The Worst Foods to Eat Over a Keyboard

An anonymous reader writes "Pasta? Pizza? Keyboards are often subject to the harshest of conditions -- spaghetti sauce, coffee spill, et al. ZDNet is running a list of worst-food nominations. What is your pick?"

Comments

Re:IBM Model M

[Jacques Chester]

IBM's Model M keyboard patents (on the buckling switch which makes the keys so crisp and clicky) went out of IBM with Lexmark.

Lexmark subsequently sold the designs and patents to another company called Unicomp. So far as I can make out, it's essentially a spinoff operation.

So you can still buy what are actually Model M keyboards, brand new. In fact I'm sitting in front of one right now. It's a Model M right down to the small oval where the IBM logo would normally live.

http://pckeyboard.com/

Go get 'em.

Incorrect use of latin

[Dougthebug]

spaghetti sauce, coffee spill, et al.

'et al.' is short for 'et alii'. This translates directly to "and others." However it is only used to refer to people, not things.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases

Just sitting by the keyboard fizzing

[ishmalius]

It doesn't even need to be spilled. Just placing one near the keyboard while effervescing is sufficient. Those tiny unseen droplets accumulate in all of the worst places. The board gets sticky, the key motion is screwed, the same as if you spilled it.

Re:Without a Doubt

[moranar]

Well, the sugar and water in the sprite form molasses when the water dries slowly, and it sticks to your keys. Haven't you ever dropped sprite on your hands? They feel very sticky after a short while. My cure for this, if the keyboard allows it, is a bath with hot water first, then some alcohol. Better use a lot of alcohol to clean thoroughly, then dry it with a hairblower or just leave it somewhere warm. I saved a keyboard with the same symptoms (actually, it was strong nocino liquor, very very sticky keys). This treatment is possible if the patient^Wkeyboard has a separate top with the keys , which you wash; and a plastic film with the electrical contacts, which you don't. You might want to douse a cotton ball in alcohol and clean the plastic film too.

Re:Coke - yyup, it's an expensive killer

[vik]

Not that I drink the crap, but my kids do.

If they spilt it on their keyboards, that would be fine. But, oh no, not good enough for 'em. They have to pick my $100 wireless keyboard to spill it on.

Useful tip: After cleaning, dissolved tracks can be replaced with conductive silver PCB repair paint.

My last keyboard survived 3 coke washes with this technique before they finally killed it off.

Vik :v)

Re:Pepsi

[wodon]

I dont really like coke, but when I order pizza they always give us a free 2L bottle. It works great for cleaning the limescale of skinks and toilets. just pour it in with the plug in, leave overnight and wrinse out. sparkly clean!

it is a little worrying though....