4 ms·
25 Years of the Model M
- mhd 16y agoRegarding Unicomp's current crop: "These aren't "copies" of a Model M; these are Model Ms" I'd have to disagree. The key action is similar enough. but the keys don't have separate caps and the whole keyboard case is plastic, not solid battleship steel. (At least for my Customizer 104) I'd actually pay money for a deluxe version, as proper USB (without ps2/usb connector glitches) and the Windows/Mac keys are pretty essential to me nowadays.
- joe_bleau 16y agoI have the Unicomp "On-the-Stick" model, and it certainly has the separate key caps, just like my IBM Model M keyboards do. I haven't opened the Unicomp up but I suspect it also has the internal steel frame that my IBMs have. Maybe my IBMs aren't old enough to have a steel outer case?
- anthonyb 16y agoI have an original model-m (June '89), and the case and bottom are plastic. Sturdy plastic, sure, but still plastic. Definitely steel inside though.
- mhd 16y agoMine are in a box a few thousand miles away, so I might just confuse very sturdy plastic with steel. My black Unicomp is definitely flimsier, although that's still better than most other keyboards. Definitely no keycaps, though. Maybe they still got 'em for the beige ones?
- joezydeco 16y ago"The angle of the spring's depression causes the bottom of the spring to push a tiny hammer down which actuates a membrane inside the keyboard chassis at the same time the spring buckles, causing a keystroke to be registered." I thought the M used capacitive technology to register the stroke, which was one of the keys to it's durability. The one I took apart 10 years ago had no domes. Membranes just can't hold up like that.