deskthority

I have always been told to use Dawn. I wonder if that would have damaged the logo?

Definitely.

I got my original Model M for $30 shipped to the USA, and luckily had a friend there to receive it for me and then take it to me when visiting. It was missing 3 or 4 keycaps, but otherwise fine. I'd recommend it. The first Model M I got off of ebay for around the same price was ok, but ...

Muirium wrote:Is it in production or is this just standard issue PR fluff?

From what the article said it sounds like it should be appearing in the not too distant future in production products.

scottc wrote:Model M from eBay, of course.

Really the only reasonable answer.


However, I would suggest the OP read up on the proper care and feeding of a Model M as any $30 'board on e-bay is most likely going to need some TLC.

Thought others might be interested in this:

http://www.cnet.com/news/darfons-super- ... n-slimmer/

I like the idea of a keyboard that has dynamically adjustable resistance. Not too sure how I would like the feel though...

I'll be interested to see what the difference is between a "sponge" and a "foam" of silicone.

...Possible explanations for the difficulty with using a heat gun to remove a label from metal: (1) different adhesion on metal vs plastic; (2) heat is conducted away from the label by the metal... It is also possible that the thermal expansion of the metal creates surface tension on the label ...

I go the packing tape route as well. It has never led me astray. Although I hear, given long enough, the adhesives in the tape will eventually cause pigment migration/smearing issues with regard to the printing on the label.

That was the old IBM, back when they really cared 100% about every piece of tech they put out there. They were truly one of the great engineering forces on the face of the earth in the 20th century.

I doubt we'll ever see another tech company like that. It seems like everything is just cheap ...

Findecanor wrote:Microsoft used resistors printed on membrane for some Sidewinder gaming keyboards. They have a live patent on that so you aren't allowed to use it.

Could you link to that patent? I'd be interested in reading it.

Looks like they are right on track for a mid-year approval:

http://www.usb.org/developers/USB-Futures.pdf

I have a feeling that Type-C will be very popular and get taken up quite quickly. IDK about anyone else, but the required orientation of USB cables has annoyed me since the 90's. Had enough of ...

Buckling spring would be amazing and there would be a lot of benefits including making the keycap weight a bit higher for better feel without making the stem feel wobbly.

I honestly don't know where to even begin. I own a unicomp space saver and from what I understand they own the BS patent and ...

Awesome!

Now if I can only convince you to make a buckling spring version...

Wow. That is a HUGE keyboard... and I thought my Model M was a monster...

It's easy to see why they switched to buckling spring capacitive.

That sounds quite nice. These beam springs are probably fairly difficult/expensive to come by?

I think we will see that "external force", so to speak, come from China in the not too distant future. I think this will spur a second science renaissance in the US just like the cold war did in the middle of the 20th century. Or, at least I can dream...

Beam spring clicks at the same point of actuation. Buckling spring too as mentioned above.

My wife has a MX Blue (a Leopold numpadless thing) and I can't handle the disconnect between actuation and click. It's even worse than the scratchiness of the movement. I find I miss a lot of keys as I feel ...

Aluminum, toxic? In what respect?

I will note that around 1997-1998 or so, the Chinese started cranking out downright atrocious knockoffs of membrane buckling spring boards.

And, Alps clones have existed for over a decade. Cherry clones have existed for a few years now.

To expand on my point about the height of beam spring... ISO ...

Just got a shipment of the foam mate from McMaster Carr. They are more firm than I expected but they should work. I am a little worried the 1/16" is too thin, but the 1/8". They did not have a 3/32" in a reasonable price and functionality, but I would have loved to try that.

Everything that I ...

That's fantastic! Why is this not common knowledge? So many people in the tech community, keybeards inc, think that it's still under patent and that unicomp own the rights to it... I guess no one ever looked into it? The funny part is, none of the relevant patents are actually owned by Unicomp. At ...

quantalume wrote:So this thing is actually going to come with a typewriter platen? It could be useful for holding copy.

Excellent point. That observation makes this item considerably more attractive to me.

Thinking about it further, I realize that some of the original controller code may indeed be in the public domain after all.

Any code incorporated into any device, including keyboards, made before March 1989 when the Berne Convention Implementation Act came into force that did not have a copyright ...

I think it's hard to say - it depends a lot on price and how it's marketed. Price could be on the high end but you'd still need to recoup considerable development costs (nevermind the licensing...)... It's interesting you mentioned licensing. I looked into the patents covering beamspring and ...

...Buckling spring is super smooth... Also, MX clicks are higher pitched... I'm glad you mentioned those two things as they are major factors for me. The nice low tone of my Model M is much more to my liking that the higher pitch of most other models, including the Model F.


I guess the Model M ...

So, a keyboard based on the Cherry Green MX switch should be fairly similar to the buckling spring for actuation and sound?

Are there any other key switches besides buckling spring (and beam spring, from what I can discern looking at the figures and force diagrams) that actuate at the exact same moment one hears the click?

Does anyone think there is a decent sized market for a modern capacitive buckling spring or beam spring keyboard?