4 ms·

Those were great, but having slightly sculpted keytops and longer travel takes an extra 2–3 millimeters of vertical space, which isn’t going to cut it if the #1

Those were great, but having slightly sculpted keytops and longer travel takes an extra 2–3 millimeters of vertical space, which isn’t going to cut it if the #1 goal is for the folded up machine to be as thin as possible. Personally I wish sommeone went back to the keyboards used on IBM 5140 or IBM P70. Probably not too likely though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_PC_Convertible https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_PC_Convertible https://deskthority.net/wiki/IBM_P70/P75_keyboard https://deskthority.net/wiki/IBM_P70/P75_keyboard

torgian 7y ago
Meh. Give me a fully mechanical keyboard in a somewhat portable body. Like those old Apple IIe boxes. This is a joke btw.
- jacobolus 7y ago
  The two I linked to were “fully mechanical keyboards in a somewhat portable body” (for very modest definitions of “somewhat portable” – they were 13 and 20 pounds, respectively). Not really “laptops”, but two fantastic keyboards.
  - torgian 7y ago
    TBH I was trying for a joke, but it came out pretty flat ._.
- DennisP 7y ago
  It's a joke for you but a laptop with a good mech keyboard is exactly what I want. I plug a mechanical keyboard into my laptop all the time, because it's easier on my fingers. A thicker laptop that I can type on is better for me than carrying around a separate mech and putting the laptop on a nearby flat surface instead of my lap.
  - gambiting 7y ago
    Those do exist - MSI and Asus made a few recently I'm sure. For example: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/msi-gt75vr-titan-pro https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/msi-gt75vr-titan-p... I mean, at 4.5kg it's extremely heavy for a laptop, but it does have a mechanical keyboard and very beefy spec.
    - magashna 7y ago
      That's for a very niche, need to game on the go, market. It's otherwise ridiculous looking
      - gambiting 7y ago
        We actually use something very similar to run our servers at conferences and presentations, don't really care about the gpu but having a desktop-grade CPU in a "portable" package is very useful for this.
        DennisP 7y ago
        Do you happen to run Linux? A couple years ago I looked at the MSI laptop, which actually has Cherry Brown switches, but it was heavily gaming-focused and I couldn't find anything about Linux support.
        gambiting 7y ago
        No, all of our servers are windows-based(a bit unusual, I know).
vr46 7y ago
Is it possible to remove the glossy screen cover to get that extra space? My 2010 mac was the last with a matt screen and had "plenty" of space available.
kps 7y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_Portable https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_Portable — the last good Apple laptop keyboard.
- jacobolus 7y ago
  I should have included that one too. I like the Mac Portable keyboard even better than the IBM 5140 (orange vs. brown Alps SKCM switches were not quite as stiff). I got a couple of NOS Mac Portable replacement keyboards on ebay a few years ago, but never got around to putting them into a working case.

torgian 7y ago

Meh. Give me a fully mechanical keyboard in a somewhat portable body. Like those old Apple IIe boxes. This is a joke btw.

jacobolus 7y ago
The two I linked to were “fully mechanical keyboards in a somewhat portable body” (for very modest definitions of “somewhat portable” – they were 13 and 20 pounds, respectively). Not really “laptops”, but two fantastic keyboards.
- torgian 7y ago
  TBH I was trying for a joke, but it came out pretty flat ._.
DennisP 7y ago
It's a joke for you but a laptop with a good mech keyboard is exactly what I want. I plug a mechanical keyboard into my laptop all the time, because it's easier on my fingers. A thicker laptop that I can type on is better for me than carrying around a separate mech and putting the laptop on a nearby flat surface instead of my lap.
- gambiting 7y ago
  Those do exist - MSI and Asus made a few recently I'm sure. For example: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/msi-gt75vr-titan-pro https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/msi-gt75vr-titan-p... I mean, at 4.5kg it's extremely heavy for a laptop, but it does have a mechanical keyboard and very beefy spec.
  - magashna 7y ago
    That's for a very niche, need to game on the go, market. It's otherwise ridiculous looking
    - gambiting 7y ago
      We actually use something very similar to run our servers at conferences and presentations, don't really care about the gpu but having a desktop-grade CPU in a "portable" package is very useful for this.
      - DennisP 7y ago
        Do you happen to run Linux? A couple years ago I looked at the MSI laptop, which actually has Cherry Brown switches, but it was heavily gaming-focused and I couldn't find anything about Linux support.
        gambiting 7y ago
        No, all of our servers are windows-based(a bit unusual, I know).

vr46 7y ago

Is it possible to remove the glossy screen cover to get that extra space? My 2010 mac was the last with a matt screen and had "plenty" of space available.

kps 7y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_Portable https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_Portable — the last good Apple laptop keyboard.

jacobolus 7y ago
I should have included that one too. I like the Mac Portable keyboard even better than the IBM 5140 (orange vs. brown Alps SKCM switches were not quite as stiff). I got a couple of NOS Mac Portable replacement keyboards on ebay a few years ago, but never got around to putting them into a working case.