Much as I love the convenience of a laptop computer, I hate trying to type on a tiny keyboard. I can almost feel the RSI kicking in after the first few minutes.
So, when I bought my first laptop - 9 years ago, almost to the day - I immediately went and bought an offboard keyboard that I could connect to it via a USB port. And that same keyboard has served me well for.... 8 years and 9 or 10 months; 8 years and 6 months of that being in China.
Several times in the last few years I have been tempted to junk this keyboard purely on the grounds of how disgustingly grimy it is. The neat freak in me is disgusted by the accumulation of toxic sludge from Beijing's notoriously grubby air; the forensic science nerd in me is fascinated by the indisputable record of how surprisingly rarely I use the 'Alt' key, and apparently never use the 'Esc' key.
But now at last the time is come to say farewell to this faithful servant through so many years of escritorial labour (did I just make that word up? the Internet tells me I did!). Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!
Not so much a keening cry as a stuck letter-key. The spring under my 'e' has broken. Other keys in that area - 'a', 's', 'd', and 'r' - are starting to get noticeably spongy too.
There's probably some keyboard 'cobbler' in one of the computer markets here who'll bodge you up a workable short-term repair for 10 kuai or so, but I really think the time has come to get a new keyboard.
And maybe institute a regime of weekly cleaning for it....
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