Keyboard Cover
Asides
Curious if you guys have any favorite keyboard covers, I vaguely recall reading about one on Alex King’s site but can’t find it now. I’m looking for one to put over my laptop keys when I close the cover to avoid damaging the screen.
Frankly I just use a piece of cloth, folded a couple of times over to make a nice buffer between keys and screen. I usually carry two, in case I lose one, or if the screen needs cleaning
Here’s the post by Alex King:
http://alexking.org/blog/2009/08/15/accessorizing
Marware makes a pretty good one, IIRC.
Hi Matt,
When I brought my pre-unibody Macbook Pro I also purchased the Marware Protection Pack which includes a keyboard cover. It doesn’t look like they are sold at the Apple Store anymore, but you can get them directly from Marware. I wish Apple would include a microfiber cleaning cloth large enough to cover the keyboard.
http://www.marware.com/products/MacBookPro/Protection-Pack-for-MacBook-Pro
Wasn’t aware that keyboards were damaging the screen – Matt, can you share some evidence of why you believe/sense so?
Every Vaio I’ve used develops a line about 2/3 up the screen where the ridge below the keys runs into the screen after being squished in my bag a thousand times.
I second the “just get a bit of cloth” comment. I’ve used Ultrasuede, which works well to clean the screen, especially if you wash the Ultrasuede first to remove the sizing or whatever finishing the factory puts on it.
you know that’s funny that you said that, because I was closing my laptop up this morning thinking that I should get something to cover the keyboard. Wow! that’s just scary I was thinking that too.
I didn’t know they even made keyboard covers for laptops.
i’m going to check out the article, but for now, I think I’ll use Utahcon’s suggestion until I figure it out.
I use a crumpler ‘slip’ in my 15″ MBPro, simple and effective.
If you need a cover for the keys to not damage the screen when you close it, does that confirm the device has a design flaw? I have slim, flat keys on my notebook and I haven’t seen any screen damage thus far.
Wow, I don’t think I’ve used a keyboard cover in years; I probably should be!
I found a cheap one ($10) at Fry’s, I’m not even sure it had a name brand, that is made out of rubber and I’ve had no problems with it doing damage to my screen.
I’ve had the Macessity cover on my MBP for over a year. The soft silicone stays in place and muffles the keys but still feels comfortable. It’s thin, but does add enough thickness so it leaves smudges on the screen — nothing that doesn’t wipe off (and certainly nothing i’d call “damage”). And it was cheap.
I considered the microfiber cloth-type covers, but you have to take them off to type, which means they’ll get lost.
This is actually why i first looked into keyboard protection:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fantailmedia/2599189662/
Wasn’t really worried about my screen, i just didn’t want my keys getting worn out.
i’ve tested a few of them and i Found Moshi Clearguard to be the best. The material is very different from any of the other ones. Moshi is very thin and i believe the price is lower than all the other ones.
You can only find it on their website that ships from Japan.
Glass screens seem impervious to plastic keys.
I’m a big fan of ShaggyMac’s screen/keyboard covers since they double as cleaning clothes.
You can get them in any size you want (there’s a custom option). Their cleaning products are top notch; some of the best stuff I’ve found for monitors and keyboards.
I am a big fan of KB Covers…they have the largest variety of Mac keyboard covers you could ever imagine. Their ClearSkin cover is similar to the Moshi, but I like it better.
I definitely recommend shaggymac, which I believe is the same one Alex uses. I get one for each of my laptops and it works great.