6 ms·

It's not harder to buy "traditional high quality" in the keyboard sense - to me, that means buckling spring, and there's a huge market for it at the moment. It

It's not harder to buy "traditional high quality" in the keyboard sense - to me, that means buckling spring, and there's a huge market for it at the moment. It is expensive though. Have a search for "Cherry MX" keyboards. Big manufacturers like Corsair have recently launched several traditionally shaped keyboards with these switches.

tombrossman 12y ago
The point about mice is dead on though, I wish I'd bought more of the Intellimouse model as I am on my last one (of probably 3-4 total) and the Comfort Mouse 6000 I bought to replace it is not good enough. The slight lag on middle click is forever annoying. Look for some of the better engineered Microsoft mice (now all discontinued) on Amazon for an idea of what kind of prices these are fetching. Some are crazy expensive and I suspect it is because people like me still want them. Edit: Here's a 50-pack for £4500 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-IntelliMouse-Optical-1-1-optical/dp/B000I5Y9OU/ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-IntelliMouse-Optical-1-1-o...
- eertami 12y ago
  And they are great mice for gaming - I've been using a WMO1.1a for probably a decade, once you stick some custom mousefeet on them they are fantastic.
- louthy 12y ago
  I am still using my first intellimouse; it must be 15 years old (I actually don't remember exactly when I bought it, but it was a long time ago) - it's absolutely perfect still. I have just ordered another for home (just in case) and two for the office (one for usage, one for backup). It really is a solid bit of kit, and I'd be gutted if I couldn't source one again.
frik 12y ago
You mean the 70s/80s IBM keyboard typewriter/console/keyboard - very good quality but with a noise factor. For me the 90s keyboard/mice quality would be enough - as known from the old Microsoft Hardware department, the old Switzerland based Logitech company and IBM Thinkpad keyboards. The 90s/early 2000s hardware has a MTTF of about 10 years. The current 2010s hardware don't fit my needs at all, are overpriced (gaming devices) and have a very low product quality in general. [Edit: ...product quality of Microsoft/Logitech/Lenovo devices]
- eertami 12y ago
  Very low product quality? I have a Filco Majestouch that I'm pretty sure is going to outlast every peripheral and piece of tech at my desk and survive longer than 10 years. The switches are rated for 50m actuation and the body is fantastically sturdy. I'd even say it is of a higher overall quality than the IBM Model M. Sure, there are lot of shitty overpriced gaming keyboards but if you avoid those brands and get a Filco, Ducky, Das or Leopold for instance, you're getting quality. And most switches except for Blues will be quieter than the 70s/80s IBM era. I'd hate to have to go back to 90s Microsoft keyboards to be completely honest, long lasting maybe but not a nice experience.
  - michaelcampbell 12y ago
    I had a Model M until quite recently (and still have some buckling spring Unicomps), and have switched to blues at work. They're quieter than the M, but not by a lot. A couple guys at work are big mech KB fans too and one bought a Topre based KB - I'm thinking of switching to that. It's nice and worth checking out, even if you end up not liking it.
- scholia 12y ago
  Please define overpriced. Maybe you earn your living with a keyboard and use it for 8+ hours a day. How much is that worth? Maybe you spend $1,000 a year on a mobile phone + contract when you could get something that does the same job for half the price or less. Maybe you spend $1,000 a year on Starbucks ;-) Is a $100 to $200 mechanical keyboard actually overpriced if it works well for 5 to 10 years or even more?
  - frik 12y ago
    > Please define overpriced. I wrote "overpriced (gaming devices)". If I need a 90s/2000s style traditional office PC mouse (and keyboard) one has more or less resort to what's called PC gaming mouse/keyboard or keyboard with IBM/Cherry springs. The former is usually overpriced and often even of low quality (short life time) than the older generation of products. Example: a gaming mouse that costs $100 and has a crappy mouse-wheel and has a short lifetime of 2 years is of course worse than a good old Microsoft IntelliMouse or Logitech MX518 that used to cost $30 and has a lifetime of up to 10 years. Also it's incredible hard to find a new notebook with non-soft-keys keyboard. If I would like to replace my Lenovo Thinkpad T410/T420, there is simply non from Lenovo, HP or Apple. I would pay up to $1000 more if Lenovo/HP/Apple would produce a new T4xx series with a good keyboard and case again.

tombrossman 12y ago

The point about mice is dead on though, I wish I'd bought more of the Intellimouse model as I am on my last one (of probably 3-4 total) and the Comfort Mouse 6000 I bought to replace it is not good enough. The slight lag on middle click is forever annoying. Look for some of the better engineered Microsoft mice (now all discontinued) on Amazon for an idea of what kind of prices these are fetching. Some are crazy expensive and I suspect it is because people like me still want them. Edit: Here's a 50-pack for £4500 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-IntelliMouse-Optical-1-1-optical/dp/B000I5Y9OU/ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-IntelliMouse-Optical-1-1-o...

eertami 12y ago
And they are great mice for gaming - I've been using a WMO1.1a for probably a decade, once you stick some custom mousefeet on them they are fantastic.
louthy 12y ago
I am still using my first intellimouse; it must be 15 years old (I actually don't remember exactly when I bought it, but it was a long time ago) - it's absolutely perfect still. I have just ordered another for home (just in case) and two for the office (one for usage, one for backup). It really is a solid bit of kit, and I'd be gutted if I couldn't source one again.

frik 12y ago

You mean the 70s/80s IBM keyboard typewriter/console/keyboard - very good quality but with a noise factor. For me the 90s keyboard/mice quality would be enough - as known from the old Microsoft Hardware department, the old Switzerland based Logitech company and IBM Thinkpad keyboards. The 90s/early 2000s hardware has a MTTF of about 10 years. The current 2010s hardware don't fit my needs at all, are overpriced (gaming devices) and have a very low product quality in general. [Edit: ...product quality of Microsoft/Logitech/Lenovo devices]

eertami 12y ago
Very low product quality? I have a Filco Majestouch that I'm pretty sure is going to outlast every peripheral and piece of tech at my desk and survive longer than 10 years. The switches are rated for 50m actuation and the body is fantastically sturdy. I'd even say it is of a higher overall quality than the IBM Model M. Sure, there are lot of shitty overpriced gaming keyboards but if you avoid those brands and get a Filco, Ducky, Das or Leopold for instance, you're getting quality. And most switches except for Blues will be quieter than the 70s/80s IBM era. I'd hate to have to go back to 90s Microsoft keyboards to be completely honest, long lasting maybe but not a nice experience.
- michaelcampbell 12y ago
  I had a Model M until quite recently (and still have some buckling spring Unicomps), and have switched to blues at work. They're quieter than the M, but not by a lot. A couple guys at work are big mech KB fans too and one bought a Topre based KB - I'm thinking of switching to that. It's nice and worth checking out, even if you end up not liking it.
scholia 12y ago
Please define overpriced. Maybe you earn your living with a keyboard and use it for 8+ hours a day. How much is that worth? Maybe you spend $1,000 a year on a mobile phone + contract when you could get something that does the same job for half the price or less. Maybe you spend $1,000 a year on Starbucks ;-) Is a $100 to $200 mechanical keyboard actually overpriced if it works well for 5 to 10 years or even more?
- frik 12y ago
  > Please define overpriced. I wrote "overpriced (gaming devices)". If I need a 90s/2000s style traditional office PC mouse (and keyboard) one has more or less resort to what's called PC gaming mouse/keyboard or keyboard with IBM/Cherry springs. The former is usually overpriced and often even of low quality (short life time) than the older generation of products. Example: a gaming mouse that costs $100 and has a crappy mouse-wheel and has a short lifetime of 2 years is of course worse than a good old Microsoft IntelliMouse or Logitech MX518 that used to cost $30 and has a lifetime of up to 10 years. Also it's incredible hard to find a new notebook with non-soft-keys keyboard. If I would like to replace my Lenovo Thinkpad T410/T420, there is simply non from Lenovo, HP or Apple. I would pay up to $1000 more if Lenovo/HP/Apple would produce a new T4xx series with a good keyboard and case again.