Info on this keyboard?

[tuba section]

Hi, I spotted this on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-IN-BOX-Apple-ADB-Keyboard-by-Kensington-Extended-II-Style-IIgs-Macintosh-Mac-/272504180148?hash=item3f7283cdb4:g:ElsAAOSw5cNYZx03

I was wondering if anyone has any information on it. I am specifically wondering if it has Alps switches since the bottom row layout is very appealing to me. I'm sorry for the question, I looked everywhere and could not seem to find any info on this specific board.

Thanks in advance!

[menuhin]

I bet it has Alps switches and I bet it is one of those made in Taiwan for Apple, with simplified white Alps.

But it's an ADB keyboard, not a keyboard with normal DIN or PS/2. Do you have the adapter for that?

[davkol]

I have a keyboard, that looks like this. It's made by Strong Man IIRC and has Alps SKCM White and ABS caps. I have a mouse that shipped with it too.

[happylacquer]

Hi, I spotted this on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-IN-BOX-Apple-ADB-Keyboard-by-Kensington-Extended-II-Style-IIgs-Macintosh-Mac-/272504180148?hash=item3f7283cdb4:g:ElsAAOSw5cNYZx03

I was wondering if anyone has any information on it. I am specifically wondering if it has Alps switches since the bottom row layout is very appealing to me. I'm sorry for the question, I looked everywhere and could not seem to find any info on this specific board.

Thanks in advance!

Hey Tuba Selector, I remember seeing these in my local computer store that sold Apple products as a cheaper alternative to the official Apple one. I remember it feeling slightly different than the official Apple Pro ADB keyboard that people love for the Alps. It very well may use Alps but I think you'll find they feel slightly different than an Apple one. If you are buying it to harvest for the switches, i think you will be safe. However, you have to also keep in mind Kensingston made budget rubber domes too for Macs of the era, so it's not even a 100% chance you get a mech. However, don't take this as 100% truth, this is my thoughts based off of all the time I spent in computer stores before 1998. (By the time the first iMac was out it was all rubber dome)

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Mine is a MacAlly MK-105SUKMCG, and is the Motorola StarMax keyboard.

It's around 20 years old now, and the rubber is so far gone that it has become a sensory deprivation chamber for your fingers. When I type on it, I could be a finger amputee for all I can tell. It wasn't all that great when I got it 17 years ago. Maybe one summer I'll open it up and see who the OEM is.

I don't know of any Strong Man keyboard that looks like that, but Ortek did a similar-looking keyboard that more closely resembled the AppleDesign Keyboard. The one pictured however is an exact match for my MacAlly rubberdome.