Apple Extended Keyboard II (AEKII) review (Alps SKCM Cream / Ivory)

[chyros]

Apple Extended Keyboard II

Fairly futuristic-looking, this oldie from 1991 looks a lot younger than it really is. It uses ADB buses and cables and a different protocol so I can't use it. It has weird quirks all over and quite a few whimsical things around.

The keyboard is quite sturdy and has very good quality keycaps - thick PBT dyesubs. The lettering is in italics and positioned quite confusingly - moreover some legends and functions I can't make heads or tails out of. The keyfeel is pretty nice, and although fairly rough, much like Black Alps, feels more refined. Bottoming out is quite soft due to the damping mechanism, and the sound is pretty quiet - the rubber cushions are quite effective - so good for open offices. This switch is the basis of the design of the Matias Quiet Click switch. They're among my more well-liked Alps so far.

All in all the board is a bit weird for my tastes, but I really wouldn't mind having a normal board with these switches in, they're pretty cool. I also vote to have the = key on numpads as standard, that's a very useful feature.

[Findecanor]

The embedded video doesn't work. Direct link:

[chyros]

Crap, that's annoying. I still can't see embedded videos on this forum so I didn't know. Cheers mate!

[jacobolus]

The issue is that you included some extra stuff at the end of the youtube URL. Here’s a working embedded video:

[chyros]

Cool, think it should be fixed now (I hope).

[jacobolus]

By the way, about the tall angle possible when fully extending the 'foot': most office workers that I see as I tour around various offices have a very tall desk and a very low chair, similar to the height of dining tables and chairs you might find at a restaurant (or for eating in someone’s home).

With a desk and chair like that, the fully tilted AEK II is actually just about the right tilt.

Obviously if you set the keyboard on your lap, or on a low desk, less tilted becomes better. (If the keyboard is placed low enough, it even becomes helpful to prop something in front of the board to cancel the built-in tilt.)

[jacobolus]

I actually really like the keycap profile. If you want to compare to other profiles, see:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=68550

Cherry profile:


Standard Alps cylindrical profile:


Apple:


A bunch of others all together

[chyros]

By the way, about the tall angle possible when fully extending the 'foot': most office workers that I see as I tour around various offices have a very tall desk and a very low chair, similar to the height of dining tables and chairs you might find at a restaurant (or for eating in someone�s home).

With a desk and chair like that, the fully tilted AEK II is actually just about the right tilt.

Obviously if you set the keyboard on your lap, or on a low desk, less tilted becomes better. (If the keyboard is placed low enough, it even becomes helpful to prop something in front of the board to cancel the built-in tilt.)

Haha ok, yeah that makes more sense then xD .

I actually really like the keycap profile. If you want to compare to other profiles, see:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=68550
*lots of pics*

Aha, so it's definitely a less strongly sculpted profile then? Definitely felt that way, especially on the top and bottom rows.

[jacobolus]

Aha, so it's definitely a less strongly sculpted profile then? Definitely felt that way, especially on the top and bottom rows.

I’m not sure what less strongly sculpted means. The relative tilts between rows are fairly similar. The home row is tilted a little less on Apple’s profile than on the standard Alps cylindrical profile. The further-away rows are a little taller on Apple’s profile than on standard Alps profile. Personally, I’d call Apple’s profile slightly more aggressively sculpted: giving the further rows taller keycaps makes it easier to press them in my opinion. But it really depends on your definition.

The other big difference of course is that Apple’s keycaps have rounder edges and corners.

[chyros]

You're right, sculpted is a poor choice of words - I meant slanted. If you look at the diagonal, the Apple caps sit at very low angles at most rows, while other profiles seem to sit at noticeably greater angles, particularly at the lower rows.