The Kinesis Advantage series of keyboards has a row of tiny function keys at the top. These cheap rubber keys are the shame of the expensive Kinesis keyboards. The latest version in this series, model KB600, has the tiny function keys made out of plastic, no more rubber―feels better. The Esc key in my ancient KB133 Kinesis was registering key presses only when I was pressing very hard. The Kinesis support was very responsive but they said they don’t have replacement parts for this old keyboard model.

I’ve been using a Kinesis Classic keyboard since 2007 when I got one at Google. I did notice some minor issues every few months, but it started to be somewhat annoying only after reading Michael’s list of the issues Kinesis keyboards have. Thanks Michael! I probably flirted with the idea of replacing the keyboard’s controller following Michael’s instructions for two or three years. But why do it, really.. Things changed last winter when the Esc key stopped working.