The best computer keyboards ever made - still

[emitter]

howdy. funny you mention the cyclotron, a friend of mine at one point was gonna hook me up with a manager up there for a tour but it never happened. I'll have to wait for an open house.
Sooo, yeah my favorite kb's are the big giant PS2 ones that came with dell servers in late 90's early 2k's. They were sprung (I think), heavy, and tall, there was extra room above the function keys and a ridge for a template I suppose. Not completely archaic like an XT kb. I'm typing on a dell quietkey, uses silicone springs w/ good response.
I don't hate usb (heh, another friend from Ithaca is a usb compatibility certifier), but long live ps2. I mention these Dell's because there are probably zillions of them in the trash.

Have you been to Babbage's Basement? babbagesbasement.com/location It's on 96B just up the hill toward the gun factory, but I've never been. They probably have loads of old keyboards, though they try to sell whole systems. In fact maybe your old terminals are there!

my mac G3 'gossamer' has a bad kb too, but I never use it anyway.

~ned

 

[flashfan]

Dang! I just threw out a couple of old keyboards last week. Don't know what kind they were, but did notice that they held up better than the newer stuff.

 

[ckthorp]

I run an IBM type-M on my Apple Powerbook via a PS/2-to-USB converter. Absolutely love it. Granted, inside, it is just a membrane keyboard and a non-functional steel plate, but its that buckling spring that works the magic. I've used vintage and new (from pckeyboards.com) type-Ms. Love them both, though the used ones tend to come with someone else's grime on the keys (ewwwwww). On the Mac, it's one function key short, but how often do you use the option key, anyway? I just remap the PC ALT key to the Mac open-apple and I'm all set.

 

[CLHC]

I'm curious about the natural style keyboards? I saw and tried one out sometime ago, and it was a two-piece board. I liked that one, but don't remember the name and can't seem to find it anywhere. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[LEDMaster2003_V2]

I also agree, the clickys are nice. I also liked the "F" series, actually this one
http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-IBM-Clicky-Keyboard-Model-F-1390238-RARE_W0QQitemZ250041544767QQcmdZViewItem

Also like the Gateway AnyKey (didn't have clickies though)

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

It was especially useful in HL2/GMod where I was pwning people, using its angled-arrow keys (like _\| |/_ ) which were interspersed with the normal cursor keys to easily angle away from fire. The normal cursor keys were arranged in a + pattern rather than the inverted "T". There was a center key that functioned as the spacebar.

This is the general layout.

I still have it, but I committed a cardinal sin; had a liquid near it..:thumbsdow

Another favorite (though I've had no personal interaction) is the VersaKey
www.versakey.com
I do believe this has a clicky, but don't quote me on that. Our med center has them in some places...

The switches up above are Special Application Keys, that you can program text strings into them. E.G. you can have one with SureFire, one with Cree, one with Luxeon, etc., then when you're typing on here, instead of typing the above, you'd just hit the appropriate key.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I remember those Alps keyboards very well. They were noisy as heck but they had the best tactile feedback of any keyboard I've used. I agree with JS that it can improve your typing throughput because of that solid feel that you get from typing on it.

 

[Anglepoise]

So glad its not just me.

My choice is a 1991 Honeywell-SUH

The SUH company is still making boards with their proprietory
key action
SITE

I don't know what I will do when it gives up the ghost.

 

[bfg9000]

Our pal Dan has been a big fan of the Model M since at least 1999:

http://www.dansdata.com/ibmkeyboard.htm

http://www.dansdata.com/clickykeyboards.htm

http://www.dansdata.com/clicky2.htm

Of course something that originally sold for hundreds of 1980s dollars was made to a higher standard than something made today to sell at a pricepoint of $5. Why would you expect any different?

Mine are well over 20 years old and still work great.

 

[carrot]

Count me in as a Model M fan! The lack of an extra function key bothers me as a Mac user but I love the tactile feel of a buckling spring keyboard.

 

[bfg9000]

The sound and feel of a Model M keyboard was intended to emulate the fantastic IBM Selectric typewriter keys. This tactile response can help to prevent carpal tunnel because it indicates exactly when you can stop pressing. When typing on a "mush" keyboard you'll tend to hit the keys a lot more forcefully than necessary just to make sure the keystrike registered, and that's bad for your hands.

Of course you could imagine the noise in a whole office full of such keyboards (or electric typewriters) going at once, so it's probably better suited for home use. There are tactile keyboards that make less noise but still produce a positive "snap" feel for cubicle dwellers.

 

[John N]

I agree that the old IBM clickie keyboards were the cat's meow. Northgate (defunct, but remade?) made a decent clickie keyboard and I picked up a couple 2nd hand and have used them for years, although typing certain key combinations fast could cause problems (such as "HDS"!).

I recently found the Ione Scorpius-M10 mechanical keyboard and while it isn't as good as the old ones, it's one of the few, and rather affordable mechanical keyboards out now at $53. It's not too shabby, and it's what I'm typing on now.

Barrys-rigs-n-reviews.com Review of the Ione Scorpius-M10

Oh, and it doesn't have blank keys. How stupid is that?!?

-john


p.s. What was even cooler was those IBM Selectric ('golf ball') electric typewriters. Talk about tactile (and audible) feedback!

 

[KC2IXE]

The IBM type "M" keyboard is still manfactured and available. Also parts and repair services. IBM begat Lexmark, Lexmark kept the printers and sold the keyboard division to pckeyboard.com in Lexington Kentucky. Both the
"buckling Spring" and the Membrane (quiet touch) are available.
Disclaimer> No association other than satisfied customer<
I love my type "M"

Allthumbs

Yep - I was going to point folks to PCKeyboard.com - I'm typing this on a Model M - the first day at my job 10 years ago, I scrounged a model M - and recently, they were about to THROW OUT "that old keyboard" - yep - a model M - I grabbed that before it went in the can - I have about 4-5 running around - thing is - I've NEVER had to use any of the spares I have

 

[js]

The sound and feel of a Model M keyboard was intended to emulate the fantastic IBM Selectric typewriter keys. This tactile response can help to prevent carpal tunnel because it indicates exactly when you can stop pressing. When typing on a "mush" keyboard you'll tend to hit the keys a lot more forcefully than necessary just to make sure the keystrike registered, and that's bad for your hands.

Of course you could imagine the noise in a whole office full of such keyboards (or electric typewriters) going at once, so it's probably better suited for home use. There are tactile keyboards that make less noise but still produce a positive "snap" feel for cubicle dwellers.

Exactly! I have a friend who is a VERY fast laptop typist, and the keyboard is, as to be expected, one of those with no feel and no tactile action. And I was watching him carefully one day to figure out how he did it, and yes, precisely, he was punching down on each single key with WAY more force than was needed. It was a quick, snappy kind of tap-down for each key. And he was fast with it, no doubt. But, gosh, I'd hate to have to type that way, hour after hour. My tendons would not be pleased about that kind of typing technique.

 

[Lynx_Arc]

I am still using a 1991 Keytronics made in USA keyboard. With the exception of having to shim one key that wore prematurely and clean it from spilling grape soda in it it still feels the same and works good. I don't care for noisy clicking keyboards and find the action of them harder to control as I tend to type too hard or too soft at times causing some keyboards to miss or double type characters. I don't perfer sloppy feeling or overspringy keyboards.

 

[js]

Coming up on the three month mark now since I got my Apple Extended II Keyboard, and I just have to say that I love it even more now that I have spent more time with it. The iMate ADB to USB adaptor works pretty much perfectly, although occasionally the caps lock LED light turns on and stays on no matter what--just the LIGHT, though. The caps lock key will still work, turning on and off capitals, but even when it is off, the LED will be on. However, simply restarting the computer remedies this problem, and it's only happened to me twice in all this time so far. Very minor, but there it is.

So, anyway, great keyboard, good adaptor product. I'm very pleased. I get a lot more enjoyment out of typing now than I ever did with the stock keyboard.

 

[The_LED_Museum]

In my opinion, the best keyboard I've ever typed on was the one built into a Commodore 128 computer.
Everything I've typed on since has felt a bit "junky", if you know what I mean. :sick2:

 

[knot]

lol - I hate those "mush" keyboards. I learned to type on a typewriter in high school so only the IBM feels comfortable to me.

I just bought another model M for $5.00 at a thrift store.

 

[greenLED]

My brother had one of those original IBM keyboards and it was *nice*!

Despite the feeling, I decided to go "ergo" a while back and will never type in a regular keyboard if I can help it. While some of the ergo keyboards I've tried don't have the same tactile feel as some of the nicer regular keyboards, they make up for it in terms of ergonomics.

I'm currently using a Microsoft Ergonomic 4000 and like it a lot. The keys don't feel as nice as the original Microsoft Natural ergo I had, but the 4000 is much comfortable to type on. Part of it is due to the cushioned palm/wrist pads, and part of it is the inverted angle of the keyboard (achieved with a removable plastic base).

 

[LukeA]

I like half-throw keyboards, so If I stop using a laptop, I'll have to find a half throw keyboard or cut the keyboard out of an old Powerbook.

 

[bfg9000]

IBM M15 is clicky and ergonomic. You could even fold it in half and use it vertically.

Or if you'd prefer to learn how to type all over again, there's always the keyboard Jodie Foster used in Contact. I'd trade my nice Kinesis programmable keyboard or Logitech DiNovo (that one has short-throw keys and a bluetooth mouse) for either.