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The model M patent has expired.

http://www.clickykeyboard.com/4118611.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_Keyboard - About the keyboards. http://shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=model+m+keyboard&_sacat=0&_fromfsb=&_trksid=m270.l1313&_odkw=model+m&_osacat=0 - Ebay availability http://www.clickykeyboard.com/ - Used Model M Retailer http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/keyboards.html - Unicomp Model M Keyboards (using the same machinery that made the originals)

From one of my blogs:

At work and in the past from female co-workers who sit near me hate my typings since they're loud and sometimes fast. One of them instant messaged (IM'ed) me this morning:

[11:48] co-worker: what r u doing????
[11:48] co-worker: ur so loud
[11:49] antd00d: bah typing duh!
[11:49] antd00d: don't make me type LOUDER
[11:49] co-worker: keep it down
[11:49] antd00d: NO!
[11:49] co-worker: :-P
[11:49] antd00d: haha

A few weeks ago, another one said "Stop killing/abusing your keyboard!" Bah, I say! Computer geeks love these clicky keyboards. I noticed all females non-computer geeks hate clicy keyboards. Hmm! I hate soft keyboards though and I can't type well with them. :(

A few years ago, another woman said similiar thing and suggested I get a soft keyboard. WHATEVER!!

I need to get one of those old, steel, IBM keyboards (Model M) to drive them even more annoyed. Currently I just use the cheap generic ones and from Dell. They're old too and still work. One of my college friends said that I type like a machine gun. :)

--

I think I will order Das KB! I can't use those natural keyboards due to lack of thumbs and four fingers on each hand.

According to http://www.clickykeyboard.com/buyersguide.htm/ they were more-specifically identified as model numbers 1391472, 1397681, 1370475, 1392464, 1392934,1395100.

I have one connected to my Mac Mini at home and two spares in case anything happens to that one.

Oh good lord. "kill someone for one" Hey, Othello Von Melodrama, instead maybe you could look around a bit and buy a few for 20 bucks each like I did a year ago. Hint: http://www.pcpartsinc.com/ Or, if you'd rather not look around, go here. and pay maybe fifty bucks for one.

Keyboard: http://www.clickykeyboard.com/

You can smash this keyboard with both hands, your head, and anything else and it will always work. Resists Sodas, coffee and cat hair very well too!

As for mice, I really am in love with the Razor Diamondback http://www.razerzone.com/, you can change sensitivity on the fly with the roller while holding down any button you chose. Plus it has a LOT of buttons, 2 on each side. Regardless if you use them all or not, it's nice to have them there, unlike the Logitech mouse here which has 1 (!!!) side button. Obviously they are NOT researching games very well!

7. Good keyboards

http://clickykeyboard.com/
http://clickykeyboards.com/ :D

You people that want quiet keyboards are insane. There's nothing quite so soothing as the music of an IBM "clicky keyboard" with buckling springs.

When I die and go to heaven, the angels won't be stroking harps; they'll be furiously typing...

Get an IBM Model M.

You can find them on eBay for under $30 (although, since they weigh in at six pounds, the shipping is usually about $10) or you can buy them new.

The only negative thing about these keyboards is that they are definitely loud; I consider it a plus, but I don't have to worry about waking other people up in the middle of the night with my typing. But these things are pretty much impervious to the usual keyboard mishaps - beer, soda, candy, etc. Highly recommended. (I have a few - one for work, one for home, and a couple to experiment with and use for backup parts, like the keycaps and the detachable cables.)

I am indeed talking about the same Model M as the rest of the world, assuming they are talking about the keyboards shipped with IBM PS/2 computers starting from 1986 until the early ninties). The figure you refer to comes from United States Patent 4,118,611 granted in 1978. The XT and AT keyboards from 1984-1986 used the capacitance switches shown in the patent. The PS/2 Model Ms replaced those with a membrane under the keys, but still kept the buckling spring that is responsible for most of the noise and the tactile feel. The Japanese link on this page used to show some actual Model M keys sawed in half, where you could see both the buckling spring mechanism, as well as the membrane. Unfortunately the link is down at the moment.

Supposedly this is coming in Tiger, but if you want to use a regular ps/2 keyboard in Panther, you can use uControl, an open-source system preferences panel that allows you to remap any modifiers to any others, as well as a couple of other things.

I'm using an IBM model M, plugged into a $5 ps/2 - USB adapter right now, with no problems.

After trying lots of keyboards, and thinking the old IBM Model M keyboard (The rarer non-clicking kind, not the typical clicky kind, although the hardcore Model M junkies think the non-clicky version sucks, but I disagree) was the best, I finally came across the KeyTronic Lifetime keyboard.

With non-mechanical switching, and varying key resistance. Most keyboards use a standard 55 grams of force required to register every key, Ergo Technology has 5 different levels of force. From 35 grams to 80 grams, depending on the position of the key (Keys that you'd hit with your pinky only require 35 grams, while keys like Num Lock require a full 80 grams of force to press). No tactile feedback (I hate clicky keyboards.) and no trick buttons except for the Windows button.