These keyboards cost from 80 to 120USD and were used in mainframe data terminals. The Menu key or Application key is a key found on Windows-oriented computer keyboards. It is used to launch a context menu with the keyboard rather than with the usual right mouse button. The key’s symbol is usually a small icon depicting a cursor hovering above a menu.

computer keyboard

In fact, if you have a USB keyboard, you can disconnect it now, and you see that the computer continues to work without it. Many servers, like the Computer Hope web server, run almost their entire life without a keyboard and are administered by a remotely-connected user. Below is a list of additional tasks you can perform using a keyboard.

Types

The escape key has a variety of meanings according to Operating System, application or both. “Nearly all of the time”, it signals Stop, QUIT, or “let me get out of a dialog” https://crossgrid.org/ (or pop-up window). A thumb keyboard is used in some personal digital assistants such as the Palm Treo and BlackBerry and some Ultra-Mobile PCs such as the OQO.

  • The different types of computer keyboards are typically used by users for different purposes like a gaming keyboard, and a multimedia keyboard, or even an ergonomic keyboard for improving comfort.
  • Those are certainly some of the Keychron K3’s main selling points.
  • Most styles of keyboards have three LEDs indicating which locks are enabled, in the upper right corner above the numeric pad.
  • Automatic form-filling programs can prevent keylogging entirely by not using the keyboard at all.
  • Something that only gamers will notice is that pressing each key does feel subtly different to the rest so you’ll know without looking if you’ve missed the key you were aiming for.
  • Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

The Backspace key deletes the preceding character.Lock keys lock part of a keyboard, depending on the settings selected. Most styles of keyboards have three LEDs indicating which locks are enabled, in the upper right corner above the numeric pad. Most keyboards for desktop computers also contain a separate numeric keypad to the right. Even though there are numeric keys already in a row near the top, having them all close together makes it faster to enter numeric data.

Optical Keyboard Technology

Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. I cut my teeth on a cassette-drive-equipped Commodore VIC-20 in the 1980s. But I got serious with Apple desktops in the early 1990s, starting with a Macintosh SE, then a Macintosh LC, and finally one of the short-lived Umax “clone” Macs, before building my first PC and never looking back.

The Fnatic Streak65 has nearly everything that you’d want in a compact keyboard, including a top-tier typing feel, lightweight body, macro keys, and marked keycaps. With bold and helpful features, the Kinesis TKO gaming keyboard https://www.wikipedia.org/ carefully weaves competitive and ergonomic keyboard features into a single, awesome vision. With a modest update, Corsair’s K95 RGB Platinum XT turns one of the best gaming keyboards into an obvious go-to for video streamers.