In search of an excellent keyboard?

Let me recommend the original 101-key IBM keyboard, last manufactured by Lexmark
(IBM spinoff) in maybe 1994 or 1995. Elegant? Absolutely not. Sturdy?
YES!!!! Built like a rock. Absolutely wonderful positive touch, like the old
IBM Selectrics, but each key press makes a noisy click. No Windows keys and no
internet keys, but so what?

I've used one for many years. It follows me to whatever system I have. I will
be in deep trouble if the industry ever gets around to eliminating the PS/2
keyboard connector altogether. The keycaps on the keyboard never wear out, and
the lettering does not wear off. If you drop an IBM keyboard on the floor and
manage to crack or break a keycap, no problem, just replace.

I used to sell refurbished (disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled) IBM
keyboards for $40, but nowadays nobody wants to pay anything for a keyboard.
And $40 for used keyboard is unthinkable to most people. I keep a stock of them
here, because I just haven't gotten around to throwing them away. The $40 +
shipping price still stands. $40 pays for my time to clean up an IBM keyboard
and make it like new again.

The newer IBM-branded keyboards are pretty nice, too, but not in the same league
as the old ones. I guess I'll switch to a newer one if and when I move to a
system with no PS/2 keyboard port... Ben Myers

On Fri, 5 Sep 2003 23:31:04 -0700, Steve wrote:

Hi,

I guess I've been out of the loop too long. I was at CompUSA looking at a
whole isles worth of keyboards for my new system and came away thinking that
for something a person would spend hours working with the quality seems like
they were meant to be about as enduring as Gillette disposables. Can anybody
recommend a corded keyboard that, dare I say, strikes one as being elegant,
sturdy, and a fitting part of a $2,500 system?

Thanks for the input, Steve.

"Ben Myers" wrote in message
...
Let me recommend the original 101-key IBM keyboard, last manufactured by
Lexmark
(IBM spinoff) in maybe 1994 or 1995. Elegant? Absolutely not. Sturdy?
YES!!!! Built like a rock. Absolutely wonderful positive touch, like
the old
IBM Selectrics, but each key press makes a noisy click. No Windows keys
and no
internet keys, but so what?

I believe this design is also available at
http://store.yahoo.com/pckeyboards/cus101usenon.html

There was a New York Times article a while ago that recommended this
keyboard for people who loved the old IBM.

Robert

In article ,
says...
Hi,

I guess I've been out of the loop too long. I was at CompUSA looking at a
whole isles worth of keyboards for my new system and came away thinking that
for something a person would spend hours working with the quality seems like
they were meant to be about as enduring as Gillette disposables. Can anybody
recommend a corded keyboard that, dare I say, strikes one as being elegant,
sturdy, and a fitting part of a $2,500 system?

Thanks for the input, Steve.

Are you concerned with ergonomics? If so, I highly
recommend that you look at the Goldtouch keyboard - It may
only be available over the net but there is a return option
if you don't like it.

It has made an enormous difference for me over several
years.

Louise

It looks and sounds pretty good on the web site, but I'll bet that the quality
is a lot lower than the good old IBM 101... Ben

On Sat, 06 Sep 2003 16:37:21 GMT, "Robert" wrote:


"Ben Myers" wrote in message
...
Let me recommend the original 101-key IBM keyboard, last manufactured by
Lexmark
(IBM spinoff) in maybe 1994 or 1995. Elegant? Absolutely not. Sturdy?
YES!!!! Built like a rock. Absolutely wonderful positive touch, like
the old
IBM Selectrics, but each key press makes a noisy click. No Windows keys
and no
internet keys, but so what?

I believe this design is also available at
http://store.yahoo.com/pckeyboards/cus101usenon.html

There was a New York Times article a while ago that recommended this
keyboard for people who loved the old IBM.

Robert

Fortunately keyboards are destined for the technology graveyard along with
the dot matrix printer, roller-ball mouse, Zip drive, and the most recent
inductee... the floppy drive. CRT's may hang out a while yet until faster
LCD & plasma monitors are affordable for gamers.
I would also expect that everything PCI will soon fall.
....and the beat goes on...
--
Rocket



"Ben Myers" wrote in message
...
It looks and sounds pretty good on the web site, but I'll bet that the
quality
is a lot lower than the good old IBM 101... Ben

On Sat, 06 Sep 2003 16:37:21 GMT, "Robert"
wrote:


"Ben Myers" wrote in message
...
Let me recommend the original 101-key IBM keyboard, last manufactured
by
Lexmark
(IBM spinoff) in maybe 1994 or 1995. Elegant? Absolutely not.
Sturdy?
YES!!!! Built like a rock. Absolutely wonderful positive touch,
like
the old
IBM Selectrics, but each key press makes a noisy click. No Windows
keys
and no
internet keys, but so what?

I believe this design is also available at
http://store.yahoo.com/pckeyboards/cus101usenon.html

There was a New York Times article a while ago that recommended this
keyboard for people who loved the old IBM.

Robert

I'm still using an original IBM keboard complete with the springs under each
key, and have 3 or 4 spares 'just in case'.

Actually the one I'm using right now in a 101-key style IBM that was
manufactured by Lexmark 13-Apr-94 Modem M.

Several of my spares are several years older than this one. The only thing
I've had to change over the years is the cable. Changed the old IBM-AT style
connector cable for a newer PS/2 connector cable on a couple of the older
spare keyboards.

With these keyboards, if you spill something on them, you can actually take
them apart and clean them unlike todays keyboards.


"Rocket" wrote in message
...
Fortunately keyboards are destined for the technology graveyard along with
the dot matrix printer, roller-ball mouse, Zip drive, and the most recent
inductee... the floppy drive. CRT's may hang out a while yet until faster
LCD & plasma monitors are affordable for gamers.
I would also expect that everything PCI will soon fall.
...and the beat goes on...
--
Rocket



"Ben Myers" wrote in message
...
It looks and sounds pretty good on the web site, but I'll bet that the
quality
is a lot lower than the good old IBM 101... Ben

On Sat, 06 Sep 2003 16:37:21 GMT, "Robert"
wrote:


"Ben Myers" wrote in message
...
Let me recommend the original 101-key IBM keyboard, last manufactured
by
Lexmark
(IBM spinoff) in maybe 1994 or 1995. Elegant? Absolutely not.
Sturdy?
YES!!!! Built like a rock. Absolutely wonderful positive touch,
like
the old
IBM Selectrics, but each key press makes a noisy click. No Windows
keys
and no
internet keys, but so what?

I believe this design is also available at
http://store.yahoo.com/pckeyboards/cus101usenon.html

There was a New York Times article a while ago that recommended this
keyboard for people who loved the old IBM.

Robert

Springs & contacts indeed!... I remember cleaning my old IBM.
New keyboards are very cleanable... takes about 5 minutes to remove the 6
screws and a thin sheet of Mylar.
Wipe off the Mylar & the case is upper rack dishwasher safe.
--
Rocket



"Timothy Drouillard" wrote in message
...
I'm still using an original IBM keboard complete with the springs under
each
key, and have 3 or 4 spares 'just in case'.

Actually the one I'm using right now in a 101-key style IBM that was
manufactured by Lexmark 13-Apr-94 Modem M.

Several of my spares are several years older than this one. The only thing
I've had to change over the years is the cable. Changed the old IBM-AT
style
connector cable for a newer PS/2 connector cable on a couple of the older
spare keyboards.

With these keyboards, if you spill something on them, you can actually
take
them apart and clean them unlike todays keyboards.


"Rocket" wrote in message
...
Fortunately keyboards are destined for the technology graveyard along
with
the dot matrix printer, roller-ball mouse, Zip drive, and the most
recent
inductee... the floppy drive. CRT's may hang out a while yet until
faster
LCD & plasma monitors are affordable for gamers.
I would also expect that everything PCI will soon fall.
...and the beat goes on...
--
Rocket



"Ben Myers" wrote in message
...
It looks and sounds pretty good on the web site, but I'll bet that the
quality
is a lot lower than the good old IBM 101... Ben

On Sat, 06 Sep 2003 16:37:21 GMT, "Robert"
wrote:


"Ben Myers" wrote in message
...
Let me recommend the original 101-key IBM keyboard, last
manufactured
by
Lexmark
(IBM spinoff) in maybe 1994 or 1995. Elegant? Absolutely not.
Sturdy?
YES!!!! Built like a rock. Absolutely wonderful positive touch,
like
the old
IBM Selectrics, but each key press makes a noisy click. No Windows
keys
and no
internet keys, but so what?

I believe this design is also available at
http://store.yahoo.com/pckeyboards/cus101usenon.html

There was a New York Times article a while ago that recommended this
keyboard for people who loved the old IBM.

Robert

I agree that those old 80s keyboards were better built. But they were
noisy/clunky. I really like the late 90s keyboards from Dell. The feel was
good. And they'd last for years.

The newer ones sometimes bind up. I'm on my second keyboard on my
18-month-old Dell at work. My wife's keyboard lasted only about 18 months.

Both keyboards still work, but the sticky/binding was annoying, so they got
tossed and replaced.

"Timothy Drouillard" wrote in message
...
I'm still using an original IBM keboard complete with the springs under
each
key, and have 3 or 4 spares 'just in case'.

Actually the one I'm using right now in a 101-key style IBM that was
manufactured by Lexmark 13-Apr-94 Modem M.

Several of my spares are several years older than this one. The only thing
I've had to change over the years is the cable. Changed the old IBM-AT
style
connector cable for a newer PS/2 connector cable on a couple of the older
spare keyboards.

With these keyboards, if you spill something on them, you can actually
take
them apart and clean them unlike todays keyboards.

In article ,
says...

The newer IBM-branded keyboards are pretty nice, too, but not in the same league
as the old ones. I guess I'll switch to a newer one if and when I move to a
system with no PS/2 keyboard port... Ben Myers

Curiously, the Latitude D series laptops have no PS/2 ports, but the
D series port replicator does have them.

When I ordered my laptop, the Dell website gave me a good view of the
connectors on the laptop, but not of the port replicator, so I made
my move away from PS/2 keyboards.... retiring a much-used and much-
appreciated IBM PS/2 keyboard. There are none better.

When I looked at new keyboards, it wasn't just the feel that was
horrible. WHY OH WHY do so many keyboards have a bigger control
panel than the space shuttle????? Applications, cut-and-paste,
mouse buttons, media control, and more, all laid out in arbitrary
patterns with tiny buttons, tiny icons, and tinier text (if any
text at all)? The keyboards are the size of aircraft carriers,
and generally have goofy rounded shapes that cause the keyboard
to take even more space than would be necessary even with the
far-too-many buttons, dials, joysticks, thumbwheels, cartwheels,
and whatever.

For a good USB keyboard, I went with Apple! Good feel, no
frills, nice looking, and takes no more desk space than
necessary for the essentials. With a USB KVM switch, I can
now use my Mac and PCs with a single mouse/keyboard/monitor
combination.

Diane

In alt.sys.pc-clone.dell Steve wrote:
I guess I've been out of the loop too long. I was at CompUSA looking at a
whole isles worth of keyboards for my new system and came away thinking that
for something a person would spend hours working with the quality seems like
they were meant to be about as enduring as Gillette disposables. Can anybody
recommend a corded keyboard that, dare I say, strikes one as being elegant,
sturdy, and a fitting part of a $2,500 system?

I agree with the general sentiment of others who have said that today's
crop of keyboards are pretty crappy. I have always been a fan of Key
Tonic keyboards, but I don't know if they are still around anymore. The
last one I bought of theirs was a "Propeller Head" keyboard. Not as good
as the "classic" Key Tronic that I remember (and still have in the
basement) but it is a nice unit.


-
jay

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