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Author Topic: I learned something fascinating today  (Read 1494 times)

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Offline AKmalamute

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I learned something fascinating today
« on: Sun, 22 September 2013, 00:42:47 »
The rest of you will laugh or cry because it really isn't that fascinating.

Okay so I had some guys over to help move a piano. Afterwords, we're shooting the breeze and I talk about Calmb4thePwn's keycap GB and I get laughed at so I show the videos of the ergodox being assembled and get laughed at but whatever I keep going.

I have a stack of not-for-pcs keyboards behind me, and some random synapse fires and I get out a couple of flathead screwdrivers to pull keycaps so I can talk about how they used to do things.

And the Wyse-150 RJ30 serial keyboards? They have CherryMX blacks. I would absolutely never have known that before about a month ago, but there you have it ... mechanical keyswitches sitting for nearly a decade in my own house! Of course, they're blacks, quite possibly my least favorite keyswitch, which helps explain why I didn't have any particular memories of the dumb terminals having fantastic keyboards but still. Cherry MX.

 Also, the fancy Sparc keyboard has some bizarrely attached membrane switch. It's actually alright to type on. Better than the Wyse keyboard.

 ...The more you know...
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Offline rowdy

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Re: I learned something fascinating today
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 22 September 2013, 00:50:48 »
For years I used my old Link terminal for various purposes.  I always liked typing on it, but didn't know why.

Then when I started researching mechanical keyboards, and bought a Ducky Shine, I happened to pull a keycap off the old Link keyboard and ... MX blacks!

That explains why I liked typing on that terminal keyboard so much more than the others I have.

The keycaps were DS too, although slightly yellowed, and ended up spending a little time on my QFR (along with Red Alert modifiers, as the Link ones were completely different).
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"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline AKmalamute

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Re: I learned something fascinating today
« Reply #2 on: Thu, 26 September 2013, 00:31:43 »
Further strangenesses. So, a long time ago a staff member made threats (sort of) to sue the company if they didn't buy her a suitably ergonomic keyboard. $600, no idea the make/model but I had it on my desk for a while. The gimbals made it very tall but it was a fully separated keyboard although you couldn't adjust the distance between the halves.

anyway I went looking for it today because now that I know about things like Cherry vs. Alps I though I'd find it (staff member didn't like it, returned it to IT after about three weeks) and I had no success, but I found two el-cheapo keyboards, and thought I had a find ... I pulled a keycap off, and low and behold, clearly an Alps style square keycap.

I pulled a second one off, though, and realized it was a membrane switch, but had square through-holse with X-shaped holders, that accepted the tiny-square Alps keycaps.

 No I didn't write down the model. The top just says, in very bold letters, "USB" But the sticker on the bottom had the name and I've never heard of it and don't remeber now. Ergitech maybe? Not logitech, I don't think it started "ergo-" anything ... but pretty sure 'e' was the first, or maybe second letter, and is similar to the pronunciation of "logitech"

 Fake Alps membrane switch. What the heck.
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Offline hoggy

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Re: I learned something fascinating today
« Reply #3 on: Thu, 26 September 2013, 01:20:33 »
Sounds like it could have been this one?

Pace keyboard.  If anyone is selling one, please get in touch...
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GH Ergonomic Guide (in progress)
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=54680.0

Offline AKmalamute

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Re: I learned something fascinating today
« Reply #4 on: Thu, 26 September 2013, 01:25:18 »
Quote from: hoggy on Thu, 26 September 2013, 01:20:33
Sounds like it could have been this one?
Show Image

Pace keyboard.  If anyone is selling one, please get in touch...
Yeah that looks right. Sorry I neither know where the keyboard physically resides, nor am in any position to encourage the company to sell it, if I knew.

I can say that if connections happen, it can be had cheap. everyone that isn't me, hated the keyboard varying degrees of passion.   :rolleyes: Maybe it'll slip through a surplus sale for $10. I'm not kidding, that's probably what will become of it. If it's me ... I'll hopefully have the 60 posts needed to sell it here  ;D
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HHKB-lite2, Dvorak user

Offline hoggy

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Re: I learned something fascinating today
« Reply #5 on: Thu, 26 September 2013, 16:00:27 »
These things happen.  An old employer of mine had an old maltron, between me leaving and actually realising that I wanted it, it got crushed.
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GH Ergonomic Guide (in progress)
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=54680.0

Offline AKmalamute

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Re: I learned something fascinating today
« Reply #6 on: Sun, 13 October 2013, 02:55:00 »
So, I started taking a board apart today. Aside from being amused the PCB is stamped 1985, I came to realize some might be amused at: the spacebar. It's about 9.25x. Anybody need a big space bar for their GH60? ... That should turn it into a 65% all by its lonesome, actually.
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HHKB-lite2, Dvorak user
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