Justin Ko's Blog

My gaming session ended abruptly when my old keyboard gave its last breath and died peacefully that summer evening. And hence, I was thrust on a journey many have taken before: the Consumer Decision Process.

1. Having dug up my 10 year old keyboard from my closet as a replacement, I first realized that my need wasn’t a functional need (the old keyboard just didn’t feel right) but rather a psychological need. Not only did I need a keyboard, I needed the best.

2. Having been exposed to only membrane keyboards, my internal knowledge was limited. So I consulted the World Wide Web and gathered opinions from typists around the world with regards to mechanical keyboards. I learned that Cherry Brown Switches were amongst the best for modern keyboards, so my search for the best keyboard became the search for the best Cherry keyboard.

3. Thanks to all the research, my retrieval set was vast. In fact, I needed to create a set of evaluative criteria to narrow it down to my evoked set. My main criteria were build quality and switch type, with weights 0.4 and 0.6 respectively. The Filco was known for its solid construction and low performance risk, so it was an obvious choice for me over other manufacturers with inferior build quality such as Ducky and Das.

4. By now, I was going through any means to get the Filco FKB104/EB. After a search for suppliers, I was forced to buy from Taiwan (a small inconvenience in hindsight).

5. Although my expectations were set high, I am happy to say that my hopes were exceeded. Accurate reviews and diagrams built a superior yet realistic expectation. After adjusting to the tactile click, I must say that writing essays have never been so much fun.