A Condensed History Of The Keyboard

An anonymous reader points to this overview of old (good) keyboards versus the cheap and nasty kind which begins "Today's keyboards aren't what they used to be, no sir! Back in my day, we had our BS technology; our keyboards had chassis's which allowed 'em to be thrown off a 3-story building and still work - barely dented. Yes those were the days." Not a lot of new information, but some good visuals.

Comments

Who else misses the old IBM keyboards?

[ACK!!]

I loved mine and I am still looking for one of those old clickity clackity huge heavy monsters with their wonderous tactile feedback feel.

Anyone else in the same boat?

At least I still have my Logitech 3 button mouse.

What is your favorite keyboard type?

Differences

[Mr_Silver]

Today's keyboards aren't what they used to be, no sir!

Indeed. Today's keyboards can be picked up for less than a fiver. Try picking one up for that price back in the "old days".

There are plenty of good keyboards out there, but because the PC market is often dictated by price, you see more of the cheap ones than you do anything else.

Re:Anyone Else for a New Keyboard???

[gughunter]

To each his own. I prefer the buckling spring keys so much that using a "mushier" keyboard is almost distracting. Also, one benefit of the buckling spring keyboard is that the little click corresponds exactly to a keypress. If you heard/felt the click, the computer got the data; if you didn't, it didn't. With rubber dome keyboards, on the other hand, you have to keep an eye on your text at all times. Between the uncertainty and the overall mushy feel, rubber dome keyboards have at least two strikes against them in my book.

Apple used to make the best keyboards...

[artemis67]

before they got all artsy-fartsy. Now the keyboard is the first thing I toss when I buy a new Mac.

I loved how the caps lock actually locked down at half-height on the old Apple Pro Keyboard, so you could tell by touch if the caps lock was on.

Price and innovation

[UnknowingFool]

The author notes how durable keyboards used to be and easier to clean. But back then keyboards were designed to a different standard. The were desinged to last and sometimes to be repaired. Modern computer accessories are almost designed to be disposable. That extends to the computer and electronics nowadays. I mean when was the last time anyone actually took a TV to be repaired. More often if a TV or radio breaks, people just buy a new one. Computer are to the point where most people simply replace their old ones instead of upgrading. Ordinary mice and keyboards are in

Although he doesn't mention it, but how much did they cost back then? Adjusting for inflation, they probably cost more than new ones cost today. One thing it interesting to note that most of the functionality hasn't changed. Sure newer keyboards are wireless and have additional buttons, but older ones work just as well.

Re:All this talk of the best keyboards ...

[skurk]

Stavr0 wrote:
For this, I nominate the ZX-81 keyboard WORST KEYBOARD EVER.

Funny, I just mentioned the ZX81 keyboard in a comment I just wrote under the same subject.

And yes, I agree. In 3rd grade at school, we had an optional course called "Basic Computer Programming", where we were tought how to program on the ZX81.

Now, when these computers were brand new, the keyboards were "fine". But since every school has its bullies, and bullies tend to use more physical force than required, these keyboards wore out after a couple of weeks. To compensate for the worn out keyboards, we had to press even harder to have our keystrokes registered...

Oh, the sore fingertips we had..