At Least They Listen

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(Edited)

Once upon a time, pen, ink and paper were highly valued as these three items were used for taking notes, keeping records or writing a journal for example. Life has changed since then, quite a lot, we still have and use pen and paper, ink too, but digital records are ruling our world. This means typing instead of writing.

Most likely in a decade, our devices would look a lot different than what we have today, more touch screen, voice activated apps, you name it, but till then, we have keyboards and keys to use every day. It depends on your work, but I suppose most of us are using a computer or some kind of device with keys, every single day.

I've been using different computers over the decades, desktops, laptops, touch screen and so on. I still remember those keyboards with bad keys on which paint was gone a long time ago. I used to replace the paint on the letter by using a marker, but there were others that thought using tape to write the letter on, is a better option. I don't know which lasted longer, but it doesn't even matter today.

Anyway, time has passed, technology and development has evolved, so expectations these days are pretty high, compared to a decade or two ago.

Due to blogging, I'm typing quite a lot very day, so I'm expecting my devices to be my partner in crime in this regard, work for me, or alongside me and definitely not against me, but that's not always the case.

Before I bought the laptop I currently using, I had another one, a Dell, because I consider it a trustworthy brand and apart from this case, I had no problem with it.

Thanks to Hive, I can now scroll back, or use the fancy search option and find my post about what my keyboard looked like in 2021, when I had enough and decided to do something about it.

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To save you from the trouble, here it is, a photo about what my keyboard looked like after two years of use. It was shocking to say the least, because Dell is not some garbage brand and the products are not low category when it comes to price either, so I was definitely not expecting this after two years of use. The sad side of the story is that I was not the only one in this situation, imagine how many others must have faced this issue worldwide.

Anyway, I had the option of sending it back as it was still in the warranty period, but due to security issues, I opted for solving the problem locally, as a friend of mine (at that time) was working for a refurbishing company and offered to help, free of charge. This way I made sure he only took the keyboard with him to work and the rest stayed home, safe.

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It took some work to restore my keyboard to an acceptable level, as missing paint was not the only problem. As I have long nails, my original nails, all the keys were affected, you could see how deep the marks on the keys were and the guys made sure a message, to cut my nails was passed on to me 😆

Anyway, you can see they did a nice job and I got a newly painted keyboard. However, it did not last long as in 2024, three years later, the keyboard had to be repainted again. This time I was told it was done with a better technique and paint, that will last longer. After a year and a half, the keyboard is in very good condition indeed, but it's not used by me as I needed a new laptop. The old one was not up to fulfilling my needs anymore, so I bought a new one and the old one is used by my dad, who's not typing as much as I do.

When I decided to buy a new one, didn't know what to do, which brand to choose. I still loved and trusted Dell, but who could guarantee the new keyboard will be different? After some thinking, despite the concerns, I still decided to buy a Dell, a new model of course.

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After one and a half years, the keyboard looks like this. No visible marks on the keys and the paint looks intact, just as it should be. At this point I'm sure major changes have been done regarding the plastic used for the keys and the paint as well. I decided to not make an official complaint back then, but others I think took a different decision and the results show they took it seriously. So this problem is solved, I hope forever as going back from here is not an option for them.

I mean one solved, one still to go as my Dell mouse is not doing well.

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I bought it in November 2022, which makes it around three and a half years old and if I'm honest, I should say "Thank You" for still being able to use it as these days nothing lasts more than a couple of years, but ...

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... look at this 😂 Have you ever seen such a deep mark in a mouse? Better yet, how does your mouse look like? 😆 Otherwise, the 🐁🐭 is doing fine, no cable damage, so I should be happy and I am.

The funny thing is, I guess 80% of the ladies have artificial nails (me excluded), so I suppose they are facing the same issue, unless those nails are compatible with these keyboards and mouses.

Anyway, making durable products seems to not be a priority these days, the sooner it breaks or deteriorates, the better for them as it means more sales, but I still hope some companies choose to do the right thing and save their reputation, rather than sell it for pennies by opting for cheap solutions in order to make more profit short term.

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22 comments
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Aware of some companies in America and beyond that have thrown away the keyboards, and moved to mic only on the desk.. it's a brave new world! :)
!PIZZA

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Yeah, try to chart and trade with a mic only. Good luck with it.

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I think the example I read about was a Company in San Francisco that produced some time of Dictaphone Software, they decided that as they used Mics a lot during the day anyway could they stress test their own Software to also carry out the day to day work..

No idea how a Mic and IDE worlds quickly and efficiently either? But they claimed that Meetings and general discussion was multiples faster as the keyboard was no longer slowing down the speed of reply?

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It may work, I'm not saying it won't, but imagine an office with 4 or 5 people, all using mic and speaking the same time, you would go crazy. There are security and confidentiality issues as well to consider, plus some tasks require precision. So it's definitely not an option for everyone.

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Dell is my favorite brand of laptops, though Lenovo Yoga is really nice and I have one from 2018 that I still use and in fact it is running my backup Hive Witness that is using Docker on Windows 😀

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Dell forever. I hate Lenovo. I had a phone and in 2 years, during the warranty period, I had to send it back 3 times. If I never hear about Lenovo, it'll be too soon!

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If to talk about keyboard I saw such issues, but about mouse I was surprised! ))

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😆 The mouse is due to my nails. That part is a bit softer, it's not hard plastic, which is why I love this mouse, but regardless, it should not leave such marks.

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They actually repainted the keys? That's interesting. Usually you can just pop that part out and replace it for not a lot of money or work. That's probably the route I would have went if I was working on it for someone. I have a mechanical keyboard and my keys are getting pretty worn. Everything on the left hand side is nearly gone.

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Yes, they repainted the keys. Why would I pay anything when this was done for free during their work hours? 😆

Everything on the left hand side is nearly gone.

This is interesting and weird too. If you look at my photos, the problems I had was on the left side and I'm typing with both hands and I'm right handed. I wonder why the left side is more affected.

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Seems like a waste of their time to me. My left hand side is because of gaming. Those keys get used more.

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Interesting. Maybe you keep your left hand on the keyboard as you take your right hand off to use your mouse?

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I always wonder how women can type with long nails. From playing the piano, the first thing you do is cut your nails to grip the keys. For me, I find the same clumsiness from uncut nails on the piano happens on the computer keyboard. Women manage somehow, and I guess chipping off the paint on the keyboard is one effect of this.

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It depends how long your nails are. You csn see mine on one of the photos. Depending on your nails and how you hit the keyboard but it's still possible to hit it with your fingertips, not the nails.

A detail you missed, when you brought piano into discussion is, that keyboard keys are much more sensitive that piano keys, or whatever they are called, so you don't have to hit the keyboard with too much force, thus you can hit it with your nails too.

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I was thinking of that, and then I used my keyboard from an old Dell desktop. I can see breaking a nail on this one. I saw a women with long nails typing fast on a light keyboard; it looked like she was tickling it! 😄

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