geekhack
geekhack Marketplace => Great Finds => Topic started by: Meg on Sun, 12 September 2010, 16:07:25
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There is an IBM M-15 adjustable split keyboard on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110585205007&ssPageName=ADME:B:WR:US:1123 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110585205007&ssPageName=ADME:B:WR:US:1123)
No numeric keypad.
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Man these things are coming out of the woodwork.
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$550? How much have they sold for in the past?
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Man these things are coming out of the woodwork.
At $550, it might stay in the woodwork, :wink:. At least it's too rich for my blood.
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$550? How much have they sold for in the past?
Around this much. A year ago you might have got one for about $300 though.
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$550? How much have they sold for in the past?
There was a really really really bad one on EBay Australia a few months ago that went for over $350. Mostly only see them on EBay USA. BUT they were officially distributed in Australia unlike the Spacesaver I. Dealers were discounting the M15 to $60 ten years ago to clear stock.
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When you say the "Spacesaver I", do you mean the SSK?
I don't think the SSK was ever sold as a retail item, it was only an option with certain systems.
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The last one I know of that sold on eBay went for $560. A couple of years ago one that was in the box, never opened, and had the separate number pad sold for $950. Apparently the number pad is quite rare.
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When you say the "Spacesaver I", do you mean the SSK?
I don't think the SSK was ever sold as a retail item, it was only an option with certain systems.
I think SSK was just the slang abbreviation. I have always heard them called Spacesaver I because there was a Spacesaver 2 (with a track point) A few people here call them 'Minis'. Australia never offered it as an option but 'in theory' it was available as a spare part for use in Server rooms but was never brought in 'officially' by IBM.
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No, the 84-key Model M was the "IBM Space Saving Keyboard" - you can see this both on the boxes of said keyboards, and archived copies of old IBM sites. The IBM Spacesaver was the Model M4-1 (desktop version of the original trackpoint keyboard), and the Spacesaver II was the 'sawn-off' Chicony rubber dome keyboard with a trackpoint.
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SSK = Space Saving Keyboard. Spelling out "Space Saving Keyboard" everytime I want to talk about Space Saving Keyboards gets somewhat cumbersome.
The Spacesaver term could theoretially refer to as many as four different keyboards - the M4-1, the SSK, the Unicomp "Endurapro without pointing stick" and the IBM Spacesaver II rubber dome board.
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Yeah, I was wondering about the shiny spots on the keys too. And if it's been in storage since 1999, that means it got at most five years of use. Mine don't seem that shiny, except the space bars. I wonder if it's exceptionally bad/good lighting.
I notice one of the back rubber feet is missing, but at least all the adjustable ones are present.
One $550 bid suggests someone doesn't want to be outbid. I ain't touching it.
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guess minis will go about this price next year? :)
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Yeah, I was wondering about the shiny spots on the keys too. And if it's been in storage since 1999, that means it got at most five years of use. Mine don't seem that shiny, except the space bars. I wonder if it's exceptionally bad/good lighting.
I notice one of the back rubber feet is missing, but at least all the adjustable ones are present.
One $550 bid suggests someone doesn't want to be outbid. I ain't touching it.
I'm pretty sure the "shine" is the product of a little normal finger residue, an unlucky reflection angle, and some bad JPEG compression. If you look at the picture with the shine, you'll see that the Ins/Del/Home/End/PgUp/PgDn keys have the same effect. Unless this guy played Freespace 2 for all of 1999, I doubt the keys are actually worn down.
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It went for $681 this morning.
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Looking at the back of mine, I don't see rivets. I do see two recessed screws on each side.
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Doesn't the M15 have the same construction as the M2, which requires no rivets because it's flat?
I meant on the inside. Like the Model M.
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Well, I don't plan to take mine apart, but the folks at clickykeyboard.com should know the answer to the question about rivets. Also Unicomp - they have repaired hundreds of M15s.