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Favourite keyboard

carlsson said:
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.
Click to expand...

The slightly odd thing is, the 2 Amiga keys are independant from each other. IOW- For doing a reset, you press CNTRL-AMIGA-AMIGA, but hitting CNTRL-AMIGA does nothing. Plus, some programs had special functions based on which of those you pressed.
I don't know if the WINDOZE keys are the same.
 
I'd expect it depends on how the keyboard is decoded and at what level of abstraction your software can access it. The two Windows-buttons also generate different key codes in Windows (or at least Emacs for Windows recognizes them differently), but the operating system treats them as the same key.

If Microsoft wanted, they could probably deliver a keyboard mapping where all the vowels map ta tha sama charactar, far axampla A bat an a latar varsaan af Wandaws at caald ba E. Then evere eppleceteen weeld leek sleghtle defferent dependeng en whech Wendews verseen yee hed enstelled...
 
Yes, but it generates a different key event (says my empiric Emacs studies :).

Enough talk about Windows keys. Today I was at the post office and they had some kind of terminal to send your own e-mail by post or something (yes, the post service have developed e-mail <-> postal mail services to stay in touch with modern technologies).

This terminal had metallic flat buttons, like an ATM machine but a full-sized keyboard with a few modifications from regular layout (@ instead of Escape, $/£ instead of Caps Lock). The strike length of each button is of course very short, maybe half up to one millimeter. I'm really happy I don't have to type on a such keyboard all through the day...
 
carlsson said:
Yes, but it generates a different key event (says my empiric Emacs studies :).

Enough talk about Windows keys. Today I was at the post office and they had some kind of terminal to send your own e-mail by post or something (yes, the post service have developed e-mail <-> postal mail services to stay in touch with modern technologies).

This terminal had metallic flat buttons, like an ATM machine but a full-sized keyboard with a few modifications from regular layout (@ instead of Escape, $/£ instead of Caps Lock). The strike length of each button is of course very short, maybe half up to one millimeter. I'm really happy I don't have to type on a such keyboard all through the day...
Click to expand...

Probably made that way to be easily sanitised/cleaned. I hate public keyboards during the flu season, who knows what nasty germs are on those keys.
 
BUJT IN THE LONGRUN< I agreee with Erik

BUJT IN THE LONGRUN< I agreee with Erik

As a person who was responsible forkeyboard layout and vendor selection, let me throw my tw ocentsworth in. First, the layout: One very good reason for the differences in the layout, especially in the size, shape and location of the keys around the edges, (I mean those that fal into place outside of the universal QWERTY area). it is often the case that the size amd shape of the keytops of these key is decided by the desire to come up with a layout that iwill allow a simple, preferably square cutout.That is why the Shift and Ctrl.keys, etfc are topped with keytops that are two or one and a half wide, somtimes are right angled and occupy space on two rows, etfc. As for the touch and feel of the keyboard, when I was doing the design and layout, virtually all keyboard manufacturers tried to duplicate the characteristics of those made by Honeywell Teir keyboards were made to rigid specs which described the length of the keystroke, The length of the travel to the "Make" point and the distance from the "Make"point to the bottom of the stroke, called the "Overtravel." Honeywell's real secret in the feel of the keyboard was in the manufacture of the keys themselves. They used two different plastics in the construction. the keytop was mounted on a "Plunger" which was enclosed by a tube, so that the key plunger and the tube formed two different surfaces . The bearing effect of this was to impart a smooth, consistant, quiet, fluid and smooth keystroke. All of the biggies tried to match thme, and several came very close, such as Illinois Tool Works, some Keytronics models, etc. But when the market began to base purchases on price (in quantity) alone, they all went to the dogs except a very few. At ADDS, when we first began to place orders fopr a thousand keyboards at a whack, e still paid over $!100.00 PER KEYBOARD!
But I still agree with Erik. The original IBM PC-AT. To me, the best keyboard ever was the one used on the IBM Selectric.

Ray
 
Best of show keyboards

Best of show keyboards

I've got two faves-

For PC's- nothing and I mean NOTHING beats a Keytronic "Eurotech"- Much like my beloved S&W Mod 66 hand cannon- it has the perfect balance of keypressure and "soft clicky" and lets talk about durability.... I have three cats and a severe coffee/tea/jolt addiction. There isn't much that hasn't been spilled into this thing at one time or another. Its also survived several different PC's, moves, roommates, girlfriends and a few parties that got out of hand.

My other is the classic DEC LK-401. What it lacks in the small footprint category it makes up for in classic styling and functionality. Lots of configurable buttons for macros and spiffy lights add to its appeal. Well..ok...its only functional on a VAX or DEC terminal but my Vax is my computer of choice. Nothing says "Bow down before me for I am root " like a lk-401.

-Chris
 
Most excellent keyboards.

Most excellent keyboards.

These things are important!!!

Winner keyboard of all time has to be the Space Cadet Keyboard!

You could type over 8000 different combinations!!!!

Overview here:

http://world.std.com/~jdostale/kbd/SpaceCadet1.jpeg

more info here:

http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/S/space-cadet-keyboard.html

Perfect for EMACS!!!

Failing that my old IBM 3270 terminal keyboard had a lovely action & sound. One that I never have reproduced on these modern plasticky things. <sigh>


.T.I.M
 
I have an IBM M2 (Printed circuit sheet type, with a mechanism similar to the mapacitive classic IBM keyboard)

I have a Honeywell (Digital branded), that was my daily pounder from 1997 or so until a couple of years ago when I built this system. My daily pounder is a Mitsuko.

I have a Tandy keyboard I liked for extended typing sessions (when I had a running desktop PC upstairs, have laptop now).


"system" keys:
The Apple Macintiosh keyboard has the fan kyeys, called command, and iirc, as a solid and an open one.

On a PC keyboard true, ESC-CTRL brings up the Start Menu like the Windows key, but apart from that, doesn't work like it (I use the Windows key +E to launch explorer rather often)

Kisok Keyboard:
A local big box store has a wedding registry kiosk with such a keyboard.

Space Cadet key board:
A Commodore Pet/Vic/C-64 keyboard does similar (some with actual mathematic functions that BASIC understands, EG up arrow (power) and pi (horsies in a horse race game)).
 
I've used a Model M on computers I've owned since the mid 90's... and it's the same keyboard... still going strong. This is one of the later ones, dated 1993. These things are incredible... and I agree with another post, the click sound lets me know for sure I've pushed the key down when typing. This is the full sized version, I also have one of the Model M's without the numeric keypad. Another benefit is weight... a Model M won't slide across your desk like a lighter keyboard will (I usually have to use double-sided tape on the bottom of light keyboards just to keep them in place)

I recently picked up an IBM kb-9930, and though it doesn't click, I love the low profile keys (and the page back and forward buttons, and the Windows Media player controls are nice, too... and I find the mute button comes in really handy)
 
i just popped around trying to look for a pic of the IBM kb-9930 you talk about, and wild to see drivers posted for it!

chris
 
I am going to have to agree that the model M keyboard is simply the best keyboard ever made. Everything else pales in comparision. You have to have the click. I find that my typing is faster and more precise. They're also indestructable, and fully servicable. I used a late 1980s, beige model M for some time, but have since switched over to a black Trackpoint II. It's slightly less noisy, and does not have a removable cable or keycaps. That's the price you have to pay to be cool though.

I also like using the 84-key AT keyboard, the A500 keyboard, and the old Macintosh extended keyboards.
 
Anonymous Coward said:
I also like using the 84-key AT keyboard, the A500 keyboard, and the old Macintosh extended keyboards.
Click to expand...

The AT keyboard is great, but it's a bit hard to go back to after using the M for so long. Stuff is just a little out of place. . .

E
 
Heh! I just sold an OmniKey on eBay for fifteen bucks. The buyer paid thirty more to ship to Japan (4-6 weeks delivery time). I guess they still have a loyal userbase even after all these years.

--T
 
It was the Ultra, the Top-Of-The-Line. I've seen 'em go fr sixty dollars and more on eBay, but I wanted to peddle it off quick, so I BIN-ed it for $14.99. Took less than an hour to sell for that price. (I had bought it for 4.00 at the Goodwill, so it was still a good profit for me -- 200%).

--T
 
Yes, I've tried Northgate keyboards before, and I'll pass on them, even though they are built like tanks, because:
a). I hate noisy keyboards, and
2). I have a very light touch on the keys, so I have a tendancy to drop characters on a board that is not sensitive enough to register my (wimpy) key-banging.

--T
 
a little off topic, but i did not want to start another thread.

does anyone know of a site or info on various keyboard layouts?

i am interested to find out why certain keyboards have keys in certain places, or mapped out differently than others etc..

like why did some have the quotes symbol with the 2 key, and others like all of them now i think, having the quotes symbol beside the return key?

it sure brings up some interesting (perhaps frustrating) times when coding on various machines.

i primarily code on a vic 20, and it has really affected my 'auto pilot' of hitting keys. i cannot tell you how many times i have hit shift 2 on keyboards, and wondering why the hell the quote did not come up, or hitting the break key all the time on my model IV, thinking it was a back space key :)
 
I just had a bit of a mindflash this afternoon, along those same lines. I've often wondered the same thing myself, till my ephiphony today. HINT: Compare the layout of "computer" keyboards with an ASCII chart, or write a small program to dump all the ASCII characters to your screen. Compare the output to your keyboard and you should find that all the symbols are more-or-less in order. In ASCII order the shifted number keys, 1-9 read: ! <21> " <22> # <23> $ <24> % <25> & <26> ' <27> ( <28> ) <29> or just about the same layout of older computer keyboards like your TRS-80 or my Epson PX-8. Other computers try to follow the layout of an ol' typewriter instead of following the ASCII table. This is my theory, anyways.

--T
 
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