The Ultimate Keyboard #2

Last week I wrote about rubber-dome keyboards, why they're so popular and how it used to be. To an average user it may seem that clicky keyboards are no more but fortunately for us, it isn't so. There's a number of companies that still design and make clicky keyboards, most of which now use Cherry micro switches. So, who's still in the market?

• Unicomp - IBM keyboards reborn
  
• CVT - Northgate OmniKey keyboards reborn
  
• iOne - Scorpius M10
  
• Das Keyboard
  
• Deck
  
• Diatec
• SteelSeries
  

As you can see, there's plenty to choose from. The only problem is, most of them are in the > $100 range. If I had to decide for myself, I'd get a Unicomp Customizer 101 or a CVT Avant Prime. Why? Well, based on my experience with the Model M, I'd say that Unicomp gives you the most value for your money ($69 for a Customizer 101) and it's the only maker I know of that still uses buckling spring technology. On the other hand, CVT Avant Prime is also a wonderful keyboard (rebranded Northgate OmniKey) with the possibility of macro programming (stores macros internally in a PROM chip). You can also buy brand new (old stock) IBM Model M's for about the same price as the Customizer from clickykeyboards.com :-)

So, what IS The Ultimate Keyboard? Actually, I have no universal answer to that question. It all depends on your personal needs, taste and financial ability. For me, a used IBM Model M is all I need to be happy. They're still quite easy to come by at the local flea market and only cost a fraction of a brand new keyboard. The only thing better than an IBM Model M is the IBM Space Saver which is basically a Model M minus the NumPad. End.

The Ultimate Keyboard #1

Today's market is flooded with many different models of rubber-dome¹ keyboards. They come packed with (more or less useless) features such as media buttons, miniature LCD screens, backlights, glow-in-the-dark labels, built-in USB hubs and more. While some of these features have a limited usefulness, they're just bells and whistles² added to make you feel you've been given more for your money (I call them 'geek magnets'). Who cares about the extra features, if typing itself is a joke? For example, I'm using a Logitech Internet 350 keyboard at work and it's disgustingly soft. The weight of a finger alone is sometimes enough to push a key. Shame on you, Logitech!


However, it wasn't always like that. Keyboards like the IBM Model M and Northgate OmniKey used buckling springs or micro switches which allowed for excellent tactile feedback as well as a much longer lifetime. Infact, many of them are still in use today which says a lot about build quality.

As a kid I learned to type on my mother's Peacock XT back in 1985. It had an excellent eighty-four key clicky keyboard and I learned to associate that clicky noise & feel with quality and sturdiness. When I got my first 486 PC about 10 years later, it unfortunately came with a cheap Cherry rubber-dome keyboard. I was stuck on those until late 2006 when I re-discovered IBM Model M. Immediately I went in search of one and in January 2007, Martin of Cyberpipe kindly let me have a fairly recent Model M (1996) that was lying in their storage. Thanks again!

- end of part 1 -

1 The term rubber-dome is used here to describe both, rubber-dome as well as membrane contact keyboards.
2 Nonessential features or enhancements intended especially to add commercial appeal.

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Computers = a Bottomless Money Pit?

I've been building PC's ever since I got my first 486 about 15 years ago. That little beast was running an AMD 486DX 40 MHz chip on a VLB motherboard with 4 Megs of RAM and it was all nicely packed in a large AT tower case (mind you, I still have that case). My first real upgrades were a VESA Local Bus EIDE hard drive controller card and a Cirrus Logic 5428 VLB video card. I still remember the performance boost I got out of that HDD controller. It took a bit under 10 seconds to start Windows 3.11 CE and I considered that lightning fast. As years progressed I've owned four other computers which means each got about three years of use in average.

Since I couldn't afford to buy a new PC every year, I upgraded a lot. The reason I did that was gaming and the fact that I liked to fiddle with computer parts. Ofcourse most of the upgrades involved replacing the CPU, adding memory or/and replacing the graphics card. Over the years I spent quite an impressive sum of money on upgrades but I also pretty much maxed out each PC before moving on to the new one. Was it worth it? Well, yes and no. The problem is it never ends. In order to play the latest games, you have to upgrade your PC all the time. Sooner or later you come to the point where you need a whole new computer because the platforms change and the cycle starts over. This is as true today as it was then.

My current system is about 4 years old and as much as I'd like to build a new one, I don't really have to. During the last year or so I virtually stopped playing games effectively eliminating the need to upgrade. I'm still running Windows XP and this hardware allows me to do everything I need at the moment. The fact is, latest hardware (Core Duo etc.) is an absolute overkill for most home and office users who use the PC for web surfing, e-mail, movies and MS Office. It's kind of pointless, isn't it? All those CPU cycles going to waste...

Just in case you were wondering, my current rig is:
ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe
Athlon XP2400+ Barton Mobile
TwinMOS Twister Pro 2x512MB PC3200 CL2
120GB Seagate Barracuda SATA
ATI All-in-wonder 9800Pro

Flea Market Finds #5

My last visit to the flea market resulted in two new additions to my ever growing collection: a Nintendo Game Boy (works, cosmetically as new) and another IBM model M keyboard (a bit dirty but functional). Not bad but then again, nothing spectacular. Stay tuned for another episode of Flea Market Finds!

I want one (of each)

Office Space is one of those movies every working man and woman should see. I've seen it more than once and still haven't grown tired of it. Anyway, up until now, I had no idea Office Space action figures existed. Well, they do and you can buy them for about $18 each! Too bad it's not Christmas yet ;-)

Found at www.actionfigurecollectors.com

Recycle

Did you know you can use your old breadbin as a serial ANSI terminal? All you need to do is build a small interface cartridge. Looks simple enough ;-) More info here: click.

IBM Model M

Recently I aquired two used IBM Model M keyboards. Both were dirty but looked OK otherwise. Since I got a week off, I decided to take the time to clean them up. In order to do that I needed to buy a special 5.5mm screwdriver which cost me about 8 Euro. To be honest, that's more than what I paid for both keyboards combined :)

It took me about four hours to clean the keyboards and then it was time to test them. As it turns out, I should have tested them before cleaning because on of the keyboards is only partially functional. Luckily the other one appears to be fine. I'm left with a spare parts keyboard and a bunch of keycaps which are basically useless because all three keyboards are using different font on the keycaps. Interesting but still kind of annoying.

Flea Market Finds #4

After not seeing any old computer in months at our local flea market, I finally saw one breadbin being sold two weeks ago. Having enough Commodores as it is, I didn't buy it (but somebody else did). I did however buy another IBM Model M keyboard (this one also needs thorough cleaning) with two missing keycaps. It seems that it's nearly impossible to find a Model M with all the keycaps still in place. Anyhow, last Sunday I got lucky as I stumbled upon a boxed Atari 130XE complete with boxed cassette tape drive and a joystick. As I already have one such system, I picked this one up for a friend of mine that also collects old computers.

BBC Micro seminar

As I'm writing this, a seminar titled "The BBC Micro and its Legacy" is about to begin at the Fellows Library of the Science Museum in London. I stumbled upon the news article while browsing the BBC News website this morning. I'd be happy to attend the seminar, if I knew about it earlier. Sadly, the teleporter hasn't been invented yet so I'll have to sit this one out. The BBC Micro was an excellent machine for its time and still represents an object of desire for many collectors world-wide including me.