Apple IIgs / Apple IIc Stepped PBT's!!!

[rhubarbpi]

(generic pic of them from internet - do not have geekhack attached to mobile yet! lol)

I gotta say - after getting the Apple IIgs / Alps Orange board last week, I cannot get over how badass these stepped PBT dye subs are.
Absolutely massive 2mm + thickness, the feeling as you jam on them are pretty magnificent.

Why did no other maker after ever attempt this keycap style?
I can tell you If I get another Alps board I would try to get replacements via an Apple IIc donor board to outfit them.
That being said I know the oblique Apple font is kind of divisive, myself I don't have issues with it at all.

[Riverman]

Those are pretty great keycaps.  They remind me of modern chiclet keys, but sculpted.  My middle school had several IIGS computers with those keyboards, and I bought one years later to use an old Mac.  Unfortunately it's pretty yellowed and has a school district's name melted into the top case.

[shallot]

Yeah, I absolutely love these caps - they feel wonderful, nice and solid and thocky. Unfortunately, bit of an arse to use them with almost anything else due to Apple rotating all the switches 90° in the top row. Apple IIc caps are your only option really, but they are totally flat profile, which equally sucks

[rhubarbpi]

They have me spoiled for real!
I TRIED going back to my other boards today and within minutes I was reconnecting the Apple IIgs lol.

That being said I have an AEK coming in Monday and of course will have to give it a look over.
They have equally thick non stepped PBTs and I'm sure they will please.

Still, the charms of this IIgs are many.  Such a unique board, plus I can't get over the full size yet compact form factor (Basically a 75).
I wish 65-75% keyboard makers would look for inspiration in this design!

[HungerMechanic]

I wasn't the biggest fan of the Apple II, as I wasn't exposed to them much in daily life, but the keyboards were excellent.

Someone should bring those keycaps back, but the profile may be copyrighted or something.

[rhubarbpi]

I wasn't the biggest fan of the Apple II, as I wasn't exposed to them much in daily life, but the keyboards were excellent.

Someone should bring those keycaps back, but the profile may be copyrighted or something.

Before I got the IIgs, I was skeptical how the caps would feel even though I thought they looked super awesome.
They ended up *feeling* just as awesome.  Your fingers tend to naturally situate themselves in the small spherical concave of each cap & the PBT texture itself is grippy yet smooth.

Perhaps they are an Apple copyright & with many other manufacturers moving away from stepped caps in general, they just didn't follow it up.  I could also see the argument on how well they would really translate on an AEK size board. Maybe the smaller form factor here suits them extremely well!