Some of you actually know that I have a dasKeyboard Ultimate since years. Honestly, it is an absolutely gorgeous piece of hardware and my main input device. But it's not the only keyboard I'm using...

A marketing joke?

Some days ago there was this big announcement that Jeff Atwood together with WASD Keyboards developed the CODE keyboard that is especially designed for software developers. Well, opinions differ and that CODE keyboard only gave me a light chuckle. Frankly speaking, the CODE keyboard is just a slight evolution of dasKeyboard. Yes, the most significant difference might be the LED backlighting but for what?

Clean, beautiful white LED backlighting means you can see your keyboard in even the lowest light conditions.

"You can see your keyboard" - WTF? A professional software developer is supposed to be able to touch-type! Meaning, that even in pitch-black darkness you are supposed to be able to hack your brain into the computer and let your creativity flow. Last time I had a look at my fingers they didn't have any kind of visual receptors... luckily!

Other options like switching the keyboard layout or easy exchangeable keys simply do not apply compared to the Ultimate.

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Under the hood...

A look at the specifications reveals some more (unexpected) surprises: Cherry MX mechanical key switches with gold contacts. How innovative... Sorry, but all the hype about that CODE keyboard is just ridiculous compared to the existence of dasKeyboard since 2005!

Am I spoiled?

Hm, eventually the whole problem isn't really about this revolutionary, new keyboard for developers but about myself. I can't tell at the moment. One thing for sure, Mr Jeff Atwood lost quite some credit on my list of favourite bloggers and leaders in software development. Sad but true!

Answering the subject

Is the CODE keyboard the right keyboard for coding? - It depends...

Obviously, it's not the right choice for me.

Anyway, dasKeyboard is in daily use and quite funnily I'm daisy-chaining the Logitech Unifying Receiver at one of the USB ports of dasKeyboard. So, why two input devices on the same machine? The mechanical clicks are too noisy during the evening and night coding sessions. And not to disturb anyone else I'm using the Logitech K340 during my third shifts.