Model M reviews and links

HAK.5 video (episode #3) video podcast for the hacker, modder, and do-it-yourselfer
“…IBM M series keyboard made in 1987.  These were great keyboards at the time, and they still are actually.  They’ve got great tactile response.  I mean these keys are real springy.. and the cord for it is 8-miles-long and detatchable — plus,  stretchy.  I’m going to give it the same treatment that I gave the (computer) case.  It’s going to be all black, with some red accents, pinstripes, and the logo… …the way we’re going to do it is going to save you about $60.  We’re going to make our own Das keyboard in the same stroke.  No characters on it whatsoever.  Fairly inexpensive.  This keyboard will be for the truly 31337 HX0R”

YouTube video: Keyboard Carnage http://m.etv.cx/item/2
This video tests the myth that a Model M keyboard can be used to kill a man and you can still type on it afterwards.  We use a slightly broken Model M from 1988 (letters [B], [N] and the [?/] button were broken to start with).  The other keyboard from the same year is made by Zenith sporting a Bull logo. This one has a thinner metal plate, rubber dome keys and is a ’bit’ thinner than the Model M.
The model M’s round front edge makes it harder to kill a lemon, but it’s better overall endurance made it the overall winner..

“This proves in hand to hand combat, the IBM model M keyboard is better than the Zenith bull keyboard.”

The Steampunk Keyboard Mod: http://steampunkworkshop.com/keyboard.shtml
The already venerable IBM Model M is retro-fitted with glass and nickel keys and mounted in a polished brass frame.

Flickr slideshow of random lust and appreciation for model M keyboards: http://www.flickr.com/search/show/?q=%22ibm+model+m%22&s=int

 
WIKIPEDIA | Model M Keyboard
“The Model M is also remembered for its overall heavy and sturdy design, which allowed the keyboard to survive far longer periods of time, use, and abuse than practically any other personal computer component ever manufactured.”

CNET | Top 10 tech we miss: #7: Good keyboards
“The keyboards on early IBM PCs were heavy, had a great feel, and made a satisfying clacking noise when you typed, thanks to the expensive “buckling spring” design for the switches.”

ZDNet | Where have all the good keyboards gone
“Not too long ago, it was hard for a PC user to love anything IBM. But even back then, IBM excelled at least at one thing: It made the best darn keyboards on the planet.

Those keyboards, included with the original IBM PCs, the ATs and the PS/2s, had a remarkable feel.

They were solid and overengineered. When a key struck a contact, the feel was tremendously satisfying.”

PCWORLD | How to Fix Keyboards: Don’t Touch ’Em!
“When it comes to keyboards, consistency makes sense. Sitting down at a PC and getting to work without having to curse what’s under your fingers is a genuine productivity booster. But increasingly we see all sorts of improvements that aren’t.”

“Keyboard feel is pretty much a lost art. Everything I’ve tried lately has a dead, sticky touch, in part because just about everybody uses the cheapest possible technology.”

NBCNEWS.com | Classic keyboards redux
“I’m a bit of a curmudgeon when it comes to PC keyboards, and after all these years, I still prefer the feel and sound of my old IBM 101-key (circa 1990) with its “buckling spring” action. I’ve moved this keyboard from PC to PC through more upgrades than I can count.”

Dan’s Data | Review: IBM Keyboards – The Odyssey Continues
“Computer users are used to hardware that’s worthless in three years and useless in five; clicky keyboards aren’t like that. You could leave one of these things to your children in your will. Or be buried with it..”

Dan’s Data | Review: IBM 42H1292 and 1391401 keyboards
“The big deal about these old keyboards is their lovely, positive key-click. When you use a keyboard that doesn’t have a good positive click, it’s hard to tell when you’ve depressed a key properly. You have to watch the screen to make sure you don’t leave letters out, or you have to really hammer the keyboard, which is not good for your hands.”

Dan’s Data | Letters IBM model M15 bent ergonomic keyboard
“Yes, there were clicky split ’boards, but nobody makes them any more. You’ll have a hard time finding one; Clicky Keyboards have sold the couple they found.”

Chicago Tribune | KEYBOARDS BRING REAL CHARACTERS TO YOUR FINGERTIPS
“Thirteen million Selectric electric typewriters were made from 1961 until June 30, 1987, setting the standard for how professional office equipment ought to look and feel. Duffy admitted that the shape and feel of the keys on today`s PCs are calculated emulations of the Selectric.

On IBM PC keyboards, for example, the resistance of the key against the finger relaxes about halfway through the stroke-about the instant the character is triggered-as a spring under the key buckles. The dropoff in resistance mimics the ”tactile response” of the Selectric, where a certain amount of key travel triggered the printer mechanism, followed by a small amount of key travel until you hit bottom.

Meanwhile, the key tops of PC keyboards mimic those used in the Selectric III. ”With the Selectric I and II, the keys had a depression in them, but it was more of a square cavity. With the Selectric III, we changed the top to make it more rectangular, and human-factors testing gave good results,” Duffy said.

The new key tops-since emulated by virtually everybody-have a cylindrical depression. Instead of all four sides being higher than the middle, only the right and left sides are higher. Also, instead of being square-as you look down on them from the top-the keys are longer front-to-back than right-to-left. The combination makes the key tops more comfortable, since they offer a larger target and fewer edges to an imprecisely guided finger.”

LowEndMac.com | IBM Model M: The Best Computer Keyboard Ever
“I just took a typing test using my old Model M and hit 64 words per minute – and I had fewer typos in the process. There’s just something right about the design; I really can’t describe it other than saying that my finger always presses hard enough and never too hard on a Model M – are two of the many reasons for typos on lesser keyboards.
…
What makes the IBM Model M so good? It’s all in the spring – buckling springs, to be precise. A buckling spring is a mechanism that carries tension until enough force is applied to “buckle” the spring, at which point it collapses and the key can travel down, producing an audible click when it does.
…
Of course, while noisy and intrusive to your neighbors, there’s one very good reason why the buckling spring keyboard remained in production for so many years and why it’s something of a specialty item today. Those switches are very expensive compared to the cheap rubber domes in use today, and it’s those switches that give this keyboard its legendary feel (and make it too expensive for this age of made-in-China mass-production).
…
One thing is certain: If you generate a lot of text, you owe it yourself to get a decent keyboard.”

Linux Journal | Building the Ultimate Linux Box
“Like many hackers of a certain age, I imprinted on the IBM Model M keyboard about 20 years ago. They have a relatively stiff travel with a sharp break and a positive keyclick that can only be described as crunchy. They inspire cult-like devotion. It’s still possible to buy the real Model M, armor-plated case and all. “

Computerworld | Quest for a decent keyboard
Those who aren’t old enough to have used an IBM Selectric typewriter or the first IBM PC keyboard don’t know what a difference a good quality keyboard makes.

Those early devices had excellent keystroke travel and responded with satisfying mechanical clacking sound that told you the system had registered each keystroke.

Good keyboards can improve productivity and reduce stress on your hands. Unfortunately, today’s keyboards are cheap, unresponsive, lightweight affairs with little or no tactile response. Keyboards are tacked onto computers almost as an afterthought.“

Care and feeding of an IBM Model M 1391406 keyboard
“Ah, the mighty IBM Model M – the best keyboard ever manufactured. The Model M was originally bundled with 8086 and 80286 IBM PS/2 computers dating from around 1986. The design has not been improved on since. Fortunately the Model Mis so durable and well-made that a vintage 80’s keyboard will likely still be usable today, after a decade and a half and of use and abuse. “

Clean your vintage IBM M2 clicky keyboard
“Clicky fever is indeed upon us. It’s not hard to find a used one of these, but it is hard to find a clean one, so you’ll need to break out the elbow grease. I’ve found instructions for cleaning the big version, but I haven’t found any yet for the M2, which is the smaller version I’m using here. I like this one a lot better, as it has all necessary keys, but is much more compact.”

The heavy, clicky monster I love
“This type of switch is nearly immune to corrosion and dirt. These switches are very resistant to key bounce problems that result in multiple characters appearing from a single strike. They are also the most durable in the industry—rated for 25 million or more keystrokes, as opposed to 10 to 20 million for other designs. The tactile feedback is unsurpassed because a relatively loud click and strong over-center feel normally are provided.”

Slashdot | Das Keyboard: Hit Any Key
“…because the great thing about older, mechanical-action keyboards like the Model M is not so much how they look, but how they feel beneath the hand. Instead of the clacking, snapping action of buckling-spring keyboards, manufacturers have mostly moved to cheaper, less-complicated membrane keyboards, some of which feel better than others. My impression on opening the box and giving the black keyboard a lengthy groping was that the Das Keyboard’s action is a bit squishy. To be fair, in the current keyboard market, most of the competition feels no better, and many competitors feel worse.”