FingerWorks TouchStream keyboards on eBay

[mr_sf_applet]

For the last few months I've been following the market for FingerWorks TouchStream keyboards on eBay. This was a keyboard that, at the time FingerWorks ceased operations in 2005, was selling new for $350.

Since I've been tracking this, I don't  believe a TouchStream has ever sold for less than something on the order of $650. About three weeks ago, one sold for $669 and another sold for $689, both from the same seller. I'm not sure I would have entrusted that kind of dough to this seller, because her descriptions were blatantly lifted verbatim from other TouchStream listings on eBay.

Last weekend, a TouchStream LP sold for $1,075.

This past week, three TouchStream LPs were listed, all with bidding ending this weekend. The first of them sold for $1,226.04 last night. The second one ended this morning with a high bid of over $1,800!! But for some reason this one was delisted or canceled soon after the end of bidding, so I don't know what happened there. The third one sold for $1,525.

Entering into the weekend, all three listings had the same high bidder. If I remember correctly, his high bids were a little over $500 for two of the listings, and something like $330 for the third one. But this was before the bidding got serious. I'm pretty sure he was the one who won the third listing, the one with a winning bid of $1,525.

So if you think paying over $260 for a Happy Hacking Professional 2 is insane, you ain't seen nothing.

Me, I'm just wondering if we'll ever see an IBM M15 for sale ever again on eBay. That would be my personal Holy Grail of keyboards.

[iMav]

I suggest calling or emailing he folks at clickykeyboards.  Their website isn't always 100% accurate as to what they have in stock.  It wouldn't hurt to ask if they have any M15's available.

[xsphat]

What's the M15? is that the black one with the pointing stick?

[iMav]

What's the M15? is that the black one with the pointing stick?

IBM's split ergonomic keyboard.

[mr_sf_applet]

IBM's split ergonomic keyboard.

With buckling springs!

[xsphat]

Alright, I get ya.  That is a nice looking board, but any 'board with buckling springs is a cool.

[iMav]

I'm not a big split keyboard fan...but the arrow keys on both sides of the keyboard is kinda cool.

[xsphat]

I'm not a big split keyboard fan...but the arrow keys on both sides of the keyboard is kinda cool.

command+c, command+v, only from me.

[mr_sf_applet]

Some relevant YouTube videos:

- Typing on a TouchStream LP: http://youtube.com/watch?v=FDW5zyjhCbc

- An IBM M15 being adjusted: http://youtube.com/watch?v=H_g-xAXnbgU


And while we're at it, here's the HHKB Pro 2: http://youtube.com/watch?v=b5CeNunbHto

[dstamatis]

Hi,
I'm actually the buyer of that last auction, for $1525, which as far as I know, it the highest anyone has ever paid for this keyboard (a distinction I wish I didn't possess).

The reason the bids jumped so high, was because of an ebay bidder called optidata_italy, who started bidding on all the auctions, and won 2 Touchstreams in a row.  This forced me to bid much much much higher than I ever intended to pay for this keyboard, but that fool really gave me no choice.

Ever since my Touchstream broke, I've been unable to work. This keyboard is the only thing that relieves my RSI and allowed me to continue to be an engineer. To me, $1525 was a small price to pay to be able to still work.

Anyway, take care, and good luck with whatever keyboard you do decide to purchase.

D

[iMav]

Hey dstamatis.

Welcome to geekhack!!  

Any chance you can share some pics of your new 'board once it arives?  We like to see stuff like that (yes, we're weird).  I think you are the only Fingerworks keyboard owner we have around here...I'd love to hear more about these keyboards.

[dstamatis]

I've used Fingerworks for about 4 years, and have never looked back.

The fact that folks are willing to spend over $1000, for a used keyboard, is a testament to their potential.

It's a crying shame that Apple bought out the technology just to stick it on their iPhones. (Yes, those nifty multi-finger touch capabilities of the iPhone were taken from Fingerworks' technology.)

What's truly sad about this whole affair is that people with chronic RSI injuries were suddenly left out in the cold, in 2005, by an uncaring Steve Jobs. Apple took an important medical product off the market, just to stick in on their phones as a gimmick.

What can one say about a corporation that would do something so vile and sick? I can't help but feel resentment toward Apple and Steve Jobs.

Anyway, I'll get off my soap box now.

Take care.
D

[xsphat]

There are a few Apple fanboys here, but I think we will all agree Steve Jobs can be a bastard. He is a greedy control freak who cares about nothing but himself, but damn does he own a great operating system. And the computers he pays slave-labor rates to be made, while killing the environment and claiming to be green, are totally hot, and I don't just mean on the lap!

And business strategies aside, no stock option scandal can hold a candle to what Jobs did the recording industry, and for that I love him. All he really did was expose the idiocy of the CEOs and let them cut off their own heads. There is no way he could have predicted it, but that it happened on his watch made him the instigator.

So whatever your views on OS X or Steve Jobs, there is good to come from evil, and that is a thought I am banking for my future.

[mr_sf_applet]

Hi,I'm actually the buyer of that last auction, for $1525, which as far as I know, it the highest anyone has ever paid for this keyboard (a distinction I wish I didn't possess).

The market for TouchStreams is crazy, but yeah, if it's the only keyboard that allows you to work without pain, then $1525 is a pittance.

And if it's any consolation, dstamatis, $1525 is not the highest anyone has paid for a TouchStream. Check this out:

http://coderseye.com/2006/selling-my-fingerworks-touchstream-st.html

And even that is probably not the record.

[mr_sf_applet]

I think you are the only Fingerworks keyboard owner we have around here...

Ahem.

http://geekhack.org/viewtopic.php?p=765&sid=35cd6f71793de78e7fb94746c22e7036#765

[iMav]

I think you are the only Fingerworks keyboard owner we have around here...

Ahem.

My sincerest apologies.  It must be the desert air.