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posted by LaminatorX on Tuesday October 14 2014, @04:04AM   Printer-friendly
from the clickity-click dept.

Adi Robertson writes at The Verge that next year, IBM's Model M keyboard turns 30 but to many people, it’s still the only keyboard worth using. 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 descendents 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 M's 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."

 
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  • (Score: 1) by dwmoody on Tuesday October 14 2014, @05:02PM

    by dwmoody (1661) on Tuesday October 14 2014, @05:02PM (#106007) Homepage

    I have a CODE keyboard, tenkeyless, with the Cherry MX Green switches. It's easily the best keyboard I've ever used. I've typed with IBM Model Ms, various membrane-style keyboards, and keyboards with Cherry MX Brown, Blue, Clear, and Green switches. The Green switches in the CODE, combined with the little o-rings to prevent bottoming out, make for the best typing experience yet in my opinion. Very crisp.

    The build quality of the CODE is very solid. Not Model M tank-like, but solid with no flexing or creaking.

    I run the backlights on the dimmest setting. It gives a nice subtle illumination of the keys without being distracting or ostentatious.

    The DIP switches can be useful if you need the features it offers. I use a traditional QWERTY layout on all my equipment and don't use any of these features, but the CODE does have DIP switches to swap the layout to Colemak or Dvorak, disable the Windows keys, or swap the left Control with Caps Lock.

    I keep mine at the office and do all of my coding on it. The clicking is present, but it's not loud and it doesn't seem to bother my co-workers. One of the guys in my office has a Ducky keyboard with Blue switches, and between the two, both of us like the Greens better for coding.

    I will say that I wouldn't necessarily want to game on the Green switches. It seems like they would be a little too stiff for that.

    This is all just my opinion, of course. I found that with the Model M, I would consistently TYpe DOuble CAps for whatever reason. If you really like the Model M, the CODE keyboard isn't like that.

    The only real downside with the CODE is that I'm now growing increasingly dissatisfied with the Leopold keyboard with Brown switches I have at home.

    On a side note, I have become a big fan of the tenkeyless layout. I feel that having the mouse closer to hand is more ergonomic, and there's no problem entering numbers using the number row.

  • (Score: 1) by Bob The Cowboy on Tuesday October 14 2014, @09:35PM

    by Bob The Cowboy (2019) on Tuesday October 14 2014, @09:35PM (#106082)

    Awesome, thanks for the review!

    I'm with you on the tenkeyless. I just don't key in numbers all that often. Half the time when I do NumLock is toggled incorrectly anyway.

    I just wish they weren't so expensive... $175 would make this one of the most expensive components I've bought for a PC in a long time.