KT F&F. Damn, how many boards did those ****ers at KT make in their day?! xD
Ah—foam 'n' foil, with the spring removed? This is why we post about stuff here. Good job.
I've never tried F&F switches, but the mere name implies shoddiness, like "smoke and mirrors". That said, I've read some positive comments about F&F's, and I gather they can be restored (the foam often having deteriorated). And the caps are undeniably cool. So to those in the know, are they irredeemably icky?
I'm no Key Tronic fan either. As far as cursing them, though—well, they've just ridden the surf of supply and demand.
Not everyone wanted to pay hundreds of '90s bucks for a mechanical KB. (It's hard to believe, but there have always many people don't care about KB feel or sound, and just want to type.) So KT created a mushier, shorter-lived version of the product at a fraction of the price. Virtually all consumer items have those kinds of options. It's how the market works. It's up to the buyer to do a bit of research and be sure they're getting what they really want.
I don't know what went through IBM's mind at the time, but I'm guessing they sniffed and ignored the cheap boards, the way Mercedes would've ignored VW. If there'd been any legal grounds to challenging the cheap Model M knock-offs, and any reason to do so, I doubt IBM would've hesitated, given their resources.
