26 Feb 2012, 13:23

I picked up this CAN-5001CW keyboard with an integrated calculator. The box says "mechanical feeling" which is the same as a sticker saying "duck flavor" on a pack of cheap, chinese soup. I popped off a keycap and to my surprise there was a spring underneath! So far, I only knew of IBM, Brother and Alps buckling spring switches . My initial enthousiasm quickly faded away when trying the keys: the ones at the outer regions of the keyboards (like A and Num-) are clicky and tactile but the keys toward the center do not click but feel rather mushy. The inside of the keyboard looks OK in a mechanical sense, the plastic is not warped so that should not be the reason for the lack of clickyness at the center.The spring-and-hammer assemblies can be taken out of their barrels from the top. They are literally drenched in oil; at least they do not squeak.Oh, and the whole thing doesn't work- hopefully I just need to replace the NiMH rechargable battery to get it going.