My keyboard died. Not the feeble instrument on which I’m typing this entry, but my main keyboard. My 1991 IBM Model M. King of keyboards. Previously thought indestructible…
Ironically, I was trying to type ‘M’ when I noticed. Nothing happened. ‘Z’, ‘#’ and the return key had all apparently suffered the same fate. The wiring appears sound, and prying under the keycaps of clickiness yielded no answers.
I’ll investigate further, naturally, but I suspect I’m going to have to accept my loss.
25th March 1991 – 8th September 2005. RIP…
May it rest in peace, Barry. I think 14 years is quite “indestructible” for me :)
I get through ‘em like socks, but then again, i learned to type on a mechanical typewriter, never got the hang of these new fangled computor(sic) keyboards.
but you can get ‘em for as little as a fiver, so it’s not a biggie.
maybe you should go for one of these…
incidentaly, you seem to have some sort of CSS bug.
clicky
notice how the white background is cropped below the header?
…dunno, maybe you want it to do that…
Win XP SP2, Firefox 1.06, etc,.
jim: The M essentially is a mechanical keyboard! Sadly they cost a little more than a fiver, since they’re technically museum pieces…
oh, and that bug is definitely not supposed to be there…
That is sad. But I have good news! You can buy IBM Model M keyboards at http://www.clickykeyboards.com/. He has used and even new in the box Model M’s. I just bought one yesterday to replace my 15 year old keyboard. I happened to buy a 1991, BTW. I don’t know of I’m telling you things you already know, but they are still in production just not by IBM anymore. Unicomp bought the design and you can buy a brand new one from http://www.pckeyboard.com/. It’s called the Customizer now. They don’t have detachable cables anymore and the build quaility is not quite as good as the old ones (from what I’ve read), but they are still superior to the gizmos you see on store shelves. I hope this helps you!
Apparently I was telling you things you already know. I read everything before I posted, but I didn’t click the IBM Model M link you have. Wikipedia explains everything.
Thanks for the links Tommy. I actually managed to find a replacement on eBay already – and for less than £20 (far cheaper than Unicomp), although it’s a 1980s model with an AT connector(!) I’ve got myself an AT->PS2 convertor though, so no worries there.
However, as Jim already pointed out, it’s not a great match for the Mac Mini I’m about to purchase. I guess I should have bought one of these…
That is a very good point. I’m still on a PC, so I have no such considerations. I am a passionate “Windows Keys” hater, so I wanted a quality 101-key keyboard. Not too many companies make them anymore. Too many people fall for the cheaply made, fancy looking thing with twenty extra utility buttons. I’m actually not against those extra buttons. It’s just those windows keys. I view the gap between the Ctrl and Alt keys as a feature (so I can easily sense with my thumb where those two keys are by first feeling for the gap). Adding windows keys replaces the feature I like with one that’s useless to me. There’s no shortcut provided by the windows keys that I have been unable to reproduce without them. Even right clicking can be simulated on a non-windows key keyboard. Sorry for going into rant mode. Obviously I have some vitriol on this subject ;-).
The Tactile Pro looks very nice. Although I am giddy that I’ll have my Model M soon, it would be nice to have a quality 101-key keyboard for my PC with some modern amenities such as a USB connector and a built-in USB hub like the Tactile Pro has.