All personal computer and laptops today we see today have keyboards introduced by IBM. Traditionally, these are called as the IBM PC standard keyboard, now also called as the Windows keyboard.
Conventionally, a Windows keyboard has 104 keys. There are all the usual keys and additional keys such as Win Key for open Start Menu and a Menu Key which opens the same menu as you would get if you were to right-click your mouse.
There are several keyboard variations but one thing that’s always maintained is that the letter keys are always in the same positions. Commonly called as QWERTY keyboards (QWERTY means Q,W,E,R,T,Y—which make half of the top row of the keyboard in order), these are found on a variety of devices starting from mobile phones and handheld devices to various industrial equipment like mailroom machines.
The laptop keyboard is a smaller variant of a standard PC keyboard. In some models, this keyboard is stripped down and doesn’t include a separate numerical keyboard. Instead, the numerical keyboard is switched on or of by pressing a combination of keys. Some laptop models today include a full standard PC keyboard with a separate numerical keyboard. This is possible today because the laptop screen has 16:9 resolution now, and it is wider than a few years ago. So, separate numerical and navigation keys can be fitted onto laptop keyboards now. Which laptop keyboard is the best for you needs requires you to compare a few keyboard by typing various blocks of text. By personal experience, I find the Toshiba Tecra keyboard very convenient. It feels like I can hack away at the keys on this keyboard without feeling any strain.
There are also very small versions of PC keyboard which are especially built for Netbooks. These are smaller version of the Standard PC keyboard; they are designed to be so small that they can fit into the small Netbook’s body. However, I find that these are not very suitable for hardcore typing or for touch typing.
On some laptop keyboards, touch typing can be as fast as on standard PC keyboards. Some Lenovo models have such good keyboards that you forget that you using a laptop keyboard.
All standard laptop and PC desktop keyboards have two marked keys F and J. These two keys are marked with small grooves to enable fingers to feel the two keys and place other fingers on right keys. This is of assistance to visually challenged people.
If you decided to learn touch typing, then I would recommend Typing Master Pro.

Repairing Laptop Keyboards

It may happen that some keys fall off from the keyboard, especially when they are been pushed too hard on one side. Almost all laptop keyboards are made in a way that every key was pushed during the manufacturing process. Sometimes, a few keys can fall off because of keyboard deformations. Don’t panic if this happens; just find the loose keys and try to push them back to the right places. In some cases, the keys will snap audibly into place and the laptop keyboard will be ready to work again. Sometimes, not just the keys fall off but also the plastic arms that hold them may fall off. If that happens, you will need to find a similar keyboard from somewhere and buy one or more keys with some additional key holding plastics.

If Something Gets Spilled on the Laptop Keyboard

In case of a liquid spill on your laptop keyboard, quickly turn the laptop upside down and shake it for a short while. This will help not only to save the laptop keyboard but also protect it laptop from permanent damage when spillage is considerable. Anyway, most laptops today are designed to withstand some extent of spillage.