How often do you change keyboards?  

longest is about 3 years currently

shortest was about 2 months. (Hardcore game playing messes up your keyboard big time ^^)

Oh, that was good for you so that you can always have a new keyboard. It may be that the keyboard you bought is a fake one where the letters vanish as you press them. It can be also that your fingers is just like an eraser that removes those letters. My keyboard is about one year and still functioning well. I can still see the letters and though it may be dusty at times, it is doing its work. Good day whisker..

This is a very good question so thank for bringing the subject up. My first keyboard (which was the original cabled version that came with the computer) was a Sony and it probably lasted about 5 years. Like you say, the lettering starts disappearing and it was getting a bit clunky and noisy so I decided (around 2005) to buy the cordless one I have now, which is a silver, cheap Advent keyboard, along with a cordless mouse. For the price they are brilliant but I have to replace the Duracell batteries in my mouse every couple of months or so and the lettering is again fading from the keyboard, even though it is more responsive than my Sony one. They're just not made to last are they?

wow,i guess yo got the strong fingers....lol
i never have to change my keyboard,i had my key board for 4 years going to 5 years now and i never had a problem with it wherein i would have to replace it with a new one.maybe the keyboard that your buying is no good at all.lately nothing isn't really making strong or to last anymore,so it might not even be you.

I have never had to get a new keyboard for any computer I have owned. They have always lasted the life of the computer, which was really when I felt I needed to upgrade to a better computer and I always got the full package deal of computer, monitor, mouse and keyboard. My current computer is over four years old and I am still using the keyboard that came with it.

The longest is I have using my computer over six years and the shortest is only about three month. I have two keyboards if one of my keyboard malfunction then I'll take the one and fix the broken with in a way to connect the cable between the keyboard and the computer.

Well for me changing a keyboard for my computer isn't that simple. I've got a laptop, and no place to store an external keyboard. If it breaks (which usually takes about four to five years) I end up replacing the laptop itself. normally by that point something else is wrong with it as well.

i have computer which is 4 years old... but still i am having that old keyboard with me and its still working very nice. I also have 2 years laptop with me.. but i already had changed its whole laptop's keyboard because keyboard is malfunctioning. so my desktop keyboard is still solid but i had to change my laptop's keyboard.

Do not buy a cheap keyboard, buy Logitech or some known company.

if you handle your keyboard a lot with wet or damp hands then the letters will eventually vanish. typing with an oily hands also results in the letters vanishing. moreover, cheap keyboards are bad and the letter in cheap keyboards vanish quickly.
i recommend you to handle your keyboard with dry hands