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USB NeXT Keyboard With an Arduino Micro
coop0030 writes "Ladyada and pt had an old NeXT keyboard with a strong desire to get it running on a modern computer. These keyboards are durable, super clicky, and very satisfying to use! However, they are very old designs, specifically made for NeXT hardware: pre PS/2 and definitely pre-USB. That means you can't just plug the keyboard into a PS/2 port (even though it looks similar). There is no existing adapters for sale, and no code out there for getting these working, so we spent a few days and with a little research we got it working perfectly using an Arduino Micro as the go between."
congratulations on devoting your time & money on doing something useless, thanks for sharing!
For ADB NeXTs (i.e., Turbo 33/color workstations) - wouldn't an ADB to USB adaptor work?
Three Step Plan:
1. Take over the world.
2. Get a lot of cookies.
3. Eat the cookies.
I wonder why they didn't make it on their own. Customers love that shit!
Just buy a Das Keyboard. I have 3. I'll never type on anything else
Couldn't you just use an ADB to USB adapter? Guess that would be less amusing than reverse engineering the standard.
... that I may, someday, be able to find a use for that old 3-button DEC hockey puck mouse I have down in the basement. Cool.
CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
If a Next keyboard is the same as an AT PC keyboard, this is a trivial hack; you can do it with a PC LPT port (it's a single bit TTL signal that just needs a bit of waggling).
Much harder now there are no simple I/O ports on a PC.
All your ghosts are just false positives.
I love the "old" clicky keyboards. They feel much better on the fingers and the tactile freedback is wonderful. You can still buy them from UNICOMP who bought out the IBM keyboard factory upgraded with USB: http://pckeyboard.com/page/category/UKBD
You can also pick them up on 2nd hand on eBay from these resellers: http://www.clickykeyboards.com/
When I buy a laptop they're all equal EXCEPT FOR THE KEYBOARDS. Some are better than others, but none compare to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_keyboard Know people who type whole novels on their iPhone, but is it really the best way to do it?
Working on these at NeXT was an absolute pleasure. The key response allowed for longer sustained typing and fewer mistakes. I miss this keyboard as it sat at the right ergonomic angle.
Back in the 90s, a company called Northgate Computer Systems, based out of Minnesota, ranked right up there in terms of marketshare, etc as Dell, HP, etc. They had several government contracts which were exceptionally lucrative. They also made keyboards that everyone at the time lusted for because they were super-reliable, very comfortable to use, and quiet despite the snappiness of the keys. You simply couldn't find a better keyboard. Everything was looking great for them, until senior management made a series of horrible and totally avoidable blunders and within a year the company tanked. The one thing to survive the company's demise was their patents on keyboards -- bought out by a company called Avant Stellar (if memory serves). They charge a fortune for their keyboards, and they aren't as reliable as those old ones are.
I can understand why these guys decided to hack together a microcontroller assembly to get it working on modern hardware: human interface equipment back in that day and age was built to last forever. It could even survive contact with 5 year olds, as my keyboard frequently crashed onto concrete floors, was pissed on by animals, and crushed by falling monitors (remember: Back in the day, a 19" monitor weighed a good 50 pounds). Things that would kill today's keyboards dead, it simply brushed off as a non-event.
I wish things were built like that today, rather than this planned obsolesence bullsh*t. There's some things in this industry that just don't change: The power cord, the mouse, the keyboard, and the cases. Build those things to last guys. Really.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
Wasn't 3D printing supposed to let us print our own electronics at home? What's this cable and soldering nonsense?
Every keyboard and mouse produced by Apple after His return sucked.
I still use a Macally ikey, which is just like the ADB extended keyboard.
... how much has the price of NeXT non-ADB keyboards jumped on eBay since this was posted?
I have my nice pair of Model M 1986 & 1989 and a couple extras that have given up parts to the pair.
I look for them in thrift stores, where I found my second one; I've also seen some of the Northgates also.
The thing I like best, besides the springy keys and the responsiveness is the shaded keys; I really hate that modern keyboards are monotone. I like the grey on function keys, Enter, Shift & etc,
The PS/2 connector predates NeXT computers by a year, according to Wikipedia.
or a pubUlic clu3,
I used to love the old fashioned keyboards. My favorite was some PS/2 IBM model that I still have in the attic somewhere. When PS/2 ports started disappearing, instead of reaching for the soldering iron, I looked for a USB keyboard.
After much trial and error I discovered the Logitech Illuminated Keyboard. It is the best keyboard ever made. Less fatigue, awesome key action, silent and it's backlit. It's not cheap, but you get what you pay for.
Until the key action finally began to wear out, I used a couple of old Wang keyboards that I found in a dumpster. They had awesome klicky action, tons of macro buttons, a great layout -- and they weighed a ton! Plus the best part was no annoying Windows key to accidentally hit all the time.
I've tried a couple of newer clickly models - A Das Keyboard and now a Razer Blackwidow, but they still don't have quite the same feel -- and they have the annoying windows key.
If there's one thing I'd like to see hobbyists doing it's this. There's obviously too much waste in the world. If a culture could be built up of people seeking out modders to build computers and other devices using older parts and go betweens, I' be on for that. I think it's great.
The original NeXT keyboard was a bit clicky but not as clicky as an IBM Model-M. The ADB NeXT keyboards though were squishy, not clicky. Layout ergonomically they were a bit better but they felt much worse. I much prefer the IBM M15: http://www.clickykeyboards.com/index.cfm/fa/categories.main/parentcat/12675
What about http://m0115.web.fc2.com/main.html#PS2NeXT http://m0115.web.fc2.com/ps2next_man_e.html ?
It's not consistently like that - an IBM serial terminal I've got at work has a case that's so poorly designed that the entire case and a visable portion of the main board (yes, you can see it behind the serial socket) flexes alarmingly when you just plug in a serial cable. Meanwhile the model M keyboard that pugs into the front of it is just about bombproof and seems to weigh almost as much as the terminal (which has a CRT in it). If a keyboard was as much "filmy plastic crap" as that terminal it wouldn't survive shipping. Each time it's used, which is rarely, I'm worried the thing will break. The keyboard doesn't have a compatible controller for anything other than that terminal but it's not worth adapting. It isn't difficult to get a PS/2 model M (like the one I'm creating noise pollution with now), and there's almost identical things available new.
I am a keyboard snob. The keyboard is the part of the computer with which I interact the most, so I hate the mushy feel of membrane keyboards that are based on the same technology as VCR remotes.
If you want to be a keyboard snob too (in a good way), then start by going to wasdkeyboards.com and buying their sampler kit ("http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/sampler-kit-1.html"). For $8, you get eleven keycaps in different colors, four Cherry MX switches (blue, brown, black, red), and fifteen dampeners in three types. This is a cheap way to understand the difference between the four kinds of Cherry MX switches and decide which you prefer. You can then buy a custom-made keyboard from wasdkeyboards.com, choosing the switch, keycap color, and text for each individual key if you want.
I don't use my numeric keypad much, so I opted for a tenkeyless keyboard. wasdkeyboards.com doesn't yet offer these (current estimate is March), so I got it from "http://elitekeyboards.com".
If you want an old-fashioned IBM Model M clacky keyboard, you can get it from "http://www.pckeyboard.com".
For quite a while I've been using the Matias Tactile Pro 3 (or thereabouts) keyboard. It has a Mac layout (similar to the older Apple keyboards) and uses microswitches for a clicky good time. And it's quite a bit more compact than the IBM PS/2 keyboard although it boasts more keys (including, of course, the Command and Option keys etc.). It's not the cheapest keyboard in town but if you like clicky and use Macs than it's probably the way to go.
Since the PS/2 system (and standard) came out in 1987, how long ago DID good ol' Steve the Magnificent leave Apple to form NeXT?
NeXT didn't not-use the PS/2 connector because it wasn't around; they didn't use it because it was an IBM patent. Before someone else points out, the 6-pin mini-DIN connector is not what was patented, the signalling scheme and pin-out was.