FOR NERDY SORTS, the finest keyboards are the famous "clicky" IBM models from the 1980s. Full of metal and built like battleships, they had a feel and performance that were the stuff of legend, especially compared with what most of us type on today. To sensitive touch typists, the thin keyboards that are all the rage now—known as membrane keyboards—are sluggish and don't provide enough tactile feedback. When you press a key on these models, its underside squishes through a layer of rubber that touches a circuit board. With a mechanical keyboard, on the other hand, each key press triggers an actual on-off switch—a feeling as solid as flicking on the lights. And there is no need to push the key all the way down; go halfway and you'll feel the switch snap in place. This lets you exert less force when keying and, for typists who can really fly, eliminates the missing letters that result when the keyboard can't keep up with your fingers.

Another appealing feature of the older keyboards is auditory: hearing all the loud clicks and clacks is kind of like revving up a motorcycle. The problem is, the racket is liable to drive your co-workers or spouse insane. That's where Matias's wireless Laptop Pro keyboard for Mac comes in. (The company makes a wired version for PC, too.) Its switch technology confers the tactile response of a traditional mechanical keyboard, but sounds no louder than the office standard issue. At $170, it's pricey, but with Bluetooth for wireless typing and a built-in rechargeable battery that lasts six months to a year on a single charge, you're getting the best of vintage engineering and spanking new modern tech. When you're performing hundreds of thousands of strokes a day, a flawless typing experience is worth splurging on.