Mechanical purist? The IBM model M still lives!
NullenVoyd
Orlandish Icrontian
in Hardware
One of the common aspects of my relationship with my awesome wife, has been supplying her with her favorite keyboard - the classic IBM model M.
As the years have gone by, it has been harder and harder to find these old tanks, and the units we've had wear in one way or another. I gave up for a while and was giving her some of the newer popular clickey keyboards (like the Razor Black Widow), but she kept going back to the old IBM units.
So it may be old news to some, but I was ecstatic to find that not only is there a company still producing new models with almost the exact same design as the IBM model M, but they are right here in Lexington, Kentucky! Unicomp has apparently been doing this for a number of years, having started with some of the same folks who were behind the classic original buckling spring keyboards. The company is small, and they may have to build your keyboard before they can ship one out for you, but the customization options are pretty decent (though sorry, no backlighting).
Last week I decided to give them a go for the wife's xmas present, and I was VERY impressed with the look and feel of their product!
Yes! You see that? 101 keys - no Windows keys! Yes kids, get off my effing lawn. xD
But seriously, when I pulled it out for testing (because of course I need to make sure it is going to be a solid product for the lady person) and clicked away, it was... just, wow. I never thought I would know the feel of brand-new buckling spring key switches, but now I have felt it and it is gooooood.
So there you have it. So-far I'm sold on 'em but of course we'll have to see what the reception and use is by the intended target. Maybe, just maybe, this will slightly redeem me for messing up the one she was using while I was trying to clean it for her.
On a side note, a really interesting reference for keyboard technologies seems to be this place/thread/thing:
http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/mechanical-keyboard-guide
As the years have gone by, it has been harder and harder to find these old tanks, and the units we've had wear in one way or another. I gave up for a while and was giving her some of the newer popular clickey keyboards (like the Razor Black Widow), but she kept going back to the old IBM units.
So it may be old news to some, but I was ecstatic to find that not only is there a company still producing new models with almost the exact same design as the IBM model M, but they are right here in Lexington, Kentucky! Unicomp has apparently been doing this for a number of years, having started with some of the same folks who were behind the classic original buckling spring keyboards. The company is small, and they may have to build your keyboard before they can ship one out for you, but the customization options are pretty decent (though sorry, no backlighting).
Last week I decided to give them a go for the wife's xmas present, and I was VERY impressed with the look and feel of their product!
Yes! You see that? 101 keys - no Windows keys! Yes kids, get off my effing lawn. xD
But seriously, when I pulled it out for testing (because of course I need to make sure it is going to be a solid product for the lady person) and clicked away, it was... just, wow. I never thought I would know the feel of brand-new buckling spring key switches, but now I have felt it and it is gooooood.
So there you have it. So-far I'm sold on 'em but of course we'll have to see what the reception and use is by the intended target. Maybe, just maybe, this will slightly redeem me for messing up the one she was using while I was trying to clean it for her.
On a side note, a really interesting reference for keyboard technologies seems to be this place/thread/thing:
http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/mechanical-keyboard-guide
2
Comments
Also, that mechanical keyboard guide is great. I've gone to it before, and it's very well written. The animated diagrams of the difference between the various switches is particularly illuminating.
Also, funny enough, the lady that shares an office with me JUST NOW made the comment, teasing that "you're being awfully noisy on that keyboard over there! Keep that up and you're liable to give me a headache!"
Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood...
/badjoke?
The chassis is ABS, so a few doses of Krylon Fusion will turn it very white. The standard color for the key caps is 'pearl' but Unicomp also offers white.
Unicomp seems like an odd company to me. They have (as far as I can tell) the only newish buckling spring keyboards available, in various configurations, and I would figure they would be marketing the heck out of those aspects. Seems like they're trying more to be a factory than a shop, but going to their site, there was no indication whatsoever what their product was. Nothing in the entryway, no posters, signs or anything. *shrug*