[ale] OT Asus laptop stinkin' key legends coming off the stinkin' keys

Tue Mar 20 14:30:05 EDT 2012

I’m seeing the degradation on my Dell D650 laptop but so far it mainly affects the N key for no reason I can figure out.  However, that is after 2-3 years of use.   At 9 months I’d have to say ASUS is the issue.

________________________________
From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On Behalf Of Jim Kinney
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 1:53 PM
To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
Subject: Re: [ale] OT Asus laptop stinkin' key legends coming off the stinkin' keys

I feel your pain! The keys on my thinkpad are friggin decals!

Get some clear polyurethane (water based stuff - NOT the oil based!) and carefully clean the keys with alcohol then paint a coat of clear on top. Do a few coats and that should stop the degradation.

Clear, gloss nail polish will also work but the solvent may do some slight "melting" of the key tops. test first.
On Tue, Mar 20, 2012 at 1:41 PM, Ron Frazier (ALE) <atllinuxenthinfo at c3energy.com<mailto:atllinuxenthinfo at c3energy.com>> wrote:
Hi all,

This is off topic, but some of you might have had a similar experience.
I've had this Asus laptop that I'm typing on for 8-9 months.  I'm pretty
active on a few mailing lists such as this one and a couple of others.
I type a lot, and I type fast and aggressively.  It's hard to type fast
without being aggressive.  I have some fingernails, but they are minimal
in length.  I'm having a problem where the painted on legends on the
keyboard keycaps are coming off.  E, S, C, N, and the down arrow are
currently gone or leaving.  If the trend continues for a while, I'll
have a keyboard that I cannot see, and, while I can touch type, I don't
have all the special keys and symbols memorized.  Memorized or not, it's
nice to have labeled keys.  I had bought the 2 yr extended warranty from
Best Buy.  I went in and discovered that the warranty doesn't cover
broken screens (was wondering just in case something happened) and it
doesn't cover "cosmetic" damage.  The guy said the keys would still work
even if I couldn't see them.  I tried the threatening to never shop
there again trick.  He offered to send the computer in, but said they
might charge me for repairs if nothing was "wrong" with it.  I offered
to pound it with a hammer, but he said that wouldn't be covered.  Giving
him the benefit of the doubt, his hands are probably totally tied in the
matter.  He suggested I contact Asus.  I did contact Asus, and was
basically told the same thing.  So, I could send the computer in, pay
one way shipping and be without it for 5 weeks, and they MIGHT fix it.
If they concluded I had abused it or that it's not a factory defect,
they would not only charge me for the repair, but also charge me return
shipping.

It seemed that I had either bad choice A or bad choice B.  In the end, I
decided to buy some keyboard stickers from an online vendor and just
stick them on.  This particular vendor seems to have a large selection
of stickers and appears to be good quality.  They also have things like
stickers for special computer program applications, or other languages.
I don't have the product yet, but we'll see how it turns out.  There are
other similar vendors.  I still don't feel that I should have to solve
this particular problem after owning the machine for 9 months.

http://www.4keyboard.com/

As a side note, the specs for the computer say the "chicklet" style keys
make it easy to type.  I don't think so.  The best keyboard I've ever
typed on was an electric IBM Selectric typewriter I used in typing class
in high school around 1982.  They only had one, the rest were manual
Royal typewriters if I recall.  I was much happier when I got to use the
IBM.  The keys conformed to your finger, rather than being flat, had a
reasonable amount of travel, and great tactile response.  I haven't felt
anything nearly as good since.  The old IBM PC keyboards would be a
close second place, and the keyboard I had in my old IBM Thinkpad
computer would probably be third place.  I'm not a blazing fast typist
like some professional secretaries, but I could do 60 - 70 wpm on a good
day.  I don't miss typewriters, but I do miss that keyboard.

The laptop keys, non conforming, non tactile, shallow travel, make my
fingers hurt after a while.  By the way, all the new ultrabook style
computers have chicklet style keys as far as I know.

Sincerely,

Ron

--

(PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
call on the phone.  I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
mailing lists and such.  I don't always see new messages very quickly.)

Ron Frazier

770-205-9422<tel:770-205-9422> (O)   Leave a message.
linuxdude AT c3energy.com<http://c3energy.com>

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--
James P. Kinney III

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- 2011 Noam Chomsky

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