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The Greatest Keyboard Ever Made
HughPickens.com writes Adi Robertson argues that IBM's Model M keyboard, soon to turn 30 is still the only keyboard worth using for many people. Introduced in 1985 as part of the IBM 3161 terminal, the Model M was initially called the "IBM Enhanced Keyboard." A PC-compatible version appeared the following spring, and it officially became standard with the IBM Personal System / 2 in 1987. The layout of the Model M has been around so long that today it's simply taken for granted, but the keyboard's descendants have jettisoned one of the Model M's most iconic features — "buckling springs," designed to provide auditory and tactile feedback to the keyboard operator. "Model M owners sometimes ruefully post stories of spouses and coworkers who can't stand the incessant chatter. But fans say the springs' resistance and their audible "click" make it clear when a keypress is registered, reducing errors," writes Robertson. "Maybe more importantly, typing on the Model M is a special, tangible experience. Much like on a typewriter, the sharp click gives every letter a physical presence."
According to Robertson, the Model M is an artifact from a time when high-end computing was still the province of industry, not pleasure. But while today's manufacturers have long since abandoned the concept of durability and longevity, refurbished Model Ms are still available from aficionados like Brandon Ermita, a Princeton University IT manager who recovers them from supply depots and recycling centers and sells them through his site, ClickyKeyboards. "For the very few that still appreciate the tactile feel of a typewriter-based computer keyboard and can still appreciate the simplicity of black letters on white keys, one can still seek out and own an original IBM model M keyboard — a little piece of early computing history," says Ermita. As one Reddit user recently commented, "Those bastards are the ORIGINAL gaming keyboards. No matter how much you abuse it, you'll die before it does.""
According to Robertson, the Model M is an artifact from a time when high-end computing was still the province of industry, not pleasure. But while today's manufacturers have long since abandoned the concept of durability and longevity, refurbished Model Ms are still available from aficionados like Brandon Ermita, a Princeton University IT manager who recovers them from supply depots and recycling centers and sells them through his site, ClickyKeyboards. "For the very few that still appreciate the tactile feel of a typewriter-based computer keyboard and can still appreciate the simplicity of black letters on white keys, one can still seek out and own an original IBM model M keyboard — a little piece of early computing history," says Ermita. As one Reddit user recently commented, "Those bastards are the ORIGINAL gaming keyboards. No matter how much you abuse it, you'll die before it does.""
On a side note, Beta still sucks too.
Still makes a buckling spring keyboard. Might be worth checking out if you want to purchase one.
http://www.pckeyboard.com/
My nephew showed up with a clean, original model M at robotics meting the other day. He might have gotten it from his dad, my twin brother, a fellow with way too many ancient IBM PCs. Like these.
The determined Real Programmer can write Fortran programs in any language.
http://www.pckeyboard.com/
I prefer a mechanical keyboard myself (although with Cherry Blues). The Apple Extended Keyboard 2 (with Alps switches) was pretty good too.
So if these keyboards are so durable, why do you need to refurbish them?
I kid, I kid... I have an Model M at the office that I love to pieces.
Model Ms are great. I have about a dozen of them. But the earlier Model F (based on capacitive switches underneath buckling spring) is even better. The Model F keyboard included with the original IBM PC excels in being heavy and clicky, but it has an awkward layout. The PC-AT introduced a much better layout, and the keyboard is electrically compatible with the later PS/2 plug (you just need a $2 adaptor). I am typing on a PC-AT keyboard now.
-- Ed Avis ed@membled.com
I want my functions keys down the left side! Not across the top.
So I can use them with just my left hand!
</rant>
Unsurprisingly, none of my colleagues wanted to be in the office with me while I was doing that. They bought me a "modern" IBM keyboard with a touchpad, USB ports, etc earlier while I was in grad school but it wasn't the same - and it died before thesis writing began - so I ended up going back to a model M when it came time to really truly be productive.
I now have two model M's with trackpoint, and USB adapters for both. They work on everything, including killing varmints or zombies.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
Love my model M, love my Northgate OmniKey/102 as well
Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
And since my tendinitis isn't anymore... it is a trade up. Sorry M. :(
Straight keyboards are really poor ergonomically, but I do love the mechanical feel of these old IBM models (and their newer imitators).
Might as well use this as an impromptu Ask Slashdot: are there any ergonomic one-piece mechanical wireless keyboards out there? I periodically Google for it (to replace an old Logitech one that's nearing EOL after a decade or so) but have never been able to find anything suitable.
I have a Model M in the closet. It's old, yellowed and the plug wont work without at least 2 adapters in-line.
But, you can still get nice switched keyboards if you like them as much as I do. Look for "Cherry" switches or in my case I got reproductions because they were cheaper. There are various colors but basically it comes down to if you like the "clicking" sounds, the Cherry Reds are the loudest and the Cherry Blues are the quietest. I have the Blues and it still drives my wife nutz. You can get an all plastic keyboard for around $50... If you want it to be build like a tank link the IBMs were, expect to spend $80 or more. If you want actual Cherry switches they can go as high as $300.
I've got a keyboard with reproduction Cherry Blue switches and a steel back plate. I got it off Newegg for about $85 and it's fantastic. I was ordering a new keyboard about every 6 months until I got a mechanical one. Works great for games to.
The sound of typing on them aggravates me, worse than nails on chalkboard.
You should never, ever say that. It only encourages them.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
A keyboard should be tough enough to beat a man to death with. And then use to write his obituary.
Have gnu, will travel.
I've got one, and it's *the same* -- and I care, 'cause on a Model M, I can break 100 WPM -- from Unicomp, and, yes, with USB connectors. Some even have trackpoints (which is what I went with). AWESOMENESS DEFINED.
But I may be somewhat biased.
P.S. My co-workers hate 'em, 'cause it's so damn loud. So do consider them before purchasing for the workplace.
Completely agree with the sentiment. My computer is required by law (the wife) to be as far away as possible if I use the Model M, hence in the basement it goes.
In case it ever dies (yeah right), I still have 4 more stockpiled as replacements.
Look at the tomato! Isn't it sad? He can't dance! Poor tomato!
It is interesting how lots of people want something, they want it built to last but all people sell is cheap garbage. This is the geek version of the Mom's who can't find clothes for their kids at Target. Lots of people want it, but manufacturers don't make what we want. Can anyone explain why? Isn't there a market for high quality things?
The best was when there were entire computer labs of Model Ms...such gorgeous cacophany
I have a generic keyboard with Cherry browns at work and a Mattias quietkey pro with Alps at home. My wife threatened embed the cherry brown keyboard in my skull because of the noise, but she can tolerate the Matias.
I have two Cherry keyboards. They look like a model M, but I guess there are differences. They are from 1993, and work perfectly.
Not bad is my Apple Extended keyboard (2?) from roughly 1990. I actually have an ADB bus to ISB adapter, perhaps I should try it at my laptops.
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
My 122 key variant of the model M (has 24 function keys!) has heavy backplate and weighs six pounds!
...I bought one on eBay 7 years ago (with PS/2 connection) and I'm using it on the fourth PC I've owned since then, a brand-new Haswell-E build. It's still as clacky and tactile as it was back then. The only slight snag is no Windows key, but I don't really miss it.
22 years ago I first used a buckling-spring keyboard, the one that came with an IBM XT. That "Model F" keyboard was (and is, as I kept it) built like a tank and, if anything, it's even clackier than the Model M. Sadly it won't work without expensive adapters on a modern PC. The layout is odd by current standards (ctrl is where caps lock is and vice-versa).
That old XT keyboard gave me the taste for "clacky" keyboards and over the following decade I got thoroughly fed up with the spongy, lifeless keyboards that became the norm. I then found out about the Model M, looked into getting one from Unicomp but thanks to import duty, VAT and delivery the cost was over the equivalent of $170 - way too much to spend for me! So I snagged an old second hand IBM model M on eBay for a fraction of the price, cleaned it up and I've been using it ever since. Hopefully PS/2 keyboard ports will continue to stay on motherboards for many years yet!
The steel construction of the Model M is a thing of beauty. And the weight keeps the cat from knocking it off my desk.
Average Intelligence is a Scary Thing
Northgate's keyboard in the "Jerry Pournelle" format was the world's best keyboard.
and then made up all kinds of reasons that are nonsense on why they like them.
I liked mine, becasue every time there was an audible click, an angel died.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
1. Model M keyboard
2. Lenovo ThinkPad X-series laptop
3. Microsoft Ergo series
Or offices with dozens of typewriters which the sound was based on. People use to work in those offices all the time. Get over it.
"manufacturers have long since abandoned the concept of durability and longevity"
Someone should tell my 15 year old Microsoft Natural keyboard. Even the $5 basic Dell keyboards are pretty durable. The only keyboards I can remember throwing out were because they were filthy, not because they were broken.
I've used various incarnations of these... First one was on my original IBM PC (not XT) with the annoying layout... I liked it best. My dad had a 5120 with a nice big built-in version... Then later I installed 3161's and PC-RT's in Dental offices... Then got my own RT...
After the original PC one, they seemed to get more plasticy... Especially in the PS/2 days... Could just be my imagination though.
Good times ...
Now I just use whatever crap someone puts in front of me.
True story. I worked with a dick that had access to dozens of these in an old storage room. We moved from offices to a cube farm and he would beat on that thing so that the entire office had to listen to him. Eventually, we took to hiding his keyboard in the wall panels on the cubes, but he would just get another one out of storage and send out angry emails, and the cycle would repeat.
-Rick
"Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
am i the only one who loves the dell sk 8135?!?!, perfect weight, perfect keys, usb ports. its PERFECT!
I love the model M and all of it's variants. It just doesn't feel like work unless I'm using it.
... on a vintage Model-M keyboard purchased years ago at Flea@MIT. Someone had a bunch of unopened boxes of them, brand new 15-year-old keyboards. My only mistake was in not buying more than one. I've picked up a few more an various flea markets and hamfests, but none as good as that one...
That is, except for the 1987-vintage Model-M on my wife's computer upstairs that came an the XT-286.
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
I am using a brand new Model M to type this message. Unicomp bought the rights and machinery to manufacture many IBM and Lexmark keyboards. You can buy them from the manufacturer here: http://www.pckeyboard.com/ . It is embarrassing that /. would advertise some shill refurb site without mentioning this great resource.
The control key is in the wrong place.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H...
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
I've been using Model M's (and their Unicomp descendants) since the days of the IBM PC XT. I finally gave them up last year as they are just too loud for my small house. I'm a night owl and my wife thinks 9:00PM is staying up late. She never complained, but I knew my keyboards were keeping her awake some nights. So I reluctantly switched to quieter keyboards two years ago.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
I own a Model M, with a goofy RJ- to PS2 cable, old school. It's fun and clacky. I also have a Thinkpad which has it's own coveted keypress feel. However in my open office cubefarm plan it's noisy as shit. It also has zero ergonomics. I ended up buying a Microsoft Sculpt keyboard, which is sort of a sleek, complete redesign, of the Microsoft Natural keyboard. It has "modern" laptoppy feel keys that are actually quiet, and proper ergonomics. I'm thinking about getting one for the house, I was skeptical about wireless keyboards but I think that this is "the one" for me.
moox. for a new generation.
They were a great keyboard! At work I'm still using an IBM compatible 5250 style keyboard that has great tactile feedback. I even bought one for my home PC -- it's 6-7 years old and still going strong :)
http://www.ioconnections.com/p...
they get dirty..
Here's mine:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/...
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
And I have had - they feel not right.
My preference is the KeyTronic keyboards.
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
They are, simply, in a class of their own. I'm typing on one right now; I have another on my wife's machine; I have a couple of spares tucked away in a cupboard. Every machine I've built for about the last 15 years has used the same keyboards. 'Nuff said.
Seriously. The best keyboard ever made? Not hardly. I can think of three massive issues:
1) Key activation force. You have to push quite hard to activate those key switches. That is unergonomic and contributes to developing RSI in many individuals. A good keyboard should have a light key activation.
2) Keyboard shape. The straight keyboard is not a good shape. Our hands don't naturally sit straight, neither should our keyboards. Again, this is an ergonomic issue, being your wrists like that can lead to RSI. A good ergonomic keyboard can be adjusted to match the position of the user.
3) The noise. Those springs are loud. Makes it very annoying to use in an office environment, and unsuitable for quite environments like a studio. A good keyboard has dampened keys that don't make noise.
Well, turns out you can get good keyboards like that. Matias, Kinesis, Maltron, all make really good keyboards. They solve the problems that the Model M, and others, have.
Even if you don't believe you'll ever suffer from RSI (and that's a bet I wouldn't make) you will probably find your typing speed increased by lighter keyswitches.
This Model M worship needs to stop. It is old technology, we have better tech and a better understanding of how to make good human interfaces devices these days.
We also used to have dumbass smokers polluting the air in our offices back then. Air quality has improved, and noise level has decreased. That's progress; Get over it.
I spent my formative years in a DEC-dominated lab, so the office background sounds were the soft thok-thok-thok of VT100 keyboards rather than the clicky-clicky of the Model M. I did get a chance to use the M keyboard later, and agree it has the best tactile feel of any keyboard I've used before or sense.
As pointed out by others, the keyboard is a straight keyboard in days when most of us are using split keyboards, and the noise can be distracting. But when you spend most of your day as root, an audio indication that a key had been clicked, and the added force necessary to make it work, are actually positive things. Just my opinion.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
All gone now but I remember a time when I saw this vendor at one of the local computer show / flea markets who had them for $50 and I bought all six that he had, the last of them gave up the ghost a few years ago.
M style, and for the Mac user.
I just bought one of these, brand new + sealed and everything. It's at least 15-20 years old and obviously works flawlessly with a USB-ADB adapter (Griffin iMate).
I always loved this keyboard when I was in middle school & high school and some Macs in the lab had them. The Apple Design keyboard that followed sucked, as did every Apple keyboard afterwards until they moved to the low-profile scissor switches.
I thought that the Extended II would boost my already fast typing speed (100+ WPM) but it hasn't—the extra throw of the switches (almost 3x that of my MacBook Pro) negates any benefits the nicer feedback is otherwise providing. It's better than the Matias TactilePro I had a few years ago (cheaper build quality than Apple's, and louder switches even though they're supposed to be the same).
I'm enjoying this Extended II and feel it was worth the $120 it cost me on eBay (cheaper than it was new when it came out!) but I do think the cult of mechanical keyboard junkies will eventually disappear as those people literally die out (or their keyboards, I suppose). Unless you grew up on a mechanical keyboard, I don't think any user accustomed to keyboards of the last 5 years (Apple ones, at least, since that's what I mostly use and they're quite good) will see any benefits to using one. They're louder, way bulkier, and can only be used when connected to a computer via this weird and ugly thing called a "cable."
The 10 Worst PC Keyboards of All Time
If you think that the Modem M was the greatest keyboard ever made, then clearly you have never typed on the IBM 3278 keyboard from the late 70s / early 80s.
A.
...bringing you cynical quips since 1998
I would like to give a good story about Unicomp. My Model M keyboard met my 3 year old. 3 year old knocked the keyboard tray down and the numeric pad 0 key broke. I knew about Unicomp and asked how much a replacement key would be. They shipped me one at no charge and just asked that I think of them the next time I need a keyboard. Class act
I type 10 - 15 wpm more on a quality membrane keyboard. Before even comparing numbers I could tell I was going to type faster. As for the noise, it doesn't help me avoid mistakes since I actually look at what I'm type while I'm typing it.
My 2 cents
it also used to be acceptable to smoke, drink and womanize at work. when my secretary complains about me doing those things should I tell her to "get over it"?
The IBM PC keyboard is a very nice keyboard, but it was an attempt to make a cheaper keyboard which was almost as good as the keyboard on a 3270 terminal. You can see a picture of it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I... The feel was better than the buckling spring keys, though those were a close imitation. The keys on the 3270 were shaped a bit better. On "modern" aka "inferior" keyboards there's usually a bump on the "f" and "j" keys. On the 3270 keyboards the f and j keys actually had a deeper cup. Most people never knew it was there, because the deeper cup was not bothersome like the bumps are. But your hands "knew" when you were off the home keys so it solved the same problem as the bump. But, the 3270 keyboard was much more massive than the more modern ones as well as more expensive. It was much deeper so there could be more mechanisms below the keys and that enabled a better feel than the buckling spring. It also permitted the keys to be deeper and accommodate the cups for f and j. Typing on them felt better though. On the other hand the display on the 3270 and it's successor the 3279 (the color version) wasn't in the same league as what we have today.
A few years ago I stumbled on a hardware level easter egg of sorts for the Model M: 1) hold down both shift keys. 2) press and hold the v key. 3) release both shift keys. 4) release the v key. Your model M will print out a number that I suspect is a model number of its microprocessor. If you know more please post below. This is my keyboard's output: "1900312120d3d0001"
@LogicalMethods | www.sneaksneak.org
I like typing on laptop keyboards. for me the ultimate keyboard is the modern apple keyboard, which is used on all their laptops and their BT keyboard. it's amazing, from 17" laptop to 11" laptop and they use the exact same keyboard.
get the model M and THEY STILL MAKE THEM IN THE USA-- http://www.unicomp.com/
I had apple extended since the early 90s up to around 2008 when it was just getting too dirty and I cleaned it then used the wrong sort of paint... (I just painted it to make it look newer; I don't need to see what the keys are.) So I looked for old keyboards and always remembered a fondness of the old noisy model M.
I like it better than the old apple one; despite it having some minor flaws due to it's PC bias (the function key for example.)
If you take apart the Apple Extended II keyboard it's amazing it lasts so long since everything I've owned that used membranes wore out over time. They did something with theirs because mine lasted until I ruined it. I was sick of having an adapter which needed a driver so I tried something "new" by getting a unicomp instead of finding another ADB keyboard.
I can't stand the laptop style touch keyboards, even the nice apple ones -- I don't want membranes and I like to push down or even rest my fingers on the keys without having them get pressed. I do realize technically that I'm having to work harder and move slower-- but I'm not playing games like I used to and my age lowers my response time anyhow so the difference of pressing a spring switch or a membrane is basically pointless... except the old NES controllers, I guess for that I would reject springs... I suppose my muscle memory is set for membranes with my thumbs and springs for my fingers?
Wireless? stupid. If you can't put in AA it is a disposable waste of money and takes up landfill space. Planned Obsolescence is the religion today so we won't see comparable standardized lithium batteries for such devices
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
Sounds like these people are in a time warp. They obviously are not high-performance hardware users or they would be familiar with keyboards that use Cherry switches.
Who says we aren't? I am. But I've never used a keyboard that feels and types as well as a Model M. For me at least, I'm able to type significantly faster on one than I am on any other keyboard I've ever tried. I've got 2 of them, they cost me about $8 each, including one of these Airline Reservation Versions.
As a Unix/Linux admin, typing is my bread and butter, so I'm going to continue using the best tool for the job. For me, that's a Model M keyboard. I don't care how much it pissess off the Windows admins in my office, with their cheap-ass Dell keyboards.
Which reminds me, one of the things I don't see anyone mentioning about those cheap keyboards these days is that there is NO plastic around the keys by which to grab the keyboard to pick it up. Any time I am stuck using one and I have to pick up the keyboard, I end up mashing a bunch of keys and screwing up whatever is on the screen because there's only a tiny area above the INS/Home/Pgup keys to grab it by. Crappy typing notwithstanding, even just that issue drives me up the wall!
Nothing to see here
My next keybaord will probably be a Corsair mechanical.
BTW, the Tandy Model 100/102 had such a keyboard.
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
Just reading the opening paragraph of that story made me think back to sound of my Dad typing away on one of those keyboards.
That sound is so distinct. I can remember using one myself and distinctly remember the long key travel. Nostalgic.
I have two of them. One at home and one at work. Of course, the people at work know when I'm typing. But that proves that I'm productive, right?
The audible and tactile feedback of a buckling-spring can both increase typing speed, accuracy, and decrease effective needed key force. While more force is generally required to acutate the switch, the audible and tactile feedback allows your muscles to immediately know the key has been received and can back up the force before slamming into the stops. A collapsing-dome keyboard offers no such precise feedback. It's impossible for your fingers to sense precisely when the keypress has been received, meaning you must apply force much longer than necessary.
And the force of the keys in a Model M is not especially high.
I'll agree that they layout is not ergonomically ideal though.
They purchased the whole factory in Kentucky.
Hail Eris, full of mischief...
E pluribus sanguinem
It came to me in 2001 and it's been my daily driver since then. Works every bit as well as a brand-new one. I'm occasionally tempted to upgrade to a 104-key model, but only occasionally.
This particular Model M was fitted with a WordPerfect keyboard template, and included a sticker on the Enter key that said "any key". The latter has long since worn off, alas.
Hail Eris, full of mischief...
E pluribus sanguinem
There are modern mechanical keyswitches with much less for required, and less noise. Matias makes some really amazing ones.
The best was when there were entire computer labs of Model Ms...such gorgeous cacophany
Add to that a computer lab full of tractor-feed printers, it's a wonder that anyone from those days can hear a thing anymore.
the Cherry Reds are the loudest and the Cherry Blues are the quietest
Cherry Reds do not click, unless you bottom them out. I'm typing on them right now.
Blue = Clicky, strong spring.
Brown = Clicky, weak spring.
Black = No click, strong spring.
Red = No click, weak spring.
I bought a keyboard with reds after I hurt my hands, and wanted the easiest-to-type-on keyboard that I could find.
If the clicking bothers you (or your wife) you can buy a key cap puller, and a set of o-rings to put under the keys, so they don't even make noise when they bottom out.
Me too.
I much prefer the Logitech Illuminated Keyboard for gaming. --The thin original design before Logitech jumped the shark.
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech...
One of my favorite keyboards is the one from ABC 802. It doesn't have enough keys for use today, but for its intended uses it was perfect. The grey plate that surrounds the keys is 5mm solid aluminum plate. The included wrist rest is some sort of a wood-based composite, nicely insulating the carpal tunnel from the aluminum heatsink.
I still keep the little bugger in a closet and fire it up every now and then. And to think I've had email running on it, written in BASIC, running over serial TCP/IP at 19,200 bps. Yep, everything was in BASIC, the TCP/IP stack included. Obviousl, being busy with all that, my high school performance was otherwise "poor".
Their BASIC was to die for, the fastest BASIC I've ever used on a Z80 machine.
A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
To clarify: the keyboard in the picture is one of the two keyboards with the same style. I have the larger variant, not pictured, that has a numeric keypad and function keys.
A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
That reminds me of the cane episode of News Radio...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
5:52 for the most relevant part but the whole is worth the watch :-)
I was stuck with one on a DEC Alpha back in '94. Damn thing gave me carpal tunnel in a matter of days, and I refused to use the box until they replaced it with the contemporary version of the keyboards off a VT320.
"But remember, most lynch mobs aren't this nice." (H.Simpson)
-- Joe
Back in 2003 the company I was working for shared a building with GiantInsuranceCompany.
One day coming in to work I noticed that the dumpster near the entrance I used was overflowing with stuff.
The stuff was hundreds of Model M keyboards being thrown out. I snagged about 50 of them and gave about 20 away. Kept 30 for myself. Down to 20 now because I've gifted some more away. Over time I've picked up some new ones from EBay. Including a black one with nipple.
I wish I had appreciated the value of these fully. Back in the 1980's I had a 3101 terminal which had a very clicky keyboard so I knew I liked the feel. But I had no idea these would become almost a cult.
Noise is not arbitrary, you can objectively measure the sound level keyboards create. Now if you work alone, then sure, get what you like. However when you work with others you need to be considerate of them. Likewise there are noise critical environments where objective standards of silence need to be maintained.
Key activation force is also not this subjective matter. This is something that research has gone in to and low activation force is important to minimizing RSI. Ergonomics aren't something to just scoff at. Perhaps you are lucky and you have a body built such that you never have issues. However perhaps you aren't as lucky as you think and later in life you will have problems if you don't have a good ergonomic work setup. Thus it is a much better idea to work ergonomically and avoid problems.
I never understood the appeal of these keyboards. The clunkity-clunk was extremely hard on my wrists, and I developed carpal tunnel syndrome using them. Once I switched to a softer modern keyboard, my wrist problems disappeared. I found the Model M experience to be literally painful. No thanks.
An NMB Technologies RT8255C+. Have had them both for years and years. Lovely train of legacy to usb adapters on each of them too.
I also have 3 Logitech TrackMan Marble/FX. Bought two on ebay when they stopped being sold.
When forced to use different keyboard and normal mouse, can barely get through the day.
I despise the clicky, springy sound and the activation force is higher than I like.
In college, there were some terminals with Hall-effect keyboards that I liked, wish I could remember the model.
The Amiga 1000 keyboard was pretty good but the action was a little too light.
I'd take a Sun Type 5 over a Model M any day.
Yeah, I sure didn't miss the noise when I eventually got a Compaq keyboard in the late 90's. Although, strangely enough, my favorite keyboard is a cheap-o model from iTronic, the Scorpius M1, which was $12 in 2005. It lasted about 6-7 years, but I damaged the plastic-circuit board cleaning it one too many times. Unfortunately, the only place you can still get them is in the England and Ireland, and no international shipping. Should of picked one up when they were still available in various European countries that *DID* do international shipping.
Now I'm making do with a Corsair K40, which I like quite a bit more than my old Logitech G15, although the back-lighting on the G15 is much brighter.
The best thing about a Model M is that to can render someone unconscious who complains about the noise it makes and resume typing immediately. If they don't go unconscious then you can continue assaulting them until they shut up. Meanwhile the M will keep going.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
I use a model M however them M2 model is smaller, lighter and still a really good keyboard.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
People also forget that the M doesn't loose keystokes just because the amount of keys you press exceed the keyboard rollover. Someone here will correct the details that I am too tired to share however this is also a nice feature of keyboards of that era. Modern keyboards seem to have lost that feature.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
http://deskthority.net/wiki/IB...
Hail Eris, full of mischief...
E pluribus sanguinem
Yikes, I can't imagine that. My school was smart enough to keep the noisy printers off in a separate room where they couldn't really be heard. Unfortunately, dumb enough that when I say "separate room" I usually also mean "separate building...half a mile away...uphill."
My office spent a fair amount on a Keytronic clone of the Model M. It looked more or less identical and fell like you could kill someone will it, but the durability was actually a disaster. None of them lasted more than a few years.
We got new PCs with the cheap-in-the-box HP keyboards and those have held up for 8 years so far, hardly any problems. New Dell PCs replaced those but we kept the HP keyboards. Kinda weird but it worked. All the Keytronics went in the trash.
The moral here is that it may LOOK like a Model M, it may even sort of feel like you can kill someone with it. But it's got to be the real thing or nothing,
Sig for hire.
I prefer my cherries: g80 with blues at home, mx board 3.0 with browns (because I dont want to drive my coworkers mad) at work. Esp. if you compare price/value.
Lucky you. We had em in the room, 1 per every 4 computers. At least printing problems were rather easier to address; most everything was either "you fed the paper in wrong" or "you didn't flip the ABCD switch to you computer's parallel port".
I'd love to time-warp away from ipad, etc...support.
Tactile, provides sound, more compact, and is easy to open up to clean out the accumulated debris endemic to all individual-key keyboards. Connects via USB, and has never failed for me in two years. They are proof that quality CAN come from Taiwan.
The only evident problem is my particular/peculiar body chemistry: My body oils almost always wipe the legends atop the most-frequently-used keys (I can barely see the "E" right now). Anybody got a solution for that issue?
The Model M was always too stiff and too noisy for my taste. But if you like them, have at it.
I do have a special clueless award for the company (some anonymous small manufacturer in Taiwan) that produced a LAPTOP with clicky keys. I ran into that one in the late 80s when I was working for a computer dealer; one of my jobs was testing new products that we were thinking of selling. I gave that a "don't even think about it" rating.
I can't even imagine an A/B, let alone C or D switch in a computer lab. I've always thought of them as either a home PC make-do, or something you use when you want to solve the weird sort of "why on earth would anyone want to do that?" sort of problems.
I still use the first keyboard I ever bought. It is a Cherry G80-1000 (Made in Western Germany) that I got in the early 90s. See http://deskthority.net/wiki/Ch... I have to take it apart and clean it again, but other than that it works the same great way as it did when I took it out of the box. It was rather expensive back then, but it is probably the best tech investment I ever made. And the best: No Windows Keys! They constantly get in the way and there is something inherently wrong with linking general use hardware to some specific piece of software. The only downside of the G80-1000 is the current draw. It is right at the limit of what DIN->PS/2->USB converters can handle. When the cold, long winter days come I might look into hooking up a 5V power supply to the keyboard to give the USB converter a better chance. At times I also use these ultra cheap 2$ Dell keyboards....just horrible! If it has to be a cheap USB keyboard I'd go with the Logitech K120, have a few of those even as wireless version and they work quite nicely.
...but there's a keyboard I love even more. Nothing ever made, in my humble opinion, can match the old IBM Selectric typewriter keyboard. It was wide. It was flat. The keys were well separated. And the action on it was unparallelled.
I've got big hands (one of which has undergone some fairly serious repairs) and wide, spatulate fingertips. There has never been a keyboard I could get a higher speed on. I could actually go for brief stretches faster than the funny little type-ball could keep up with.
I weep bitter tears that it never translated well to computers. One of the DasKeyBoard models is close, but no cigar. And it costs an arm and a leg, of course.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.