deskthority

At work I use an IBM KB-8923 because it is in a place where it might sometimes be vulnerable to dirt and physical damage, as well as the fact that other people also use it occasionally. It was the replacement for the Model M in the mid-1990s, and it is quite sturdy and reasonably satisfying to type ...

SneakyRobb wrote: ↑

15 Mar 2019, 19:15

100,000 units total.
3 million units total

That looks like a 30:1 ratio to me.

Also, the majority of AT were probably sold with Model M keyboards.

They go up and down, but if you find a decent working one under $200 you should consider yourself lucky. For years you could hardly give an XT away, it has only been in the last 3-4 years that XT prices have climbed out of the $35 range. Without data to back it up, I feel that ATs are at least an or...

anthonymak wrote: ↑

14 Mar 2019, 04:40

will you against me for doing it the second time?

No, of course not. Your skill and patience have been proven. I was talking about other people (like myself).

When I bought my first computer system in 1987, each component was a separate, expensive piece costing one or more hundreds of dollars - keyboard, printer, monitor, if my memory serves me (and it may not) I think that even a mouse cost $50 or something like that. And I am referring to common, consum...

A lot of people try this, but my experience has been that it is extremely difficult to get it right, both aesthetically and structurally.

I would recommend against it unless you are both highly skilled and quite patient.

WTF That is a hell of a Model M mod,not sure all the extra brass and leather is worth what they're asking. I love these steampunk projects, that is one of the most interesting ones I've seen, although I don't actually like the design itself and it certainly isn't as clean as Datamancer's work.

You can get the regular one and cut off the right side.

They are the same, IBM was fanatical about conformity and interchangeability.

ZedTheMan wrote: ↑

11 Mar 2019, 02:02

Not a terrible deal for a fixer upper F122.

Seems rather high to me, but they are getting very scarce. He is a member here, or on GH, or both, I have dealt with him before. And he might discount the price for a direct off-ebay sale.

I have tried this twice, the first one was a disaster and the second try was marginally successful but not pretty. Yours is very well done. For the record, the membranes can be folded back and not cut, but the case gets a bit crowded. Also, I might have had better luck if I had used an earlier model...

There are different ways that they can become dislodged. The "ears" are supposed to lie in little troughs and one or both sides can come out. Or they can be misaligned completely. Are you sure that the key stems are seated properly? That can take several tries, and sometimes you need to stand the ke...

The "flippers" (pivot plates) have obviously jumped out of their tracks. I was able to open and close XTs a couple of times by hand before I started working on the big Fs, but nowadays I always use clamps.

I have been extremely pleased with my Anker. Before it I had the Wow Joy Pen which had its own charms, but it only lasted a couple of years. I just wish somebody made a decent left-hand "vertical" (actually diagonal) mouse. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Anker-Ergonomic-Optical-USB-Wired-Vertical-Mouse-10...

The badges on the Wheelwriter typewriters that I have had have been entirely different, but that is not to say that there may not be some that fit.

Oh! Now I understand. It has been years since I used "Buy-It-Now" in conjunction with an auction listing. I always use "Fixed Price" or straight auction but never that hybrid. I got burned on it early in my selling career when I set the starting price too low and didn't get intermediate bids and con...

I think that the only one I currently own is about a 2003 with "classic" size and configuration but including Windows keys. A set of green-printed caps from about 4 years ago was awful but I have gotten much better ones since then. "Fit and finish" seems like trivial whining to me. In my opinion, Un...

//gainsborough wrote: ↑

23 Feb 2019, 02:10

pro tip: if you put a bid in on an item that also has a "best offer" option, it removes the "best offer" option.

So that is what you see on an auction before the first bid comes in?

Most of my ebay searches nowadays are for "Buy-It-Now" only, I guess that I am impatient.

I've heard mixed reviews about the quality of the Unicomps vs. Model M's. You may have been misguided by the haters. A Unicomp Model M absolutely is a Model M just as surely as one manufactured by IBM or Lexmark. Unicomp's quality control is not as consistent, but getting a brand new item at roughl...

There are about 100 Model Ms on ebay right now.

Or if you can spring for about $80 + shipping, you can get a brand new one from Unicomp with warranty and native USB.

IBMs replacement for the Model M was the KB-8923 and that is what I use at work.
It is very sturdy and is one of the best rubber domes around. You can also get it in black.

I have used ebay for 20 years and I don't think that I have ever seen "Best Offer" on an auction.

Although I love and enjoy my steampunk behemoths, my wife is a professional magazine writer and editor who types thousands of words a day and has been doing it for years, so her opinions are not trivial or irrelevant. She is a devotee to all things Apple and has been for a couple of decades. I can't...

Too bad you couldn't wait 2-3 weeks for shipping from China. https://www.ebay.com/itm/M2-x-8mm-304-Stainless-Steel-Phillips-Pan-Head-Screws-Bolt-60pcs-A7Q2/192769128194?epid=2290570017&hash=item2ce1ef7702:g:AWMAAOSw8U9cIHzM:rk:41:pf:0 https://www.ebay.com/itm/100X-M2-M2-5-M3-M4-M5-carbon-steel-Hex-S...

You might need to double or triple that offer.

Dell or SGI AT101 is the way to go.

The floss has negligible effect on the feel but takes away most of the high-pitched overtones. I use the extremely fluffy Oral B floss that has little mass or stiffness. Also, the insert needs to be more than half the height of the spring (because it buckles in the middle) but there is a difference ...

Based on 2-3 dozen Model Fs that have passed through my hands, I would describe those as "average-to-somewhat-better-than-average"

It certainly looks great, but my fear would be blowing dust into the switch mechanisms.

Vacuums baby - always suck, never blow.

What makes me particularly livid is that I bought a cutting mat, a toothbrush and a set of rulers from them in December, and they packed this stuff in a hugely oversized box with LOTS of padding. I makes me angry, too, when I see something like a hammer or a football over-packed like it was a preci...