that is pretty cool. i really like the look of that keyboard.
does it feel like ML switches? the caps could be ML caps from the little info i have.
does it feel like ML switches? the caps could be ML caps from the little info i have.
I've never tried ML switches before. Just looked it up, and it might be something like that since it is a laptop switch. That Cherry G84 Series looks dope as hell. I'd very much like to try it out.
It probably won't be as nice as the IBM. Most of the ML keyboards were made for equipment racks, so they're light and rarely used much. The IBM was probably solidly built by comparison, and the additional mass would tend to dampen some of the cheap clickiness of the usual ML switch.
If you really want one, you can find them from a variety of sellers for $20 or so. I keep one in my laptop bag for travel, because as crappy as they are, they still beat the stock keyboard on the Dell. :-X
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=Cherry+ML4100+keyboard&_sop=15 (http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=Cherry+ML4100+keyboard&_sop=15)
Show Image(http://geekhack.org/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=48087.0;attach=34061;image)
I feel like going back there, picking this piece up, and modifying it so it can be hooked up to other computers. Like just taking the keyboard part and making it compatible with USB on my desktop comp. Any of you think this is do-able? Or am I just dreaming something that can never happen?
I feel like going back there, picking this piece up, and modifying it so it can be hooked up to other computers. Like just taking the keyboard part and making it compatible with USB on my desktop comp. Any of you think this is do-able? Or am I just dreaming something that can never happen?
Well, according to what you said, the IT dept. couldn't get the entire thing to work, right? Given that it looks in good condition otherwise, as long as there is no other damage and the components of the keyboard aren't fried, I don't see why it wouldn't be possible to get it working in some way.
Really interested to see how it goes for you.
the leopold fc660 and matias mini are similar.
to answer your question: there's a chance it's a rubber dome (like the M4). I have seen other small computers that used old cherry switches (open M8's I think) though there aren't too many IBM branded cherry keyboards.
can you pull off a keycap?
I really wanted to pull one off to see what it had underneath, but I don't carry my keycap puller with me everywhere I go. Even if I did have it, I think the lady would either freak out or wouldn't let me. I think now is the time to plan out a breaking and entering scenario. Or maybe I could just buy it off her. I feel a little too invasive if I were to go back and ask her if I could pull the keys off. Damn my awkwardness.
Awkwardness aside, perhaps explaining your association with this forum could help allow you more access, which could open up a conversation towards acquiring it.
PS/2 L40 SX? That's M4-style rubber domes. The L40 came first - the M4 came much, much later. (Note lack of TrackPoint.) It's an ISA bus (as opposed to MCA) 386 SX. I believe a 25MHz, but may be a 16MHz or 33MHz. SX indicates no floating point unit - they used to be optional. It's circa 1990. They're also missing the included numeric keypad and IBM wedge 2 button mouse.
Getting one of these working requires a working battery pack and some very exotic parts. The fault is probably the internal rechargeable standby battery - it's an old NiCd separate from the large NiCd battery pack. (No, not a button cell CR2032 style at all.) If that battery fails, the system won't power on.
EDIT: It wouldn't surprise me if that example had the 80MB disk and 4MB of FPM as well. It's got the modem for sure, and that's usually an indication it's pretty decked out.
a 486SX is a no-floating-point 486DX.
A 386SX is on a 16-bit data bus, a 386DX has 32-bit. They're sort of designed to drop into 286 mobo designs with minimal modifications. I have a 386SX PC which was sold as either a 12MHz 286 or 16MHz 386 by using a different modular CPU card.
On another note, the mouse I use as my daily driver is an IBM TrackPoint L40, which is the mouse that was released with those laptops.
Is there a current key switch that is equivalent to the M4 style?
QuoteIs there a current key switch that is equivalent to the M4 style?Not really. Rubber sleeves were relatively common on old laptop and even some old desktop keyboards, but I doubt you'd find many new implementations (Unicomp used to sell some M4s, but they ran out of stock a year or two ago). Scissor switches replaced them for all intents and purposes.
THOSE IBM PS/2 L40'S HAD THE SAME KEYBOARDS AS THE UNICOMP "MIGHTY MOUSE" M4'S.
THOSE IBM PS/2 L40'S HAD THE SAME KEYBOARDS AS THE UNICOMP "MIGHTY MOUSE" M4'S.
The ones with a trackpoint seem so convenient. Well, time to scour the internet in search of one.
The ones with a trackpoint seem so convenient. Well, time to scour the internet in search of one.
The Holy Grail of the trackpoint boards is and always will be the M13 and TrackPoint II. Buckling spring plus trackpoint == winning at life.
Though frankly if you're going to get the laptop version? Don't get an M4. They're overpriced every time I see them. Instead, get a $35 IBM 'desktop' version which is literally just a ThinkPad keyboard with TrackPoint III or IV. (Don't get the newest Lenovo one. It's got the cheap-as-hell Lenovo replacement junkboard, sadly.)
The 386SX was always sans-FPU. Period.
The ThinkPad L40 is equipped with, to quote the original sales brochure, "386SX(TM) processing power" but could be expanded to 18MB of DRAM. You can't do that on an Intel 386SX.
Nor a 386SLC. That extra 2MB of ram was only usable as EMS, not XMS.
Here. I'll give you a free clue. The i386SX had how many address pins? This does what, hm?
The 386SX was always sans-FPU. Period. The whole POINT of the SX was "cost reduction" and part of that was no FPU, no cache. The 386DX was introduced after the SX to differentiated between which had a cache and standard FPU capability. (The SX uses a non-standard FPU in Intel land. Get to that in a minute.)