Satellite M50/M55 keyboard wear?

Sorry if this thread sounds stupid. It may not bother many people, but it does bother me, and thats keyboard wear. I guess all of you know what it is, and thats its inevitable unfortunately with the shiny looking smoothed out keys on the keyboard after a while of regular use.

I'm typing this out on my M55 right now and just keep obessing over the thought that every key I push with my fingers is wearing away the textured surface on top. Yeah, I'm anal about this sort of thing.

I was wondering if any Satellite owners, especially M50/M55 ones who have owned and used their machines for a while could comment on the quality of their keyboards. How long have you used the keyboard and does it show any signs of wear?

This also sounds pretty silly, I'm sure. At least right now, I cannot purchase a keyboard skin and so was wondering if anyone had any ideas of a poor mans version of a keyboard skin, like wrapping it in plastic/saran warp? Sounds ghetto I know, but if it can prevent the keys from wearing out, becoming smooth and looking brand new after a few months of use, then I'm all for it.

Many thanks to all that reply!

 

Aw man, nobody? Just wanted to hear from some Satellite users, especially M50/M55 users about keyboard wear. Anyone???

 

My Satellite had heavy wear after it's 4 year life, but it was used almost every single day. My dad's Qosmio shows a little wear after a 1.5 years of usage.

 

If your M50 uses the same keyboard as my old 5205, which I think it does, only black rather than translucent blue, then yes, it'll wear out a lot. After 2.5 years of use, my keyboard was completely shiny. Even the little tabs on the F and J keys were completely gone.

 

My old Satellite 5005 had a blue translucent keyboard also, even though it was shiny after 3.5 years, all the letters were still there. I still miss that part, the keyboard was awesome.

 

Yeah, unfortunaty, it does. So did my last HP DV4000 and most of its keys, the ones I used anyways, got heavily shiny and worn out after 1.5-2 months of use. The letters didn't wear off and I don't think they ever would, same goes for my Toshiba. I still don't like that the coating would wear off, man, its wearing off as I'm typing this on my Toshiba!!

I wonder why most people arent bothered by this? Anyways I can prevent it? Would a keyboard skin help?

 

Yeah, I got those on my lappy as well, whats their purpose anyhow?

So, does anyone know if a keyboard skin or some kind of covering on the keyboard will protect it from normal wear? I know the wear is normal, but I just hate it and want my keyboard to always look and feel new.
I'll only be using it for 1.5-2 years anyways, but I'd like the keyboard and the whole notebook to look and feel new as long as possible. I take very good care of my machines but just hate the thought of my keys wearing out and becoming smooth like on my HP DV4000.

 

I've seen rubber "mats" made for Apple's notebook when I was at my local Apple store - you might try shopping around and see if any are made for Toshiba notebook keyboards.

 

Maybe you could use a usb keyboard and mouse when your not travelling light and working at home, maybe save half the wear and tear on it. My old satellite 5000 has the translucent blue keys too, they look cool when the LED's shine through them. I know people in high end audio who use the eraser end of a pencil too push the buttons on their equipment too prevent the faceplate and buttons from discoloration. Dont want those oily fingerprints staining aluminum.

 

Dang, I've just had my new notebook for a week and there's ALREADY wear on the keys and some of them already look shiny, REALLY PATHETIC if you ask me, they should just make these keys shiny in the first place or something.

I know its not a big deal, compared to stuck pixels or other components failing, but it just bothers a perfectionist like me who likes his computers to stay in immaculate condition. Can't understand how the keys would wear out THAT fast!!!!

 

Toshiba, cheaper budget quality parts.

 

Actually, everything else on the notebook is built quite well, such as the hinges on the screen, the speakers and the screen itself, theres no flexing, etc.

 

Not really - mid range Toshiba's have good quality, and high-end Toshiba's have excellent build quality, such as the Qosmio series. However, lower-end Toshiba's do have pretty bad build quality/parts used.