Other Cherry MX switches: Though the above switches are the kinds you're most likely to find in a keyboard you purchase today, Cherry's rainbow does extend a bit further. Clear switches are tactile like Brown, but possess a higher actuation force; Green switches can be considered stiff Blues, both tactile and clicky; and White switches are quieter Greens. Several other types have specialized uses (such as on space bars), but will rarely be identified as such on any package or marketing material.

Other Switches

A number of companies make switches that either mimic or try to improve on the Cherry MX functionality. Some gaming keyboard switches, for example, have shorter actuation points to launch you into the action faster, and Razer recently developed a hybrid "Mecha-Membrane" variety that uses mechanical means to activate a silicone dome switch. (So far, we've only seen this in the company's Ornata Chroma, though it's likely to show up in other models in the future.) None of these has become as popular or widespread as the Cherry MX switches, though, so for the most part they're not worth discussing in depth. If you come across a keyboard brand using an unfamiliar switch type, try to determine both its actuation force (explained above) and its actuation point (when what you type is registered). Compare these values with those of the Cherry switches, and you should get an idea of what you're in for.

One of the most unusual switches you can find is, in fact, a quintessential mechanical example. The buckling spring switch was used in the now-legendary IBM Model M keyboards that made such an impact in the 1980s—and some of which are still in use today!—and can still be found in keyboards from the company that acquired the manufacturing rights to it, Unicomp. (The company's Ultra Classic definitely lives up to its name.) Buckling spring keyboards use a genuine spring to activate the switch; when it buckles in the middle as you press it, it causes tactile and aural feedback (the latter from the spring hitting the wall). Keyboards using this style of switch are rare these days, but they're prized for their unparalleled typing capability and psychological satisfaction: With no other type of mechanical keyboard do you hear the switch actuate at the same instant it actually does.