4 ms·
Commodore PET Keys – Series 2001 Edition
- dannyobrien 3y agoA gloriously chicletty physical keyboard, up there with the "dead men's fingers" feel of the ZX Spectrum. Just typing on it made you feel like you were in some brutally-constructed space pirate's navigation pod. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Commodore_PET_keyboard_-_Retrosystems_2010.jpg https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Commodore_PET_keyb...
- yodon 3y agoEveryone remembers the PET for its iconic industrial design and chiclet keyboards but mustn't forget the integrated "mass storage" cassette tape player and recorder visible in the other images on that page. I had a whole supply of cassette tapes that I bought somewhere with just 6 minutes of tape on the spools, for saving and loading of programs for the PET.
- jmull 3y agoMan, I hated those chiclet monstrosities. Fortunately, I had the 2001-N, with the real keyboard and green screen.
- __mharrison__ 3y agoNon staggered keyboard layout was ahead of it's time. Too bad it didn't stick around.
- taskforcegemini 3y agoit still is around or is coming back. I recently saw a laptop with that kind of layout and was confused. it wasn't a niche shop either.
- rgoulter 3y agoDo you recall which? The only thing which comes to mind with "laptop" and "ortholinear" is MNT Pocket Reform. https://mntre.com/media/reform_md/2022-06-20-introducing-mnt-pocket-reform.html https://mntre.com/media/reform_md/2022-06-20-introducing-mnt...
- kmoser 3y agoAlso GRiDCASE 1510 https://www.griduk.com/products/rugged-laptops/gridcase-1510/ https://www.griduk.com/products/rugged-laptops/gridcase-1510... (albeit admittedly a niche device as well)
- mixmastamyk 3y agoWhat is the benefit to that?
- proleisuretour 3y agoMan, I miss those tape drives and a good game of Snake!
- lisper 3y agoThe original PET keyboard was a PITA to use, but it was nonetheless tremendously cool in its day mainly because of all the graphics symbols. It was the emoji keyboard of the time, except that the PET's symbols were composable in two dimensions to make awesome-looking (by the standards of the day) pictures. The integrated B&W CRT display was crisp and clean, because it was a direct connect and didn't have an RF modulator (which you needed to connect most computers of the day to a TV set). It resembled the Macintosh more than is commonly acknowledged. Life was simpler then. Sometimes I miss those days.
- mdtancsa 3y agoTBH, my heart fluttered a bit when I saw the 2001 keyboard pictures. It was magic when I discovered the PET in the 80s.... I was a typical disengaged teen at school up until that point, and by next summer I PAID money out of my own pocket to take a course on 6502 Assembler taught by Steve Punter on the other side of Toronto in a public library basement. Awww, exciting nostalgia shooting directly into my veins :)
- reaperducer 3y agoSteve Punter One of the under-sung heroes of Commodore's salad days. Not Butterfield-grade. But still not widely appreciated for his contribution to Commodore telecommunications.
- mdtancsa 3y agoFrom what I remember, he was a really good teacher too!