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back in the day, I found that the worst thing to get in a keyboard was Coke and cigarette ash. Sticky and conductive.
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."
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I was teaching at a tech college in the days when not every student had a PC. So the college offered a hall full of fifty machines, available to all students. Frequently, the students had their lunch break by the PCs, or enjoyed all sorts of snacks.
There was a discussion among the IT maintenance guys which were worse: Coke, or yoghurt. Yoghurt spills ended up as being voted the most hated matter in the keyboards. The situation was so bad that we ended up pulling 'safe sex devices' over all the keyboards. Well, they were not plain safe sex devices, but models made for that specific use. I'll say that it might be difficult to tell the difference. They did prevent spreading of contamination, but were nevertheless hated by the students. (Again: Hard to tell the difference  )
The students did get the message. So after some time we could remove the latex devices, and the students had learned to honor the 'No food, snacks or drinks in the PC hall'.
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I once had a mechanical keyboard which just felt right. I kept that keyboard at work for over ten years. Every six months or so I brought it home, disassembled it including the keytops, cleaned it, and reassembled it. It finally developed an intermittent electrical problem in the board. I have a feeling there was a broken trace caused by the repeated disassembly. I gave up and grabbed a keyboard out of our lab.
Here at home I've used el cheapo keyboards for a long time. When the pandemic started and I was working from home full time, the keyboards started annoying me. I finally gave up and bought a Logitech K840 mechanical keyboard. It wasn't expensive - $65 at Best Buy. It's a full-width, standard layout, numeric keypad keyboard. Good tactile feedback without a whole lot of noise. Cleaning is easy as well, as the keys sit on top of a metal plate so I can just spray air through it. Excellent value for the money, considering I've seen mechanical keyboards for $300 or more.
Software Zen: delete this;
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I should have qualified my statement: $300 or more for a practical keyboard. Those are toys, and not intended for heavy use (IMO).
Software Zen: delete this;
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Gary R. Wheeler wrote: Those are toys, and not intended for heavy use (IMO).
Toys!? How dare you!?! 
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The comments on both of those are (almost) worth the asking price.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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The answer is simple. Stop eating and drinking while you work. I eat at my desk, but move the keyboard out of the way. I know this does not solve your current problem, but for future reference...
My train of thought is constantly getting derailed. there must be something wrong with my tracks!
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You know that's not gonna happen.
I already tend not to eat around my desk, although there have been exceptions. But never in my life has food ever been a problem around a keyboard.
I'll take a sip and stretch a can of Coke or other soft drink over an entire afternoon rather than finishing it off during lunch break, so "no drinks around the desk" becomes kind of impractical unless I stop drinking altogether.
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Try a neural implant! They're all the rage, lately.
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As far as actually cleaning stuff like coke and coffee off electronics, I have two words for you: "Brake Cleaner" (read "universal solvent").
Generally with space bars, I tend to find the problem has less to do with the mechanical key press stuff than with the little metal balancing bracket thing that's also attached to the key, and somehow has to hook into the keyboard's base as well - many times, one of the anchor points for that isn't fully engaged, and that in turn throws off the whole thing...
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Here's an out-of-the-box solution... buy a new one... a good quality wireless keyboard/mouse combo is less than $100. I know that's not nearly as fun as fixing it yourself and learning new things about DFM, but there are more challenging things to apply your curiosity to.
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The problem with just buying a new one is that keyboard manufacturers all apparently can't help themselves from fiddling with the layout and adding various keys, and as a result no two keyboard models ever feel alike. Mine's no longer being manufactured, and I'm rather underwhelmed by what's currently being offered.
Same with mice: I had been using Microsoft's original Intellipoint for many, many years, and when my last one died, I spent literally years switching between various models every few months, and it's not until Microsoft reintroduced a "classic" version of that model that I could stop doing that. I learned my lesson and stocked up. I have spares sitting in a closet that, I hope, outlast me.
The same will happen with this keyboard. When I find a good replacement I like (and is still being manufactured), I'll be getting spares.
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First, I am not rich enough to split my coke with anyone. I snort ALL of it myself.
Second of all, who drinks Tab anymore?
Ok, my dyslexia aside, the little levers on your spacebar are counter-intuitive, they may go the opposite of the way you think, or flop over when you put it in. Either a thin piece of cardstock (or two) is needed, or do it upside down if you are that coordinated.
Oh, and do the coke AFTER fixing the space bar.
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Quote: Second of all, who drinks Tab anymore?
Relatives of the folks that drink Fresca.
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Having raised over £33Million to help the NHS battle COVID, he has succumbed to the disease. A true hero. RIP.![Rose | [Rose]](https://codeproject.freetls.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/rose.gif)
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RIP
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.
-- 6079 Smith W.
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Yes, what an inspirational gentleman.
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Bugger.
Rest well, Sir! You will be remembered.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Captain Sir Tom Moore (Hon. Colonel), RIP.
A true hero of these British Isles in more ways than one.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
modified 2-Feb-21 15:36pm.
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He was given the honorary title of Colonel. As such, his official title is Captain Sir Thomas Moore under Ministry of Defence protocol.
And I suspect he preferred it - he earned his Captaincy in WWII the hard way!
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I think he died ( as most people do ) of pneumonia - good man - they don't make them like him anymore RIP
"I didn't mention the bats - he'd see them soon enough" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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OK, updated.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Or, maybe he didn't lose it. Maybe we should rather see it as a battle won.
A battle won doesn't necessarily imply that the war is won. But a battle won may be a step on the way to victory. Tim Moore is a representative of battles won, not battles lost.
It has been my clearly expressed philosophy for 30+ years: Now that his life is over, let us rejoice over what he he throughout his life - what he created, which activities he started, all the memories he created in us ... When my father-in-law died, I had made my daughter (8yo) so excite about all the positive memories that I had to calm her down somewhat when we were standing at the grave.
God us dead. Nietzsche is dead. And I am getting old myself as well ...
Ever more of my old idols and heroes are reported dead. I have learned to say "Well, such is life. And it is getting sucher and sucher every day." Learn to live with it!
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