New keyboard in an old skin

I know people who have multiple cars in their garage, so I don’t feel too bad about collecting a few keyboards. I spend a lot of time typing, so I don’t mind spending money to improve the experience. My small collection of keyboards ranges from 61 to 170 keys, not including a few keyboards that are purely used for macros. I thought I was done collecting, but then I stumbled across an 87-key device made by 8BitDo that is themed to look like a Commodore 64. It went straight into my shopping cart. After all, my first keyboard was built into a Commodore 64. I have a lot of memories playing games and programming that computer until the external disc drive broke and my mom broke up with her rich boyfriend.

Even without the nostalgia, I really like this new keyboard. The keys have a light touch, and the raised edges make it easy to navigate tactilely. (Even if I can’t spell TACTILELY.) And yes, if you were working in the same room with me you would be grinding your teeth and seething with rage as I filled the room with clickety-clackety key presses. I love it. It’s a keyboard with feedback. And when I do look down at the keys, I’m transported about four decades into the past when GOTO was a programmer’s best friend.

10 PRINT “HELLO, WORLD!”
20 GOTO 10

After I’ve driven this keyboard for a while, I’ll move it to the L-bend of my desk so I can use it as a dedicated keyboard for writing.