Why is the 'N' key always the first to go?

[zridling]

I've always wonnnnnnnnnnndered why the N key was always the first to go on mannnnnnnnny keyboards. I cannnnnnnnot unnnnnnnnnnnnnerstannnnnnnn what is goinnnnnnnnnnnng onnnn here.

[attach]

[mouser]

because when people get angry at the computer they start cursing "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
and pounding on the N key.
at least that's what i do. 

[tinjaw]

Funny you should mention this. I ordered a refurbished keyboard and had to send it back. Everything worked fine... except the 'N' key. You had to pound on it for it to work.

[lanux128]

hehe.. for me it's always the spacebar.. the spring in the middle will go hay-wire making it a see-saw..

[cranioscopical]

Have you not heard that 'N'-y thing goes?

[jgpaiva]

For me, it's the B key. Strange, isn't it?

Hint: in Counter-Strike, the B key is used at the beggining of each round, to buy each piece of the equipment for the round

[Eóin]

My 'i' key was first to go.

[f0dder]

Get an old IBM keyboard, and none of your keys will ever go... and you can keep the entire building block awake at nights if you're a fast typer. SHOULD the keyboard ever become defunct, at least you have a device that's solid enough for building demolishing.

[cthorpe]

I tend to loose my spacebar and the E key the fastest on keyboards.

Now with FARR, I forsee the Pause/Break key wearing out faster than anything else.

Carl

[zridling]

Another gripe: anyone else noticed how absolutely tiny the CTRL key is on the new Microsoft keyboards? What's up with that! The CTRL key is further than ever from the F4 key, which for Windows, is highly common.

[Lashiec]

In my case, the keys that started failing were the 'Z', the 'X' and 'Return', sorted from sooner to later.

Zaine, don't complain too much. In my Logitech, the Function keys are really small (which is a nuisance when working with xplorer²) and I don't want to talk about the 'Break' or the 'Supr' ('Delete') keys...

[p3lb0x]

Someone should make an app that records the number of keys being pressed and could tell you what key you use the most.

[wreckedcarzz]

I agree, that would be interesting to find out what key is most used.
I have an HP laptop and I had the I and X keys go out like a week after each other. I never use X, so that was just strange for me

[Loki15]

My first key lost was basically the whole top of the keyboard.. Don't mix water and keyboards.. And no I didn't try to bathe my keyboard I spilt a glass of water.. That water was good too!!  

[nite_monkey]

I haven't had any keys die on my yet, but I am going to guess that the space bar will die on me first, because I sometimes forget to hit it, and I thought I did, so I hit it really hard to make sure it gets pushed.

[zridling]

Best keyboard ever made — Northgate back in the late 80s, early 90s. Damn thing was built like a tank, weighed half as much as your CRT monitor, and was made of metal! Now I'm addicted to Microsoft's Natural keyboard series.

[app103]

Someone should make an app that records the number of keys being pressed and could tell you what key you use the most.

That is what Whatpulse is all about. 



And there is a DonationCoder Whatpulse team.

If you would like details on joining, see this post.

[Ralf Maximus]

Best keyboard ever made — Northgate back in the late 80s, early 90s. Damn thing was built like a tank, weighed half as much as your CRT monitor, and was made of metal!

Reminds me of my keyboard.



An honest-to-god buckling-spring full-stroke metal keyboard.  Available from PCKeyboard.com.  I used to wear out a plastic keyboard about once a year; this one has lasted three years and is still like new.  About $69.