• Please review our updated Terms and Rules here

Favourite keyboard

V

vic user

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2003
Messages
724
Location
Ottawa, Canada
Perhaps a topic which seems lame, but it has been something I have often thought about..

I have played around with a ton of different computers and many different keyboards, and some keyboards have just felt good to use. Not just the feel, but the look, and sound of the clicking. The way the keys would respond etc... I have often wished to take one keyboard I liked and interface it with whatever computer I wanted to use.

I have changed many keyboards on many computers just to get the right combination.

I would say my three favourite keyaboards are:

1) The Macintosh MO116C
I know keyboard preference is a personal thing, but I just like the feel of this keyboard. Compact and nice 'clicking' sound :) I have it connected to my Mac SE30, where still I do most of my e-mailing from.

2) My Apple II clone keyboard.
I don't know the manufacturer, but oh what a nice keyboard. Was my first big computer, so maybe a bit of prejudice. Used on many Scott Adams adventure games!

3) Commodore 64C offwhite keyboard.
Easy to read the special characters off the side of the keys, and looks wicked inside a vic 20 box!

So, what do you like?

Chris
 
There is absolutely no better keyboard then the IBM model M (PS/2) style keyboard. None. The tactile feedback, the tension of the keys and key placement are all perfect and have been since 1984.

They are solid and sturdy and they never break.

I have purchased a stockpile of about 10 of them and I use them on all of my machines whenever possible.

When I buy a new PC I toss the $2 plastic junker keyboard it comes with and slap on a Model M.

I use a VT520 terminal with a PS/2 keyboard for all of my old terminal based systems.

Erik
 
I recently picked up a Northgate OmniKey Ultra for only 8 bucks. Those things sell on eBay for $60.00 or more. The one I have will be a Christmas present for my girlfriend's son. He has been using an old Omnikey 101 for about the last ten years, and he swears it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. Myself, I prefer a non clickey keyboard. The ones from Compaq and Digital are my favorites.

--T
 
vic user said:
I wonder if that is the main criteria for people then?

Clickey versus non-clickey
Click to expand...

I'm not too concerned with the noise, per se, but I think that the IBM click does make the keyboard work better because of the mechanism for key contact and for making the noise.

My main criteria is the keyboard layout followed closely by the feel (key spring stiffness, tactile response, etc.) IBM designed the Selectric keyboard which defined industry standard for key placement and feel and they carried that over to their computer keyboards from the outset. The original PC keyboard was widely regarded as a masterpiece of user interface.

The vast majority of modern keyboards borrow direcly from the PS/2 keyboard layout (except for those silly broken "ergonomic" keyboards) but they feel like typing on a damp sponge.

The Northgate Omni-key keyboards mentioned above were excellent imitations and they did offer some neat features (like dual sets of function keys) but they weren't good enough to make me switch from the original, Jerry Pournelle's rantings aside.

Erik
 
Erik said:
I'm not too concerned with the noise, per se, but I think that the IBM click does make the keyboard work better because of the mechanism for key contact and for making the noise.
Click to expand...

With me, I prefer clickety because it's like the click of each individual key notifies my brain that I didn't miss a latter while typing; if I don't hear a complete click, it means I might not have pressed hard enough or even missed a letter.

Clickety is a safeguard, hehe. :D
 
Another neat feature of the OmniKey keyboards is that they allow (thru switch settings) the movement of certain keys, the ones that everybody seems to keep moving around, (/,*,\,~, etc.). They also have a switch setting that changes them from qwerty to Dvorak style key layouts, including one-handed Dvorak settings (left or right). They are rich in features, but my main complaint with them is the clicking - it drives me nutz!

--T
 
Erik said:
There is absolutely no better keyboard then the IBM model M (PS/2) style keyboard. None. The tactile feedback, the tension of the keys and key placement are all perfect and have been since 1984.

They are solid and sturdy and they never break.

I have purchased a stockpile of about 10 of them and I use them on all of my machines whenever possible.

When I buy a new PC I toss the $2 plastic junker keyboard it comes with and slap on a Model M.
Click to expand...

Amen, brother. I use a Model M (its born-on date is 30 Jan 88 :mrgreen:) on my main WindowsXP computer.

They use a "buckling spring" mechanism that actually depends on capacitance rather than things making contact, which makes them last loads longer. I, too, hate "mushy" keyboards; i can type faster on a Model M than a newer keyboard because of the better mechanism.

Model M's are also indestrictible. I dropped mine from a loading dock onto a parking lot, and all i had to do was pop one of the key covers back on... btw those removable key covers make it easier to switch key layouts... I've always wanted one QWERTY Model M and one in Dvorak :D

My actual PS/2's have the junk keyboards i've collected over the years, and my Macs both have AppleDesign ADB keyboards (my least favorite ADB kb).
 
My favorite keyboard has to be the Nothgate Omnikey Ultra with the extra function keys, a close second would be my old Omneykey 102. I do have a gateway USB keyboard with special function keys thats ok, but any keyboards made in the last 10 year tend to suck.
 
Yes, it seems that those people who own Northgate keyboards are very loyal to them. There's a whole community of OmniKey users online. A Google search should yield many hits.

--T
 
That is pretty expensive. You can get IBM Model M keyboards on eBay in good working condition for about $20 or so every day.

I found a small stash of new ones and bought them up a couple of years ago. I still have two or three boxed and untouched keyboards stashed away along with the 4 or 5 I have in service.

Erik
 
Cool!
Hopefully there is a Canadian ebay seller with a model M.

I saw an IBM keyboard at a Valu Village on Saturday that I was going to pick up, but it had that darn Windows logo key on it.

Since my PS/2 has nothing to do whatsoever with Windows, I could not buy the keybaord and feel good. Mind you, I did consider buying the keybaord anyway, and then rubbing out the logo :)

Chris
 
I always love the Windows key... it's needed for so many shortcut, if I don't have it I have to do everything the long way! :lol:

I wonder if a VIC-20 commodore key would fit instead 8)
 
Hahaha!

The reason I don't want the Windows key, is just beacuse I made sure that my PS/2 was non-Windows.

I run OS/2 version 3 on it, and I formatted the entire drive to HPFS, and I like that I have this computer that is non-Windows. It has all IBM parts except for the Keytronic keyboard.

It would drive me nuts to see that symbol on the keyboard...Kind of almost saying to me "See, no matter how hard you try, you can't get away from Windows"

Not that I have anything agaist Windows... I just want Windows and Windows related stuff not on my PS/2.

Chris
 
You can get IBM Model M keyboards on eBay in good working condition for about $20 or so every day.
Click to expand...

Yep, I just went on ebay, and there were quite a few up for grabs.

No Canadian sellers, but I did post on a local computer for sale newsgroup, and someone has already replied.

Chris
 
Well, it depends really....(I'm way slow getting into this conversation though...) I like my original C=64 keyboard over the 64c/128 keyboards. I also like my A3000 keyboard over the 500(attached) style. Of my IBM Compatables, I really like the one I got with my Aptiva about 5 years ago. The arrow keys were separated from the main text keys and the numeric pad. And they had 2 extra keys with them. This made playing my favorite IBM game (Team Fortress Classic) much easier. The one that came with my Sony Vaio has the arrow keys at the bottom of the text keys on the right side. It took a bit of getting used to, but I managed.
 
dongfeng said:
I wonder if a VIC-20 commodore key would fit instead
Click to expand...
It is rather striking how different computer manufacturers included or did not include a special key of their own:
  • Commodore had their C= key and later two Amiga keys
  • Apple has had Apple keys since the Apple II, didn't they?
  • Atari had an Atari key IIRC
  • Microsoft has now managed to put a Windows key on PC keyboards
  • Sun had if not Sun keys so at least meta keys with diamonds
OTOH, I'm sure there were a few major computer manufacturers who refrained from doing that but still had proprietary keyboards.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top