greener on the other side /s)

I dailydrive Gnome, I am not a programmer, but i am a power user

(On a tangent: Why is gnome so restrictive, it feels like its missing a ton of UI features that are trivial without a boatload of 3rd party extensions that break every update; why doesn’t Win+Shift+number launch a new instance, every other DE does, why doesn’t it?; I don’t use KDE because I just don’t like it, I feel Gnome could be way more if it just natively integrated the extensions ).

aesthetically the windows key annoys me and i hate putting stickers on keyboards; I like how the mac layout looks(My very minimal experience with an in store mac-book has cautioned me away from the fisher-price OS so i don’t know if it is intuitive to use)

    • d3Xt3r@lemmy.nzM
      8·
      8 months ago

      Are they worth it(Last long)?

      100%. I’ve been using various mechanical keyboards for ~15 years now. One of my first mech keyboards was a CODE - I sold it six years ago to my mate and he reports that it’s still been going great, no issues at all. My current main keyboards are a Drop CTRL and a Keychron K14, both of which have been going great as well.

      In fact, I’d argue that on an average, mech keyboards last much much longer due to:

      • High-quality switches which are rated for several million keypresses (100 million for MX Browns)
      • High-quality plastic keycaps (double-shot PBT) which aren’t susceptible to shine and legend-wear, unlike the cheap (ABS) keycaps you’d find on regular keyboards
      • Swappable keycaps means you’d never get bored of the same look + easy to source replacements if you need them
      • Swappable switches means you can replace a switch (if on the rare occasion it fails) - or you can completely upgrade your typing experience by choosing different switches with more suitable resistance/comfort/speed/tactility/sound etc.
      • Standard removable USB-C cable means you can replace the cable in case it gets worn out (unlike most cheap keyboards which have fixed cables). This also allows you to use high-quality braided cables which last much longer.
      • Overall modular nature of these keyboards: practically every part is replaceable/customizable/serviceable - even the firmware

      Honestly, there’s no comparison at all between a proper mech keyboard and a branded OEM keyboard from the likes of Apple/Logitech/Microsoft etc - you’re just paying for the brand name to get an average quality keyboard with way less repairability/modularity/customisability.

    • cevn@lemmy.world
      4·
      8 months ago

      A keyboard lasts as long as you make it last, in other words, until you spill a beer or coke on it… Even then there may be hope. I have a working IBM Model M from 1989 if that matters…

    • Bezier@suppo.fi
      3·
      8 months ago

      My previous mechanical keyboard lasted about a decade. Or it still works, but I bought a new one because the keycaps had worn so much.

        • Bezier@suppo.fi
          1·
          8 months ago

          Replaceable sure, but probably not worth it. My new one is a bit nicer, so for that I might do it when the time comes. I still keep the old one around for random occasions I need a keyboard.

    • kbal@kbin.melroy.org
      2·
      8 months ago

      Well, if what you want is inexpensive, simple, and durable you might be looking for my favourite keyboard which apparently they’re still selling. I haven’t needed a new one in 15 years or so but it doesn’t look like they’ve changed the design at all.

      Whether a “mechanical” keyboard is worth it just depends on your taste, but in my experience they do wear out much more quickly than this thing I’m typing on.

      • lemmyvore@feddit.nlEnglish
        3·
        8 months ago

        That is the complete opposite on my experience. Not only are mechanical switches nicer to type on but they last a lot longer, and if a switch breaks down you can replace it individually. When a membrane fails for one key you have to throw away the whole keyboard.

    • zod000@lemmy.ml
      2·
      8 months ago

      I have several perfectly working mechanical keyboards from the 80s, so I’d say, yeah they last long. That being said, I don’t necessarily think you’ll get decades from $40 mechanical keyboard like you can from an old school IBM, Alps, or Cherry MX keyboard. I mean, you may, but these keyboards were most than $40 back then and adjusted for inflation they’d not be cheap these days.