Why would anyone want a mechanical keyboard with lights?
That was me a couple years ago. The RGB mechanical keyboard with hot-swappable keys were taking over. I didn't get it. I'd been rocking a Microsoft keyboard for the last 5 years and it was still crushing my keyboard needs.
However, I run a 2017 MacBook Air. That means have a very limited number of USB ports. I needed some external hard drive space, a webcam, and a microphone. There just weren't enough ports to run the things I needed to run on a daily basis. My first reaction was to buy a USB hub. But every time I switched my keyboard to a USB hub, the mouse and keyboard would lag. It become too frustrating to use my computer so I just constantly swapped out whatever USB devices I needed at the time.
This system was okay. But, I am the type of person who owns four computer charging cables because the thought of needing to pack up my cable from the office to take it home every night or to not be able to use my laptop in the kitchen without undoing my carefully run desk cords infuriates me. I knew this system wasn't going to last, but wasn't sure of the best solution.
That's when I had the idea for going bluetooth with the keyboard and mouse. An idea that has existed for many years, but I had been running dongled for so long that it didn't seem necessary to upgrade. There are plenty of options for non-mechanical bluetooth keyboards out there, but my research, and the still-growing fandom of mechanical boards, made it impossible not to read reviews about the different options that placed clacky keyboards on their pedestal. As I started digging into keyboards more, I came stumbled across the Keychron line of mechanical keyboards.
I loved the look of the keyboard. Dark grey keys with an orange highlight key. Something about it grabbed my attention every time I saw it. And the version had an option to only use white lights (I'm still not sold on the whole RGB thing). So I decided to just give it a go. Dive in and try to understand the hype. It was an Amazon purchase anyways so I wasn't too concerned about returning it if I hated.
Wow.
After typing just a few short words, I was hooked. The feel, the sound, the white lights that make really awesome, customizable patterns which I still hate that I enjoy so much. The whole experience of typing on it was incredible. It actually made me feel happy. I immediately understood why so many people love them and was converted.
There's much more depth in the mechanical keyboard world that I've still not even attempted to get into. Custom keycaps, changing out different switches, having multiple keyboards like guitarists have differently tuned guitars. But in the meantime, I'm going to really enjoy the sounds of each word as I type and the little white light that flashes across my keyboard as I do it.