My first computer was a PCs Ltd “AT Clone” (ie 80286) probably built by Michael Dell himself in early 1985. It came with (ie I bought as a peripheral) a really nice keyboard but I don’t know what exactly. In the early-mid-1990s it developed a problem and I had to replace it – at that point it was hard to find a keyboard with function keys on the left side and I paid dearly for it. Foolishly, I gave that entire system (including a warhorse Epson dot-matrix printer) away a few years later to a guy who I felt sorry for.
In the late-1990s my employer bought me a new Dell system with an AT101 which I used regularly until about 2004. I bought a Compaq system at that time with an SK-2800 (excellent rubber dome “media”) keyboard which I used until about 2010.
Early–mid–2010 three things happened in short order: I did an internet search for something like “best keyboard” (returning “the one true keyboard” as well as sending me to geekhack), I started a new job and needed at least one more keyboard (even though I retrieved my old AT101 from a previous/new co–worker), and I got a (broken) Northgate Omnikey at a second–hand store for $2.
So, I quickly bought a Model M (a 1991 black label 1391401 that remains completely unmodified and is still one of my best Ms to this day), started scoping out second–hand shops and buying anything interesting and cheap, and also bought an F XT because it was extolled as even better than the Model M. Also, I quickly realized that I loathe keys that do not click.
Since then, I have explored almost everything *EXCEPT* Topre and pre–Model F IBM iron such as beam spring or Hall effect. I have a handful of keyboards in general circulation, a “permanent collection” of perhaps a dozen keyboards, and a “rotating collection” of a dozen more that may or may not be made permanent.
Then there is a group of 10–20 that need to be sold, a third of which are very nice.
Cherry switches simply do not turn me on, and I have never gotten the hang of linear switches. I have put my 14–year–old son (who loves to game) on a modded Filco TKL with black Cherries and specific targeted mods (O–rings on the all heavily–used gaming keys and “gold” zinc WASD, for example) which he loves. The only Cherry keyboard in my personal collection is a G80–11900 with soft O–rings. (I LOVE the touch pad.) Otherwise, the best Cherry I have had, and sold, was a Leopold full–size with blues which was very nice in its own way but blue Cherries are extremely irritating to me.
My love affair with Alps is more entertaining. My supreme Alps keyboard is a Northgate Omnikey 101 which I have populated with blue Alps. My other pinnacle is a Filco Zero with blue Alps and a custom hodge–podge key set that looks fantastic but for a few minor oddities. I have a Ducky 1087XM with orange Alps that is very very nice, especially when I put old Apple PBT keys on it, and a Dell AT101W with orange Alps that is my “standing utility PS/2” keyboard. Beyond that, I have another Omnikey 101 with Matias Quiet keys but there is a cluster of nearly a dozen dead keys that I need to diagnose and repair. And, oh yes, I have primo Apple AEK (orange) and AEK2 (cream) securely boxed with a NIB iMate for whenever I feel the urge in the future.
As for “Alps–like” switches, my “Laser” brand keyboard with white SMKs is extremely enjoyable, and the switches are smooth and responsive. My Acer with its “ersatz–Alps–like” switch bodies with plungers over membrane is absolutely delightful. Not a mechanical keyboard, but a joy to use.
NMB Hi-Tek (aka “Space Invaders” aka “Angry Bear”) switches are wonderful. They are a nightmare to work with and can get dirty, but how sweet to use! Insanely complicated and fussy, it is easy to understand how they fell off of “the information superhighway” but they feel fantastic! The linear (white) ones are very smooth and the clicky (black) ones are superb. They are strong and tight and there is really no wobble. They actuate high up and are very consistent and sturdy. How unfortunate that they are obsolete, hard to find, and offer no realistic keycap customization.
So we are down to buckling springs. There is so much to say that I simply won’t say it. The Model M is “the one true keyboard” and it is a radical cheapening and downgrading of the Model F. Figure that out for yourself.
I have a full set with backups of what I consider to be important. At this point, when I buy a keyboard it is mostly an experiment to see whether it would be an upgrade to what I already have, or just a great deal that I pounced on for general principals.
