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Semi-related, I know of several people in the mechanical keyboard community who are constantly hunting for keyboards from the 70s, 80s, 90s. In some cases the s

Semi-related, I know of several people in the mechanical keyboard community who are constantly hunting for keyboards from the 70s, 80s, 90s. In some cases the switches alone can be worth $10-20+ each to dedicated collectors, not to mention Cherry keycaps that are compatible with modern mechanical keyboard builds. I am also curious on if there are any relics of computing history just sitting there in landfill. Ultimately as a society I do think moving towards devices that can almost entirely be recycled is the only responsible way forwards.

charles_kaw 4y ago
>mechanical keyboard community who are constantly hunting for keyboards from the 70s, 80s, 90s Wish they wouldn't. The keyboards are part of a set, including the computer itself, and many of those computers require those keyboards. I wince every time some funko popper discards a perfectly good machine but keeps the keyboard.
- lewisflude 4y ago
  I absolutely agree. In my eyes, any true enthusiast should respect preserving the computer as much as the associated keyboard. I've not personally witnessed a keyboard hobbyist throw away a matching computer but keep the keyboard, but I do believe it probably happens in some circles. I think people either 1. Know the keyboard they want, and want to restore it to have in a collection 2. Know which keyboard model numbers have specific parts/switches to harvest 3. Want the computer, and fixing the keyboard is a part of a much bigger project / a means to an end Generally with harvesting, people usually replace the parts they've taken out with compatible parts, to make the original still usable with compatible computers. People only ever really harvest if they know there's a huge supply out there in the wild.
  - AussieWog93 4y ago
    > I absolutely agree. In my eyes, any true enthusiast should respect preserving the computer as much as the associated keyboard. Not saying it's ideal, but that's capitalism. If something is more valuable as parts than a whole, it'll be stripped down for parts.
    - lewisflude 4y ago
      On this point, being stripped down for parts, being lovingly cleaned/restored by an enthusiast and then used/appreciated is probably a better fate for the keyboard than forever living in landfill or in a box in someones attic.
    - lupire 4y ago
      You say this as you capitalistically eat the fruit of a plant or the muscle of a cow. It's not capitalism, it's Gaia making the best of a situation, extracting value from trash. It is ideal, because no one wants to the computer.
  - maxerickson 4y ago
    Why do you care what other people are enthusiastic about? Like old computers are "interesting junk", if preservationists want them preserved the thing to do is buy them and preserve them.
    - lewisflude 4y ago
      Sorry, my phrasing was bad. I don't care what other's are enthusiastic about. You're right, old keyboards/computers are literally just junk that was once useful technology. It's up to every person to decide how exciting that is/isn't, and if they find one aspect interesting but not the other, that's fine. When I said "should be", what I really meant was that in my experience people aren't just buying sets of keyboards/computers and immediately chucking out the computer as the OP suggested when they said "I wince every time some funko popper discards a perfectly good machine but keeps the keyboard.". As in, this has not been my experience at all.
    - charles_kaw 4y ago
      > Why do you care what other people are enthusiastic about? I care because I'm enthusiastic about old computers. I care because some of these systems have historic and cultural value. I care because I care. And when people separate these systems and render large swathes of them inoperable so that they can put some "rare keyboards" on their shelf, it hurts the ability of other people to experience these historically significant and interesting systems. And no, I'm not referring to standard x86 machines :)
- johnwalkr 4y ago
  > funko popper First time but hopefully not the last time I heard this.
- hakfoo 4y ago
  As someone on both sides of those hobbies, I keep hoping that is slowly being nibbled down. 10 years ago, if you wanted interesting keycaps, you had to scrap a vintage board. Now, how many truckloads do you want unloaded at your doorstep, new and cheap? There's a bit of a meme factor with some of the vintage switches, unfortunately...

charles_kaw 4y ago

>mechanical keyboard community who are constantly hunting for keyboards from the 70s, 80s, 90s Wish they wouldn't. The keyboards are part of a set, including the computer itself, and many of those computers require those keyboards. I wince every time some funko popper discards a perfectly good machine but keeps the keyboard.

lewisflude 4y ago
I absolutely agree. In my eyes, any true enthusiast should respect preserving the computer as much as the associated keyboard. I've not personally witnessed a keyboard hobbyist throw away a matching computer but keep the keyboard, but I do believe it probably happens in some circles. I think people either 1. Know the keyboard they want, and want to restore it to have in a collection 2. Know which keyboard model numbers have specific parts/switches to harvest 3. Want the computer, and fixing the keyboard is a part of a much bigger project / a means to an end Generally with harvesting, people usually replace the parts they've taken out with compatible parts, to make the original still usable with compatible computers. People only ever really harvest if they know there's a huge supply out there in the wild.
- AussieWog93 4y ago
  > I absolutely agree. In my eyes, any true enthusiast should respect preserving the computer as much as the associated keyboard. Not saying it's ideal, but that's capitalism. If something is more valuable as parts than a whole, it'll be stripped down for parts.
  - lewisflude 4y ago
    On this point, being stripped down for parts, being lovingly cleaned/restored by an enthusiast and then used/appreciated is probably a better fate for the keyboard than forever living in landfill or in a box in someones attic.
  - lupire 4y ago
    You say this as you capitalistically eat the fruit of a plant or the muscle of a cow. It's not capitalism, it's Gaia making the best of a situation, extracting value from trash. It is ideal, because no one wants to the computer.
- maxerickson 4y ago
  Why do you care what other people are enthusiastic about? Like old computers are "interesting junk", if preservationists want them preserved the thing to do is buy them and preserve them.
  - lewisflude 4y ago
    Sorry, my phrasing was bad. I don't care what other's are enthusiastic about. You're right, old keyboards/computers are literally just junk that was once useful technology. It's up to every person to decide how exciting that is/isn't, and if they find one aspect interesting but not the other, that's fine. When I said "should be", what I really meant was that in my experience people aren't just buying sets of keyboards/computers and immediately chucking out the computer as the OP suggested when they said "I wince every time some funko popper discards a perfectly good machine but keeps the keyboard.". As in, this has not been my experience at all.
  - charles_kaw 4y ago
    > Why do you care what other people are enthusiastic about? I care because I'm enthusiastic about old computers. I care because some of these systems have historic and cultural value. I care because I care. And when people separate these systems and render large swathes of them inoperable so that they can put some "rare keyboards" on their shelf, it hurts the ability of other people to experience these historically significant and interesting systems. And no, I'm not referring to standard x86 machines :)
johnwalkr 4y ago
> funko popper First time but hopefully not the last time I heard this.
hakfoo 4y ago
As someone on both sides of those hobbies, I keep hoping that is slowly being nibbled down. 10 years ago, if you wanted interesting keycaps, you had to scrap a vintage board. Now, how many truckloads do you want unloaded at your doorstep, new and cheap? There's a bit of a meme factor with some of the vintage switches, unfortunately...