All three keyboards mentioned are "linear" (Red) switch. Gamers
like them, because force is constant throughout the key travel. I'm
not a gamer, so can't comment on their experience. I prefer light
key, that provides initial resistance and then collapses after
trigger point. This usually means "clicky" (Blue) or "tactile"
(Brown) switch, though I don't care about audio or tactile
feedback. If anything, less noise is better.
I use Topre keyboard (brand: RealForce) which is "capacitive" switch
with variable weight (ie. different key has different weight). I
bought them long ago. It delayed the onset of carpal tunnel
(wrist), tennis elbow (elbow), and pinched nerve (neck/shoulder),
and it helps me keep those symptoms at manageable level.
One of the things I find most fascinating about the current environment is the nearly complete separation possible between keyboard case, switches and keycaps. Buy a keyboard for the layout, connectivity, software and build quality, but feel free to change the switches if you don't like what it came with because almost everything now is hot-swappable and uses the same standard sockets. Both keyboards I recently bought ship with key/switch pullers and spare switches. One well-reviewed keyboard, the
SmackApe (I told you the vendor names were weird!)
Impact 80, comes with one of three different switches depending what colour you buy.
Indeed, depending on your overall preference, you could do worse than to
buy a sample pack of switches to see if you're on Team Tactile, Squad Squishy or Club Creamy, then buy a set of the one you like. A set of 90 switches (for a keyboard without a number pad)
will run about $40.
Now, for mouse... get one with back/forward buttons. You will never
go back. So, 5-buttons + wheel. :-)
I was playing with that recently, but I found that there doesn't seem to be a standard mapping for those extra mouse (or in my case trackball) buttons. In the KDE settings I map them to PgUp and PgDn which makes them useful with some apps but I wish there was more standardization.
I also notice that on a few of my pointing devices, the scroll wheel can be moved side to side enough to click, but I have no way of knowing how to implement that under Linux. It's *supposed* to enable horizontal scrolling, I believe, but I've never been able to make it work.
- Evan