geekhack
geekhack Marketplace => Great Finds => Topic started by: Elrick on Mon, 14 July 2014, 21:37:52
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Just found this product for sale on Ebay here;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1983-IBM-PCjr-PC-Junior-Original-Chicklet-Style-Wireless-Keyboard-TESTED-Nice/111408935184?_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555012%26algo%3DPW.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D21235%26meid%3D8322010350167832914%26pid%3D100010%26prg%3D9374%26rk%3D7%26rkt%3D24%26sd%3D301237131652
Have no idea what it is because it's the first time I ever saw a 'wireless' keyboard from this era. Certainly looks interesting to a hardcore collector because I have never seen an equivalent keyboard to this one.
Maybe some IBM keyboard fanatic can shed some light here about this model.......
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Chiclet keyboard, piece of crap, blamed as a major factor (if not *the* factor) for the failure of the PCjr.
It used infrared wireless. Line of sight, like a TV remote.
And $90 shipped for that is insane pricing. Full PCJr systems go for less than that, people are usually lucky to get $20 shipped for that keyboard.
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That keyboard was so bad, they changed to a more standard one not too long after its release. A very rare keyboard misstep by IBM.
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Who would of thought that IBM can make mistakes way back in 1983.
Just thought because of it's age it might of been something 'special' but alas it is but for all the wrong reasons, thanks for letting me know here.
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Just to bring this full circle, someone started an auction of the replacement for that PC Jr. chiclet keyboard. Better, but still no Model M.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=141349062344
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I like how the seller tried to spin it.
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The weird thing about the PC series in general was how much of a afterthought it seemed to be by IBM. It wasn't world-beating at launch,, and it used a huge amount of off-the-shelf and bargain-basement kit so they could get it out quickly.
It sold like hotcakes almost entirely because it was a trusted brand. The concept of "documented architecture where you can easily expand it" helped, but plenty of other systems had similar offerings (S-100, for example).
So they figured "people will buy whatever we sold"-- so they tried to move down into the "home computer" market with a machine that was more expensive than a real home computer like an Atari 800XL, not perfectly compatible with a real PC, and which hit the market pretty much just as PC clones, offering better specs for the same or less money, were beginning to flood the market.
I wonder what would have happened if they had held off til, say, 1982 or 1983 to release their PC. I suspect it would have been much closer to the AT specs-wise, and built around a 68000.
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http://trixter.oldskool.org/2012/12/27/the-ibm-pc-5150-what-if/
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I like how the seller tried to spin it.
I believe that's called "[rare] Australian layout".