IBM PCjr keyboards
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| Part number |
8600032 (1st generation) 6181835 (2nd generation) |
|---|---|
| Branding | IBM |
| Manufacturer | Advanced Input Devices[1] |
| Layouts | 62-key PCjr layout |
| Keyswitches | Rubber dome |
| Interface | IR or RJ-11 cable |
| Dimensions |
341.5 × 168 × 26 mm (13.45 × 6.61 × 1.02 inches) (IR keyboard)[2] |
| Weight | 616 g (22 ounces) w/o batteries (IR keyboard) |
| Years of production | 1984 - 1987 |
The IBM 4860 PCjr was IBM's first attempt to produce a low cost personal computer aimed at the home market. It used a low cost keyboard designed to be more suitable to the home market than the Model F keyboards of their professional computers. The PCjr is widely considered to be one of the worst keyboards ever designed, owing to its uncomfortable "chiclet" keys, non-standard layout (it was one of the first, if not the first, PC keyboards to use a Fn shift), unreliable IR link, and hardware limitations in the PCjr itself that prevented PC-style type-ahead from working properly. It's considered to be one of the main reasons why the PCjr was a commercial disaster.
A later "enhanced" version switched to more standard shaped keys. The internals of both versions seem to be the same, and the layouts are also the same.
Gallery
This is the revised version of the keyboard.
Top
Rear label
Side profile
References
- ↑ Deskthority.net — IR PC keyboards: IBM and Quadram Posted 2021-06-29. Retrieved 2024-04.24.
- ↑ Personal Computer PCjr Hardware Reference Library: Technical Reference — Appendix D: Cordless Keyboard (bitsavers, Internet Archive) Retrieved 2024-04-24.
