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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: penpoints on Wed, 18 August 2010, 17:48:05

Title: Twenty Years, One Keyboard
Post by: penpoints on Wed, 18 August 2010, 17:48:05: This guy REALLY LIKES his keyboard...

http://minimalmac.com/post/942415344/twenty-years-one-keyboard-guest-post-by-dave-caolo
Title: Twenty Years, One Keyboard
Post by: ch_123 on Wed, 18 August 2010, 18:01:12: For a keyboard that is cited as the Model M of the Mac world, it's a pretty mediocre keyboard...
Title: Twenty Years, One Keyboard
Post by: phototristan on Wed, 18 August 2010, 19:06:52: It's not bad. I liked it at the time it was new. I bought one for about $190. at Fry's back then. I like the Model M better though.
Title: Twenty Years, One Keyboard
Post by: microsoft windows on Wed, 18 August 2010, 19:19:27: Those keyboards were ok. The only good thing about Apple is Steve Jobs.
Title: Twenty Years, One Keyboard
Post by: D-EJ915 on Wed, 18 August 2010, 19:29:24: Quote from: ch_123;214136
For a keyboard that is cited as the Model M of the Mac world, it's a pretty mediocre keyboard...
the AEK and AEK2 are pretty nice, depends on what you like though.
Title: Twenty Years, One Keyboard
Post by: ch_123 on Wed, 18 August 2010, 19:32:07: It's pretty decent in the scheme of things, but Mac people seem to think that it's the bestest best keyboard ever designed evar, which is really not the case.
Title: Twenty Years, One Keyboard
Post by: aegrotatio on Wed, 18 August 2010, 23:51:22: They were okay, but I always threw them back into the used-keyboards piles. I just didn't see the point.
Title: Twenty Years, One Keyboard
Post by: sam113101 on Thu, 19 August 2010, 01:55:39: I forbid you to laugh at curved keyboards, I'm using one at the moment
(http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/4474/1281492103104.jpg)
and they feel great, be careful about what you're saying, I may bite you
Title: My history with Apple keyboards.
Post by: Babbylar on Thu, 19 August 2010, 04:13:14: I have used almost every Apple keyboard made to this date.

I grew up in a household with a lot of Macs. I particularly remember my mothers Apple Adjustable Keyboard for her 660av Macintosh. I thought it was really strange how it split across the middle and could be stretched out. My fathers Apple Design Keyboard for his Performa 6400 was also memorable. It looked great, but compared to the other Apple keyboards, it was probably the mushiest and most cheap feeling keyboard they ever made. My first computer happened to be the original iMac, (which turned 12 this month) the keyboard it came with was colorful and interesting to look at, but it lacked the cursor cluster and the fact that it had tiny arrow keys really got on my nerves since many First Person Shooters of the time relied on the arrow keys and not WASD. This lead to me to get an Macally iKey, which is standard rubber dome, but at least it was properly sized.

In 2002 my school offered a QWERTY typing class which I decided to take so I wouldn't have to think for 50 minutes. The class had about 40 different Macs of various configurations. Some 68k era and some early PPC era. The class itself was extremely dull. The teacher was an elderly lady who was computer illiterate, and all we did was copy lines from a textbook into Apple's SimpleText program. At the end of the class, the teacher would take an excerpt from the textbook, and time us with a stopwatch to see what our WPM was.

The highlight of the class was the fact that every day the teacher would make us use a different computer, which meant a different keyboard. On days that I used the Apple Extended Keyboard I or II, my enjoyment for the class would go up. I loved the way the Caps Lock stuck down, and how nice it felt to type on. However, on the days that I had to suffer with the Apple Design Keyboard, I would groan. Not only did they feel cheap and poor as previously pointed out, but it was even worse at school because the keyboards were so worn out, dirty, and shiny. One such keyboard had so much dirt and dust in it, you could see balls of the stuff bursting out from the edge of the keys. This would make them feel even more mushy and it was disgusting to look at as well.

Over the next several years, I used the Apple Pro Keyboard for various other courses that my school offered. It had black keys and the way it felt was similar to the USB keyboard that came with my Original iMac, but it looked better, sounded better, and was appropriately sized. After this keyboard, Apple made a rather large white keyboard that felt excessively mushy, had a weird curve which was useless to me since I usually don't use keyboard feet anyway, and attracted all kinds of dirt. (It was nicknamed Crumbtray for a reason) The best thing about the Crumbtray is that it felt sturdy, but other than that, it's probably the worst feeling Apple keyboard since the Apple Design Keyboard.

In 2007, when Apple released the Aluminum keyboard with Numberpad, I was so interested in it, that my friend went out and bought one for me. I loved the way the C key and the Spacebar aligned perfectly just like the Apple Extended Keyboard. I loved the look of it and I liked the fact that DFJK could be pressed simultaneously which I found very useful for a game called Stepmania. My big complaint with it however is the fact that it hurt my fingers after awhile due to the short travel distance which caused constant bottoming out.

I would love to return to using the Apple Extended Keyboard I or II once more. However the price of the Griffin iMate ADB to USB adapter just kills that dream. Sure the keyboard may be 5-30 USD but getting the adapter would raise the price another 25-50 USD. At that price, is it really better than the other quality sub 80 dollar keyboards? Somehow I doubt it. The other option would be to purchase a G3 tower, which was the last Mac to feature an ADB port, but that seems like an awful lot of effort and would cost the same as the adapter anyway. Then again, the nostalgia factor alone might make the costs worth it for some people.

In conclusion, this post explains some of my signature, and the typing class I took in 2002 with the Apple Extended Keyboard is the reason why I became obsessed with keyboards. I always knew the AEKII was better than the other Apple keyboards, but I never knew why until I discovered Geekhack. I've also heard stories from other bloggers basically saying that the AEKII is their most loved Apple Keyboard. It makes me wish my family still kept theirs (I think we had 2 at one point). Well, thanks for reading and I apologize for the bloated post in advance.
Title: Twenty Years, One Keyboard
Post by: WhiteRice on Thu, 19 August 2010, 09:58:08: Quote from: sam113101;214298
I forbid you to laugh at curved keyboards, I'm using one at the moment
Show Image
(http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/4474/1281492103104.jpg)

and they feel great, be careful about what you're saying, I may bite you

(http://knowyourmeme.com/i/17371/original/381px-Thosearemyshoes.jpg?1252469627)
Title: Twenty Years, One Keyboard
Post by: Mental Hobbit on Sat, 21 August 2010, 09:02:26: The AEKII I bought new for a lot of money in the mid-nineties lasted less than a year, then the switches had become unbearably scratchy. My most expensive and worst keyboard ever.

I'm sure old ones, most likely using complicated Alps, were great, but later specimens were total crap.
Title: Twenty Years, One Keyboard
Post by: ch_123 on Sat, 21 August 2010, 09:08:54: How much did it cost, dare I ask?
Title: Twenty Years, One Keyboard
Post by: Mental Hobbit on Sat, 21 August 2010, 09:19:47: Quote from: ch_123;215325
How much did it cost, dare I ask?

Mine? I seem to remember it was like 250 DM, which would be after inflation about the same in Euro today I suppose.
Title: Twenty Years, One Keyboard
Post by: phototristan on Sat, 21 August 2010, 09:52:43: Btw, if you find one these days it is likely the case will be yellowed, unlike Model Ms where the cases often seem to look good as new.
Title: Twenty Years, One Keyboard
Post by: didjamatic on Sat, 21 August 2010, 12:42:52: Yellowing is the disease, Retr0brite is the cure.
(http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/cobra/4.jpg)

But I have found many AEK and AEKII's that aren't yellowed at all, or very minimal. I have been holding out for a Griffin iMate for $30 shipped from someone who takes paypal and I keep missing them. Like this one (http://cgi.ebay.com/Griffin-Technologies-iMate-Apple-ADB-USB-Adapter-/180540686641?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0#ht_500wt_1154).

Anyone have an imate for sale?