13 ms·

The IBM Model M hype is absurdly overblown. Anyone who has used decent mechanical keyboards should be able to pretty much immediately notice just how cost-reduc

The IBM Model M hype is absurdly overblown. Anyone who has used decent mechanical keyboards should be able to pretty much immediately notice just how cost-reduced that keyboard is. It is quite literally the cheapest buckling spring keyboard IBM managed to make in '89, and it shows. Cherry boards are often bashed for their flexing and wobbly cases, but the IBM Model M is hardly better with the top and lower parts of the clamshell having significant play. The Model M is a pure membrane keyboard, and thus limited to 2KRO. The Model M has no replaceable parts. Why is it a membrane keyboard, when previous models were not? Because it is much cheaper to make. Why does the Model M has only loosely fitting case parts? Because it is much cheaper to make. Why does the Model M has plastic rivets that hold the membrane stackup together which always break off due to ageing and bad design after 20 years or so? Because it is much cheaper to make. Why does the Model M have a single-piece barrel plate with barrels that occasionally break off, rendering the entire keyboard garbage? Because it is much cheaper to make. Why does the Model M have essentially zero spill resistance? Because the cheap design doesn't permit spill resistance. When you spill water on an M, expect to either have it dry for weeks or months as the water evaporates from between the membranes, or to disassemble it. If it wasn't pure mountain spring water, you have to disassemble it, which--due to plastic rivets-- is a destructive proecss. To reassemble it, you have to drill a bunch of new holes through the actual keyboard parts to put screws in. Yet despite these significant design and longevity issues the M somehow got a legendary reputation for being "solid"... it really isn't. Go look at Model F reproductions. Those are solid keyboards. https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/ https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/

twic 6y ago
A Model M weighs 2.2 kg. Heavy things must be high quality.
- taneq 6y ago
  “Weight, is sign of reliability. If it does not work, you can always throw it at him.” - Boris the Blade
skocznymroczny 6y ago
I think a lot of the hype around mechanical keyboards in general is overblown. I had a period of transitioning to mechanical keyboards. I couldn't get used to the high-rise keys and long travel times which made my wrists hurt and made typing a chore. I kept convincing myself that I just had the wrong type of switch, so I changed keyboards every few months seeking that perfect feeling. The closest I got was low-profile blue switches, those were actually fun and something I could use for a daily driver. In the end however, I went back to a chiclet keyboard. It's quiet, travel time is short and I can type on it comfortable for long periods of time.
- westoncb 6y ago
  I've gone through a similar experience. I like the other concepts in keyboards like Ergodox/Moonlander etc., but as far as actual key-press-feel, none of these enthusiast keyboards come close to e.g. macbook keys. I think my ideal keyboard would be something like the Moonlander + the keys on the new macbook: a little bit of a click but basically zero travel.
  - KptMarchewa 6y ago
    It's wild how tastes differ. I absolutely abhor the keypress of macbook keyboards, even more than the one in extremely cheap Acer laptop from ~2009.
  - GuB-42 6y ago
    I think it is all about preference. I hated the new MacBook keys the instant I tried them. It felt like I was typing directly on the table. I had no problem with accuracy, but I found it really uncomfortable. I guess it is like a mattress, some people prefer it firm and others prefer it soft. I have a Topre keyboard BTW, which I chose by going to a shop and trying plenty of different keyboards without looking at the price and specs. Unfortunately, I ended up preferring the most expensive one...
  - austinkhale 6y ago
    Switching to an Ergodox with a Dvorak layout changed my life. I used to have crazy pain after 6 - 8 hours of typing. Now I can easily go 12 - 14 with no issues whatsoever. Obviously that is not healthy or sustainable in the long term for other reasons but it’s a huge weight off my shoulders not thinking I’m ruining my wrists trying to meet a launch date.
nottorp 6y ago
> Why does the Model M have essentially zero spill resistance? Because the cheap design doesn't permit spill resistance. When you spill water on an M, expect to either have it dry for weeks or months as the water evaporates from between the membranes, or to disassemble it. If it wasn't pure mountain spring water, you have to disassemble it, which--due to plastic rivets-- is a destructive proecss. Hmm that would explain why my (Dell branded) buckling spring keyboard that i was using in the 2000s couldn't recover from a Pepsi spill. > Go look at Model F reproductions. Those are solid keyboards. Unfortunately the world has moved on and I want my separated inverted T arrow keys. > New Model M Is an American-Made Keyboard As an EU resident, when I see that I think I'll have to deal with customs if i buy one :) Not much of an incentive.
- rjzzleep 6y ago
  >> New Model M Is an American-Made Keyboard > As an EU resident, when I see that I think I'll have to deal with customs if i buy one :) Not much of an incentive. Weird nationalism play there for me as well. For some reason japanese keyboard sounds artisan(given how many limited edition keyboards their scene builds) to me and american-made keyboard just sounds like grandure posturing. Especially since there are so many expensive japanese custom keyboards and none of them market themselves as being special BECAUSE they are japanese. That said, QMK running decent quality mechanical keyboards nowadays are a rabbit hole with so many choices and price ranges that I find both this and the System76 announcement strange. Edit: American-Made when used as a label to say how great your product is, absolutely IS appealing to national pride. Shipping cost is hardly relevant there.
  - bogdanu 6y ago
    Not really nationalism in my case. Shipping to my country (EU) costs 115$, more than the keyboard itself. Besides the shipping costs, there's also customs and VAT. So for a 100$ I'll probably end up with paying 300$. So yeah, not gonna happen, too bad Unicomp doesn't have a EU reseller.
- ubercow13 6y ago
  >Unfortunately the world has moved on and I want my separated inverted T arrow keys. They have more modern layouts including inverted T arrows. Just look at the pictures on the homepage...
cipherboy 6y ago
I own three Model Ms: my grandfather's 87, a '89, and a later Lexmark ('95? too lazy to look). The latter two were given to me by a colleague; they saw (what I can only assume to be, based on their original condition) extensive use at IBM before I cleaned them up. He had 7 others. I've bolt modded the Lexmark for the day my grandfather's finally needs to be done. But all three have well withstood the test of time: my grandfather's still has most all of its rivets 33 years later. It was his only keyboard at home AFAIK; I've been using it for the last 5 years. > The Model M has no replaceable parts. Is categorically false. The stems, keycaps, springs, and membranes can all be replaced quite easily. Unicomp sells replacements. Many have also modded them to replace the controller with something more modern. You just need to find the right hex driver. Just because there aren't lots of manufactuers (like with oh, say, Cherry-compatible switches or QMK boards) doesn't mean they aren't repairable or moddable. Don't disagree with most of the rest of your points but... n=3 (+7?) data points, I've never heard of a barrel breaking under normal usage. And cleaning drinks is optional once it is dried :-) The '87 and the '89 both had coffee stains and functioned just fine. I mostly cleaned the barrel plate and moved on with usage. If I bolt mod either, I'll probably clean the membranes. Fully agree that the Model F is more solid than the Model M. But the Model M feels a lot more solid to me than most anything modern. Maybe I just got high-quality builds?
- slowmovintarget 6y ago
  I have a 1984 Model M, and keyboards from Das Keyboard (Cherry MX Blues) and WASD (Zealio 67g). Model M is still my favorite among the three, though it is no longer as "solid" as it used to be. I've only had it and used it for 20 years, but it was in active use before I got it. Not bad for 37 years of typing.
adingus 6y ago
On the contrary, I think the issues you state are overblown. I have been using a 1989 mfg IBM model M for close to 10 years now and haven't noticed any of the problems you point out. No problems with fit & finish or longevity... I use the keyboard for gaming (fps mostly) and coding and have never had a problems with KRO. I haven't been impressed with the few other types of mechanical keyboards I've used (which I admit is not many). The key presses just don't feel as authoritative as the model m and the model m does feel like a tank. The only knock I can give the model m is the lack of modifier keys and remapping. I use a soarers converter to remedy these problems. That said, would I buy a unicomp repop, or a model m at current prices? No, probably not.
- thisisben 6y ago
  Same here, using an '89 Model M which I've modded to support native USB connectivity and also using QMK [0]. The ability to leverage all of the niceties of QMK (especially key remapping) combined with the feel of the Model M is what's kept it as my primary day-to-day keyboard some time now. [0]: https://www.crackedthecode.co/how-to-supercharge-your-ibm-model-m-with-qmk/ https://www.crackedthecode.co/how-to-supercharge-your-ibm-mo...
Nursie 6y ago
Never had an issue with loosely fitting parts, spills or breaking rivets, and I had mine for 20 years, after it had been in an office for 10, and now it's gone on to a new delighted owner (I'm using a smaller board now). Not seeing the longevity issues there really, and the springs have a lovely feel. (The F77 from your link looks great, but that pricetag!)
rbanffy 6y ago
Your criticism is understandable. The Model M is not as good as the Model F was, which is nowhere near as nice as the beam spring ones were. It was, indeed, a cheaper replacement to the Model F, which was, itself, a cheaper replacement to the beam spring ones. > The Model M has no replaceable parts. Unicomp sells a lot of replacement parts and a lot of the most common repairs can be easily done by the user. Besides that, they are really durable: I know people who use Model M's older than them. And few keyboards will resist coffee spills. One thing I wish it could do is backlit keys. Some people mod them, but I've never seen this done. > Because it is much cheaper to make. That's really true. Model F keyboards were expensive, beam-spring ones were even more and the kind of mechanical beasts you find inside IBM Selectric-based terminals and the 2260 terminals would be considered art installations more than office appliances if made today. You can get a new Model M today for less than many good mechanical keyboards with good switches and nice keycaps will cost you. And I assure you, no mechanical keyboard sounds like a Model M (or F, or beam spring, if you can pay for one). I have a couple keyboards on my desk. The M sits beside a small "gaming" (which means "ridiculous RGB effects") mechanical one and a couple Apple ones (one wireless, one wired) all connected to different computers, which are used for different things (the Sun Type 7 is stashed away, for now, but, as cool-looking as it is, it doesn't feel that great). The gaming one will, eventually, get new sculpted/spherical keycaps because this is one area where these keyboards really shine - they are ridiculously customizable.
octonion 6y ago
My Model M was built in 1992, but still looks and feels brand-new.
- nucleardog 6y ago
  Yeah I've been using the same 1994 Model M (M13 -- all black with a built in trackpoint) since... about 1995. Besides some dust build-up and me not having replaced the trackpoint nib and it being worn down it's still in mint condition. Sure, they _could_ be built more solidly but I'm going to take a wild guess that 25 years is well beyond the lifetime a typical keyboard would be engineered for so it's probably still/already overbuilt.
cordite 6y ago
How can you use vim without the escape key? These model F reproductions lack that.
- EForEndeavour 6y ago
  Ctrl [
- spear 6y ago
  I think you can hit Fn-backquote. You can also order either of two HHKB-style layouts, where the backquote key is replaced by Esc (among other changes).
breakfastduck 6y ago
This entire comment reads like someone complaining that the hype is overblown on an iconic classic car because it doesn’t have power steering and the windows are manual.
jcrawfordor 6y ago
I feel that the modern Model Ms made by UNICOMP have noticeably worse "fit and finish" than some of the '80s/'90s (IBM or Lexmark) Model Ms that I own. I think it's quite simply their tool and die wearing; UNICOMP is a small company and I think they have a very limited budget to do things like produce new mold masters. This probably also hits R&D and leads to things like not having NKRO which would otherwise be expected on a keyboard of that price. I guess what I'm saying is that there are ways in which Model Ms manufactured today are more "reproduction antique" than new keyboards. All of that said, even the 2010s Model Ms are the sturdiest keyboards I own. Significantly better built than some Cherry switch keyboards at a similar price point (but not manufactured by Cherry). While it's frustrating that you can't more readily disassemble to the board for cleaning, this is basically the norm on "commercial" or "industrial" keyboards, which is more the space the Model M occupies than what we think of as "mechanical keyboards" today. For example, Cherry and PrehKeyTec keyboards at a $400+ price point have the exact same limitations. They're mostly sold to integrators as part of a 5-figure cost system and they're viewed as single units for replacement part purposes. On the upside, the barrel plate design makes the Model M intrinsically easier to clean of grit and cat hair than many modern mechanical designs, which take much more careful cleaning around the exposed switches.
- bjoli 6y ago
  Which I believe was the reason for the new model M. The equipment they got from Lexmark was old, and the new model M fixes a lot of the issues. I played with one recently, and I found the quality nice. Very much on par with my own original almost new-un-box model M.
- voldacar 6y ago
  I think early model F is far sturdier. Also the F can do NKRO which I don't think is physically possible with the M
ndeast 6y ago
Never understood all of the hype that the Model M got. It was made purely as a cost reduction to the Model F and it got "worse" in almost every way. I can't stand typing on a Model M. The Model F is where it's at and IMO deserves the praise and obsession that the M receives.
hakfoo 6y ago
I think "solid" is a relative thing. People weren't comparing the M to the F, which until recently was unavailable except for second-hand units with compromise layouts and weird interfaces. They were comparing them to the value-engineered rubber dome they were selling for $14 at the Office Supply Hut. After like 2015 or so, when firms like Ducky and Filco began to bring appealing, consumer-focused MX-switch boards to market, the M becomes just one choice among many. There's also the more subjective angle: people like specific key feels. I like the Model M sound and feel product, probably better even than Model F (too tangy). People will put up with a lot of rubbish for a better feel.
intrasight 6y ago
This article is talking about the 1984 model not 1989. I don't know the difference. All of mine say "Model M © IBM Corp. 1984", including what I'm typing this message on. I have purchased and tried other new mechanical keyboards, but I always find myself returning to my IBM. The others have invariably had wobbly, sticky keys. I will keep looking since I would like to use a keyboard without the numbers pad, which I never use and which moves my trackball 6" further right. Since I have three IBM keyboards, I think I'm covered until retirement. They will outlast me and I'll put them in my will ;)

twic 6y ago

A Model M weighs 2.2 kg. Heavy things must be high quality.

taneq 6y ago
“Weight, is sign of reliability. If it does not work, you can always throw it at him.” - Boris the Blade

skocznymroczny 6y ago

I think a lot of the hype around mechanical keyboards in general is overblown. I had a period of transitioning to mechanical keyboards. I couldn't get used to the high-rise keys and long travel times which made my wrists hurt and made typing a chore. I kept convincing myself that I just had the wrong type of switch, so I changed keyboards every few months seeking that perfect feeling. The closest I got was low-profile blue switches, those were actually fun and something I could use for a daily driver. In the end however, I went back to a chiclet keyboard. It's quiet, travel time is short and I can type on it comfortable for long periods of time.

westoncb 6y ago
I've gone through a similar experience. I like the other concepts in keyboards like Ergodox/Moonlander etc., but as far as actual key-press-feel, none of these enthusiast keyboards come close to e.g. macbook keys. I think my ideal keyboard would be something like the Moonlander + the keys on the new macbook: a little bit of a click but basically zero travel.
- KptMarchewa 6y ago
  It's wild how tastes differ. I absolutely abhor the keypress of macbook keyboards, even more than the one in extremely cheap Acer laptop from ~2009.
- GuB-42 6y ago
  I think it is all about preference. I hated the new MacBook keys the instant I tried them. It felt like I was typing directly on the table. I had no problem with accuracy, but I found it really uncomfortable. I guess it is like a mattress, some people prefer it firm and others prefer it soft. I have a Topre keyboard BTW, which I chose by going to a shop and trying plenty of different keyboards without looking at the price and specs. Unfortunately, I ended up preferring the most expensive one...
- austinkhale 6y ago
  Switching to an Ergodox with a Dvorak layout changed my life. I used to have crazy pain after 6 - 8 hours of typing. Now I can easily go 12 - 14 with no issues whatsoever. Obviously that is not healthy or sustainable in the long term for other reasons but it’s a huge weight off my shoulders not thinking I’m ruining my wrists trying to meet a launch date.

nottorp 6y ago

> Why does the Model M have essentially zero spill resistance? Because the cheap design doesn't permit spill resistance. When you spill water on an M, expect to either have it dry for weeks or months as the water evaporates from between the membranes, or to disassemble it. If it wasn't pure mountain spring water, you have to disassemble it, which--due to plastic rivets-- is a destructive proecss. Hmm that would explain why my (Dell branded) buckling spring keyboard that i was using in the 2000s couldn't recover from a Pepsi spill. > Go look at Model F reproductions. Those are solid keyboards. Unfortunately the world has moved on and I want my separated inverted T arrow keys. > New Model M Is an American-Made Keyboard As an EU resident, when I see that I think I'll have to deal with customs if i buy one :) Not much of an incentive.

rjzzleep 6y ago
>> New Model M Is an American-Made Keyboard > As an EU resident, when I see that I think I'll have to deal with customs if i buy one :) Not much of an incentive. Weird nationalism play there for me as well. For some reason japanese keyboard sounds artisan(given how many limited edition keyboards their scene builds) to me and american-made keyboard just sounds like grandure posturing. Especially since there are so many expensive japanese custom keyboards and none of them market themselves as being special BECAUSE they are japanese. That said, QMK running decent quality mechanical keyboards nowadays are a rabbit hole with so many choices and price ranges that I find both this and the System76 announcement strange. Edit: American-Made when used as a label to say how great your product is, absolutely IS appealing to national pride. Shipping cost is hardly relevant there.
- bogdanu 6y ago
  Not really nationalism in my case. Shipping to my country (EU) costs 115$, more than the keyboard itself. Besides the shipping costs, there's also customs and VAT. So for a 100$ I'll probably end up with paying 300$. So yeah, not gonna happen, too bad Unicomp doesn't have a EU reseller.
ubercow13 6y ago
>Unfortunately the world has moved on and I want my separated inverted T arrow keys. They have more modern layouts including inverted T arrows. Just look at the pictures on the homepage...

cipherboy 6y ago

I own three Model Ms: my grandfather's 87, a '89, and a later Lexmark ('95? too lazy to look). The latter two were given to me by a colleague; they saw (what I can only assume to be, based on their original condition) extensive use at IBM before I cleaned them up. He had 7 others. I've bolt modded the Lexmark for the day my grandfather's finally needs to be done. But all three have well withstood the test of time: my grandfather's still has most all of its rivets 33 years later. It was his only keyboard at home AFAIK; I've been using it for the last 5 years. > The Model M has no replaceable parts. Is categorically false. The stems, keycaps, springs, and membranes can all be replaced quite easily. Unicomp sells replacements. Many have also modded them to replace the controller with something more modern. You just need to find the right hex driver. Just because there aren't lots of manufactuers (like with oh, say, Cherry-compatible switches or QMK boards) doesn't mean they aren't repairable or moddable. Don't disagree with most of the rest of your points but... n=3 (+7?) data points, I've never heard of a barrel breaking under normal usage. And cleaning drinks is optional once it is dried :-) The '87 and the '89 both had coffee stains and functioned just fine. I mostly cleaned the barrel plate and moved on with usage. If I bolt mod either, I'll probably clean the membranes. Fully agree that the Model F is more solid than the Model M. But the Model M feels a lot more solid to me than most anything modern. Maybe I just got high-quality builds?

slowmovintarget 6y ago
I have a 1984 Model M, and keyboards from Das Keyboard (Cherry MX Blues) and WASD (Zealio 67g). Model M is still my favorite among the three, though it is no longer as "solid" as it used to be. I've only had it and used it for 20 years, but it was in active use before I got it. Not bad for 37 years of typing.

adingus 6y ago

On the contrary, I think the issues you state are overblown. I have been using a 1989 mfg IBM model M for close to 10 years now and haven't noticed any of the problems you point out. No problems with fit & finish or longevity... I use the keyboard for gaming (fps mostly) and coding and have never had a problems with KRO. I haven't been impressed with the few other types of mechanical keyboards I've used (which I admit is not many). The key presses just don't feel as authoritative as the model m and the model m does feel like a tank. The only knock I can give the model m is the lack of modifier keys and remapping. I use a soarers converter to remedy these problems. That said, would I buy a unicomp repop, or a model m at current prices? No, probably not.

thisisben 6y ago
Same here, using an '89 Model M which I've modded to support native USB connectivity and also using QMK [0]. The ability to leverage all of the niceties of QMK (especially key remapping) combined with the feel of the Model M is what's kept it as my primary day-to-day keyboard some time now. [0]: https://www.crackedthecode.co/how-to-supercharge-your-ibm-model-m-with-qmk/ https://www.crackedthecode.co/how-to-supercharge-your-ibm-mo...

Nursie 6y ago

Never had an issue with loosely fitting parts, spills or breaking rivets, and I had mine for 20 years, after it had been in an office for 10, and now it's gone on to a new delighted owner (I'm using a smaller board now). Not seeing the longevity issues there really, and the springs have a lovely feel. (The F77 from your link looks great, but that pricetag!)

rbanffy 6y ago

Your criticism is understandable. The Model M is not as good as the Model F was, which is nowhere near as nice as the beam spring ones were. It was, indeed, a cheaper replacement to the Model F, which was, itself, a cheaper replacement to the beam spring ones. > The Model M has no replaceable parts. Unicomp sells a lot of replacement parts and a lot of the most common repairs can be easily done by the user. Besides that, they are really durable: I know people who use Model M's older than them. And few keyboards will resist coffee spills. One thing I wish it could do is backlit keys. Some people mod them, but I've never seen this done. > Because it is much cheaper to make. That's really true. Model F keyboards were expensive, beam-spring ones were even more and the kind of mechanical beasts you find inside IBM Selectric-based terminals and the 2260 terminals would be considered art installations more than office appliances if made today. You can get a new Model M today for less than many good mechanical keyboards with good switches and nice keycaps will cost you. And I assure you, no mechanical keyboard sounds like a Model M (or F, or beam spring, if you can pay for one). I have a couple keyboards on my desk. The M sits beside a small "gaming" (which means "ridiculous RGB effects") mechanical one and a couple Apple ones (one wireless, one wired) all connected to different computers, which are used for different things (the Sun Type 7 is stashed away, for now, but, as cool-looking as it is, it doesn't feel that great). The gaming one will, eventually, get new sculpted/spherical keycaps because this is one area where these keyboards really shine - they are ridiculously customizable.

octonion 6y ago

My Model M was built in 1992, but still looks and feels brand-new.

nucleardog 6y ago
Yeah I've been using the same 1994 Model M (M13 -- all black with a built in trackpoint) since... about 1995. Besides some dust build-up and me not having replaced the trackpoint nib and it being worn down it's still in mint condition. Sure, they _could_ be built more solidly but I'm going to take a wild guess that 25 years is well beyond the lifetime a typical keyboard would be engineered for so it's probably still/already overbuilt.

cordite 6y ago

How can you use vim without the escape key? These model F reproductions lack that.

EForEndeavour 6y ago
Ctrl [
spear 6y ago
I think you can hit Fn-backquote. You can also order either of two HHKB-style layouts, where the backquote key is replaced by Esc (among other changes).

breakfastduck 6y ago

This entire comment reads like someone complaining that the hype is overblown on an iconic classic car because it doesn’t have power steering and the windows are manual.

jcrawfordor 6y ago

I feel that the modern Model Ms made by UNICOMP have noticeably worse "fit and finish" than some of the '80s/'90s (IBM or Lexmark) Model Ms that I own. I think it's quite simply their tool and die wearing; UNICOMP is a small company and I think they have a very limited budget to do things like produce new mold masters. This probably also hits R&D and leads to things like not having NKRO which would otherwise be expected on a keyboard of that price. I guess what I'm saying is that there are ways in which Model Ms manufactured today are more "reproduction antique" than new keyboards. All of that said, even the 2010s Model Ms are the sturdiest keyboards I own. Significantly better built than some Cherry switch keyboards at a similar price point (but not manufactured by Cherry). While it's frustrating that you can't more readily disassemble to the board for cleaning, this is basically the norm on "commercial" or "industrial" keyboards, which is more the space the Model M occupies than what we think of as "mechanical keyboards" today. For example, Cherry and PrehKeyTec keyboards at a $400+ price point have the exact same limitations. They're mostly sold to integrators as part of a 5-figure cost system and they're viewed as single units for replacement part purposes. On the upside, the barrel plate design makes the Model M intrinsically easier to clean of grit and cat hair than many modern mechanical designs, which take much more careful cleaning around the exposed switches.

bjoli 6y ago
Which I believe was the reason for the new model M. The equipment they got from Lexmark was old, and the new model M fixes a lot of the issues. I played with one recently, and I found the quality nice. Very much on par with my own original almost new-un-box model M.
voldacar 6y ago
I think early model F is far sturdier. Also the F can do NKRO which I don't think is physically possible with the M

ndeast 6y ago

Never understood all of the hype that the Model M got. It was made purely as a cost reduction to the Model F and it got "worse" in almost every way. I can't stand typing on a Model M. The Model F is where it's at and IMO deserves the praise and obsession that the M receives.

hakfoo 6y ago

I think "solid" is a relative thing. People weren't comparing the M to the F, which until recently was unavailable except for second-hand units with compromise layouts and weird interfaces. They were comparing them to the value-engineered rubber dome they were selling for $14 at the Office Supply Hut. After like 2015 or so, when firms like Ducky and Filco began to bring appealing, consumer-focused MX-switch boards to market, the M becomes just one choice among many. There's also the more subjective angle: people like specific key feels. I like the Model M sound and feel product, probably better even than Model F (too tangy). People will put up with a lot of rubbish for a better feel.

intrasight 6y ago

This article is talking about the 1984 model not 1989. I don't know the difference. All of mine say "Model M © IBM Corp. 1984", including what I'm typing this message on. I have purchased and tried other new mechanical keyboards, but I always find myself returning to my IBM. The others have invariably had wobbly, sticky keys. I will keep looking since I would like to use a keyboard without the numbers pad, which I never use and which moves my trackball 6" further right. Since I have three IBM keyboards, I think I'm covered until retirement. They will outlast me and I'll put them in my will ;)