I had a college classmate who had just returned from an internship in Switzerland: "Let me show you something I helped work on this summer..." We had been using Gopher, of course, and individual command-line networking tools (even on our NeXTStations), but this was something...different. When I mentioned that it was cool, but didn't offer much content, my classmate was quick to answer: "but think of what we can use it for!" I wasn't there for the birth, but I did see it smile for the first time...

$150 (I've seen it for $119) is worth every penny. Once you try an ALPS-style switch (or a brown/blue Cherry switch, or a good ol' Buckling Spring) side-by-side with a rubber-dome, you'll notice, and will probably change your mind about the board you currently use. Pay a look-see over to geekhack.org; they've got the goods on mechanical switches (though they're still in the air about the merits of scissor-switches).

Oh, that Ethic and his crazy rules! I'm SO sick of him...