Great news. Still waiting for them to make a black keyed version of the Customizer 101 though...
I'll most likely buy one as well (not in pink), though I am not that big a fan of buckling springs.
I called Unicomp and talked to Jim Owens today. He said he thinks the Mighty Mouse replacement will be out in about six months, it will have buckling springs and, though he wouldn't say anything particular, it sounds like it is totally redesigned.
What's to redesign? The ModelM Mini layout was already the best small keyboard design ever. It had beefy construction, fit in server racks, buckling springs, what's to improve?
I can post pics if anyone would like to see them.
We do not currently, nor do we have any near term plans.That sucks. ;)
the mighty mouse is shown on their website. Is it avaialble? Does it use buckling springs.
May I ask, how are you in contact with Unicomp?
I just email Jim Owens from Unicomp. If you call, he's the person you'll likely talk to.
I usually call Jim. He's a good guy, but not exactly forthcoming with new information.
I want a Mighty Mouse with buckling springs. Any updates on availability?
Give them a call and let us know what they say.
I spoke to them.
"available this summer"
I was told.
/Vils
"available this summer"
Wonder if they could do a 1395300 without the numpad as a custom run...Good luck. They have been totally disinterested in doing any sort of custom work for me. (regardless of quantity/price/etc)
Good luck. They have been totally interested in doing any sort of custom work for me. (regardless of quantity/price/etc)
uninterested, maybe?
disinterested is more like the store clerk who doesn't earn commission - he could care less what you buy, but uninterested is when someone doesn't care to do what someone wants or doesn't care about their needs. Dig?
I go by Webster and the AP style book. Remember, I'm a professional writer ...
I wonder if they are not actively designing new up and coming keyboards, what are they doing with the money? And what is the likely future of their company if they do not differentiate and create different products?
I asked them a while back if they had any plans on reviving the m15 (since I, for one, am not going to pay the ridiculous prices on ebay the once in a Blue Moon they show up). All I got was a "not at this time" response. I guess if they started making them again it would drop the price on the Lexmark orginals to below $400 :O.
Unicomp's not publically traded, are they?
You know, provide existing product to a niche market.
One thing I'll note is that the patent on buckling spring technology expired over 10 years ago, so anyone could make a buckling spring keyboard...
A new version on the Mighty Mouse is still on the drawing boards. We hope to have this late this year (2010). It will have a few more keys and be a buckling spring key switch.If I had to guess, I would say that these won't have the plastic-rivetted frame assemblies. I'm guessing they will be more Model M2-ish. I say this mainly because I've been told many times by Unicomp that it would cost around $200k to retool for the 84-key space saver. (and there is no way they are shelling out that kind of dough for the new Mighty Mouse)
a mighty mouse with BS and some extra keys is a good thing, right?
Not so familiar with the M2....
It will be just like the current MM except for the extra buttons and the key switch difference.I like it!
It will be available with and without pointing stickI, personally, like the M4 and M4-1's. With new buckling rubber sleeves, they are really nice to type on (the BRS's DO wear out).
i'm just stunned that unicomp is contemplating anything new at all.
i'm just stunned that unicomp is contemplating anything new at all.
- Flimsy design. Fails the Ricercar flex test. Daniel Day Lewis can flex it with his Left Foot.I don't think you need to be afraid of either of those things.
- Keys look like they've been lettered with white out.
The M15 has the same key style as the M2.
The M15 has the same key style as the M2.
I think the problem people had with the M2s was that the capacitors would go bad. After a replacement, it was OK.
The best one are the ones with the least wear.
I'll just be happy with the Model M I've got. It feels good enough for me. When you're satisfied with what you have, you aren't all disappointed when you can't get something new.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that. My bad. I need to become more familiar with their products. I forgot, too, that this new keyboard is supposed to be numpad-less.
I have never even typed on a buckling spring yet. I've wanted to order from Unicomp so many times before but instead I just take my wife out for dinner. I usually have a ribeye. I'm fine with the ribeye until I get on geekhack and feel jealous when I have no input to give on anything buckling spring related. I just read this whole thread and I barely understand what's going on.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that. My bad. I need to become more familiar with their products. I forgot, too, that this new keyboard is supposed to be numpad-less.
I'm doing beta testing right now. Looking good.Show Image(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=11402&stc=1&d=1277658761)
Beta testing what? What's that?
I'm doing beta testing right now. Looking good.Show Image(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=11402&stc=1&d=1277658761)
That's photo-shopped.
Let's try CS5's new content aware fill feature.
This better?
How about these sightings. I BELIEVE!!!!
Well, that one isn't Photoshopped.
Well, it's photoshopped, or GIMPed rather, a little. But only to enhance clarity and perspective from the original.Actually, I was referring to the one in Ripster's post, though: yours sneaked in as I was replying to it.
Those are set screws? I thought they were LED's
I wonder if they are not actively designing new up and coming keyboards, what are they doing with the money?Like most companies, their first priority is paying whoever answers the phone and takes orders. If they are getting enough orders that their existing stock of keyboards is getting depleted, they also have to pay whoever is working in their factory to make more. And if they're really making lots of money, then research and development on new products, so as to make even more money naturally follows.
Well, a M2 design would be a better start than the M4 that's for sure. But Chuck never said M2. Given their last "new product launch" it's just as likely to be a scissor switch laptop board.
Plus, they have to stick that controller somewhere or miniaturize it or make the case more Spacesaver like.Show Image(http://www.instructables.com/image/FLZXLKTFM2KBIQT/If-it-really-needs-cleaning.jpg)
not my pic but this is a wild speculation thread anyway.
The carpet is dark red.
There's another problem with CRTs - old ones have terrible colour drain.
Yes, but we are still a few months away from having it.
Pic from LAST Christmas.
I noticed this popped up lately -
Unicomp.com (http://www.unicomp.com/)
Domain. And Unicomp.com definitely hasn't been registered to them forever. I remember checking some time last year...
Record created on 14-Jul-1994.
Visit AboutUs.org for more information about UNICOMP.COM
AboutUs: UNICOMP.COM
I think he knows you were kidding. But keep up the smileys, AMAZES me what people get away with when they use a smiley. :)
Not nice to call the site admin a jerk.
Domain. And Unicomp.com definitely hasn't been registered to them forever. I remember checking some time last year...
I have not replied to Larry, but here is what I would send if you agree:
Larry, Thanks for the note. I am not aware of any plans for a Mighty Mouse replacement in the near future. We do plan to offer a small footprint model sometime in the future, but I cannot tell you when that might be.
hhkb layout buckling spring
does not compute. all the model m vs. unicomp threads that I've read seem to say unicomps are the poor mans model m - not made to as high standards as the original model m's - now everyone is salivating over a unicomp.
not saying they are bad - i've never owned one - it just seems odd that some of the reviewers who gave them a 'meh' are salivating over this.
Dante - Nothing built by anyone since is as heavy duty as an early (1986-87) IBM Model M. A $300+ keyboard in 1980's dollars had some serious moxie - which is why they are still "takin care of business" all these years later. And all the revered non-Model M brands everyone loves so much on this forum aren't even playing in the same ballpark - weak sisters, that will be in the landfill before my 1987 Model M gives up the ghost.
But there is an elitism surrounding the IBM originals that I bought into when I first started reading these boards. "Only IBM" and "older is better" were what I initially read and just accepted myself as the "common knowledge" - and only after curiority (or is it obsession?) buying and trying newer boards, and Lexmarks, Maxi-Switches and Unicomps did I find out that these assumptions aren't necessarily so. Nothing wrong with the original, older stuff - but you might actually prefer the lighter feel of a newer one. Some things are a matter of individual taste - and yes, Virginia, there is a nice, wide range of "feel" even among Model M's of the same design. If you've tried one, you have not tried them all.
Having said that, the buckling spring tactile and psychoacoustic feedback is what makes the Model Ms design superior, and the Unicomps have it - they are, in fact, real Model Ms. Same design, and their construction is not flimsy, just not necessarily 1980's HD thickness/materials. My one Unicomp board is absolutely excellent - and since the buckling springs are the "wear" component - I suspect it will last as long - or nearly so - as an original IBM. But it seems nothing we make today, even from the same blueprints, is made quite as nicely or as well as back then. Functional equivalents, to be sure - but we've lost something. Maybe it's pride - or having to compete with .25 cents an hour slave labor, or profits being a little too important - I'm sure it varies. In the 1980's, computers were not a consumer good - they were Industrial tools. Maybe because of our throwaway society, we've quit trying to make permanent items. But I can assure you that the Unicomp is a good product. What we are waiting for is for them to make the models we want. Keeping mind that they are probably trying to stay alive in a difficult market, and if they want to make something all new it would be a substantial investment that might not net them enough return - I'm willing to be patient and hope they succeed. Thinkpad Fan
Weren't Model Ms a cheaper version of Model Fs anyway?Well, unicomp can sell what is effectively a pretty similar item for $70 or whatever.
Does anyone have numbers on how much Model Ms cost in today's dollars?
Well, unicomp can sell what is effectively a pretty similar item for $70 or whatever.
normal M's seem to go for 0-50 or so, depending on a number of factors.
I'm about this close to coating some plastic and printing up a flexible membrane, and DIY'ing-up a space saving unicomp. Unicomp, who, evidently, haven't looked up what Space saving keyboards go for on Ebay compared with their fullsize bretheren.