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> USB keyboard from an old Power Mac that I treat dearly because it has outlasted the hell out of every other Mac keyboard I've ever owned Let me recommend the

> USB keyboard from an old Power Mac that I treat dearly because it has outlasted the hell out of every other Mac keyboard I've ever owned Let me recommend the Macintosh keyboards from the late 1980s (M0116 and M0115). 30 years later most of them (if they weren’t scrapped sometime) are still working just fine, and are very pleasant to use. The Alps SKCM keyswitches used can get a bit scratchy feeling if they have been sitting out in a dusty place for 20 years, but even in mediocre condition are nicer (and more electrically robust/reliable) than any keyswitches sold at scale today. To get these keyboards requires some kind of ADB -> USB protocol converter, but those aren’t too hard to find. The various rubber dome USB Mac keyboards sold from 2000–2005 are cheap garbage by comparison.

AlgorithmicTime 7y ago
Eh, Alps SKCM are nice, but buckling springs are better, and still produced by Unicomp. Also, it's kind of a renaissance of keyboard switches right now. Kaihua is putting out some interesting designs.
kadoban 7y ago
They're nicer than _any_ keyswitches sold today? That seems hard to believe, are you excluding so-called mechanical switches? There's a wide variety of those out there today, and even just sticking to Cherry MX and knockoffs, they're _quite_ pleasant and there's a variety of feels, sounds, travel distances, etc. available. It's really quite a nice time to be a typist.
- PascLeRasc 7y ago
  Alps are mechanical switches, and they're still used in some modern keyboards. Vintage Apple Alps keyboards go for quite a bit on eBay.
  - kadoban 7y ago
    Sure, it's just I personally find the current quite extreme variety of keyboard switches gives a lot of room for preference. It seems surprising that you'd have to go back that far to find something ideal. I mean if you like them best, certainly your prerogative, just found it interesting.
  - jacobolus 7y ago
    Alps SKCM switches have not been used in anything new in the past 2.5 decades.
- jacobolus 7y ago
  There are some other similarly nice keyboard switches from the 1980s and early 90s (and some nicer ones from the 70s; keyboards have generally been on a steady decline for the past 40–50 years, as cost cutting dominated other considerations). None still sold in large numbers today. Cherry MX are much less pleasant, IMO, and also not nearly so electrically reliable. (The Alps SKCM contact mechanism is much more complicated and better sealed. They have an extremely clean electrical signal.) There was a much bigger variety of available keyboard switches in the 1980s than today.

AlgorithmicTime 7y ago

Eh, Alps SKCM are nice, but buckling springs are better, and still produced by Unicomp. Also, it's kind of a renaissance of keyboard switches right now. Kaihua is putting out some interesting designs.

kadoban 7y ago

They're nicer than _any_ keyswitches sold today? That seems hard to believe, are you excluding so-called mechanical switches? There's a wide variety of those out there today, and even just sticking to Cherry MX and knockoffs, they're _quite_ pleasant and there's a variety of feels, sounds, travel distances, etc. available. It's really quite a nice time to be a typist.

PascLeRasc 7y ago
Alps are mechanical switches, and they're still used in some modern keyboards. Vintage Apple Alps keyboards go for quite a bit on eBay.
- kadoban 7y ago
  Sure, it's just I personally find the current quite extreme variety of keyboard switches gives a lot of room for preference. It seems surprising that you'd have to go back that far to find something ideal. I mean if you like them best, certainly your prerogative, just found it interesting.
- jacobolus 7y ago
  Alps SKCM switches have not been used in anything new in the past 2.5 decades.
jacobolus 7y ago
There are some other similarly nice keyboard switches from the 1980s and early 90s (and some nicer ones from the 70s; keyboards have generally been on a steady decline for the past 40–50 years, as cost cutting dominated other considerations). None still sold in large numbers today. Cherry MX are much less pleasant, IMO, and also not nearly so electrically reliable. (The Alps SKCM contact mechanism is much more complicated and better sealed. They have an extremely clean electrical signal.) There was a much bigger variety of available keyboard switches in the 1980s than today.