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geekhack Community => Off Topic => Topic started by: HipsterPunks on Tue, 07 October 2014, 08:30:15

Title: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: HipsterPunks on Tue, 07 October 2014, 08:30:15: The year is 2035,

Computers continue to run the world as every citizen now works from home on their PC. Amazon has become the largest company in the world and has renamed the USA to " The United States of Amazon" we are financially dependent on them for they managed to resolve the great Recession of 2015. They also employee almost half of the USA (sorry international countries but you were all destroyed in World War 3). Touch screens are now illegal and being destroyed after President Beiber accidentally swiped and shared his tiny wang to the world. Mechanical keyboards are now once again the main interface of the modern PC. New companies have emerged and newer switches have been created. You have a decent collection of the current best rated mechanical keyboards, however you have a 14 year old Hipster son whom is dabbling in PC gaming. Half life 3 is going to be released next week and he wants to relive your glory days and pick up an older mechanical keyboard from 2015. he jumps on EbaGoogZon.xom (thats a thing now!) and browses older mechanical keyboards to bid on...

which boards do you guys think will be the exciting vintage boards 20+ years from now, and why?

i will go with my obvious choice and vote HHKB pro 2, whose rubber domes have now stiffened with age to a nail shattering 200g weight. Still an aesthetically pleasing keyboard in the future, i expect this beauty stand the test of time and shine on forever.
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: Lurch on Tue, 07 October 2014, 08:35:13: SSKs will never die!
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: Computer-Lab in Basement on Tue, 07 October 2014, 08:39:38: The build quality of the currently modern keyboards (mostly referring to Cherry MX) are inferior. They won't stand the test of time nearly as well as their IBM counterparts.
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: JPG on Tue, 07 October 2014, 08:40:45: He will look for an old model F restored in 2015. He will aim for the Kishsaver with a brand new 2014 controller, but he will be realist and look for a more easy to find AT model F or F122.

These keyboards will still be in top shape while all the cherry/topre keyboards will have died long ago.
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: ConscienceDrop on Tue, 07 October 2014, 09:11:26: I'm sure the cult of topre will live on well past the last rubberdome sheet. And that the acolytes of the HHKB will weave elaborate tales of how everyone alive during the great period of keyboard prosperity really wished that they owned a HHKB but just could not afford one.

i don't know what will become a classic. we will have to see which boards are still around and working in 20 years. the IBM model M still works, but will my filco TKL?

does a board have to still work to be a classic? i have the unfortunate feeling that the giant RGB clown boards will be remembered more than almost anything else.
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: HoffmanMyster on Tue, 07 October 2014, 09:15:53: I know the answer. Since mechanical keyboards are now the standard, he will actually be looking for a rubberdome. He wants something obscure, old-school, and oft-thrown out.

After The Great Keyboard Purge of 2020, when the world could clearly see the superiority of mechanical keyboards, these old archaic pieces of plastic and membrane became scarcer than the most sought clacks.

So you should tell your son to stop by the Good Army store and see what old gear they have. He may just find an old Razer rubberdome!
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: CPTBadAss on Tue, 07 October 2014, 09:17:51: I'll find my SSK, 6019284, KMAC, and Kingsaver in a storage unit. Then I'll proceed to have a four way duel to the death. I have a sneaking suspicion my 6019284 and Kingsaver will be in the final battle but I bet those 4 will stand the test of time....then I can finally build the one true custom: a mech built with parts from all these boards.
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: intelli78 on Tue, 07 October 2014, 09:21:33: I think the Korean customs will be highly sought after.
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: cookie on Tue, 07 October 2014, 09:51:51: Quote from: JPG on Tue, 07 October 2014, 08:40:45
These keyboards will still be in top shape while all the cherry/topre keyboards will have died long ago.

My HHKB pro1 is a decade old, the ABS spacebar developed a noticable dent and the caps got a bit shiny. But the keyboard is far away from outworn or defective!
I think topre boards will stay around for a while! :)
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: paicrai on Tue, 07 October 2014, 10:25:37: razee blackwidow
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: Binge on Tue, 07 October 2014, 10:31:19: In the future I see homemade keyboards standing the test of time. KMACs and other modular designs encased in rugged materials with switches preserved in glorious lube. This is before the ergodox becomes a sentient being and enslaves its former masters.
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: Hypersphere on Tue, 07 October 2014, 10:45:04: IBM Model F 4704 boards with their inner steel plates and steel case (front and back). I have an F-107 that I am sure is good for at least several more decades of use.
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: rowdy on Tue, 07 October 2014, 16:27:28: Anything zombie-proof, and probably fairly heavy (to double as a weapon).
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: Puddsy on Tue, 07 October 2014, 16:39:05: model m

KUL
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: tp4tissue on Tue, 07 October 2014, 19:24:27: Any keyboard once touched by the -Guiding Light- of the 21st century, Tp4..

(http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/onion-head/evil-smile-onion-head-emoticon.gif?1292862503)
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: Hak Foo on Tue, 07 October 2014, 22:09:45: While we seem to have a fair grasp on "firsts", I wonder if there will be any "lasts" worth preserving?

There's a good chance that by 2035, someone will own the "last Unicomp board". As supplies dry up, there might be something identifiable as "the last run of real ALPS-switch boards."
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: Premonition on Wed, 08 October 2014, 04:51:46: Quote from: tp4tissue on Tue, 07 October 2014, 19:24:27
Any keyboard once touched by the -Guiding Light- of the 21st century, Tp4..

Show Image
(http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/onion-head/evil-smile-onion-head-emoticon.gif?1292862503)

So the only keyboard you've ever owned, *that* Ergodox?
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: epicepee on Wed, 08 October 2014, 11:22:16: It'll all be digital. Imagine a switch consisting of a spring, a coil and a magnet. The coil could pick up the magnet's location, as well as move it in response. Essentially, each key would be a tiny servo.

This would let people use a single keyboard for everything. You could "install" a new keyswitch for gaming, typing, browsing the web. You could have keys return harder than they were pressed, or move slightly in response to things happening on the computer. Different keys could move differently, or could even adjust their properties depending on which other keys are pressed.
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: Oobly on Wed, 08 October 2014, 15:24:26: Quote from: Premonition on Wed, 08 October 2014, 04:51:46
Quote from: tp4tissue on Tue, 07 October 2014, 19:24:27
Any keyboard once touched by the -Guiding Light- of the 21st century, Tp4..

Show Image
(http://emoticoner.com/files/emoticons/onion-head/evil-smile-onion-head-emoticon.gif?1292862503)

So the only keyboard you've ever owned, *that* Ergodox?

But we still haven't seen a photo... <cue music, prepare for plot twist> Could be that he's typed all his posts on a touchscreen and doesn't actually own ANY keyboards...
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: Novus on Wed, 08 October 2014, 15:36:40: The premise of this is wrong.
Let me fix it.

Quote from: HipsterPunks on Tue, 07 October 2014, 08:30:15

The year is 2035,

Computers continue to run the world as every citizen now works from home on their MAC. TAOBAO has become the largest company in the world and has renamed the USA to "People's Republic of Democracy" we are financially dependent our benevolent overlords for they managed to resolve the great Recession of 2015 by defaulting on our fiscal responsibilites. They also LIBERATED almost half of the USA (sorry international countries but we had to employ strict population limits during ~~World War 3~~the great international cultural enlightenment). Touch screens are now illegal and being destroyed after President Beiber (after Obama, the "liberal" supreme court ruled that non US citizens could become president) accidentally swiped and shared his tiny wang to the world. Mechanical keyboards are now once again the main interface of the modern PC. New companies have emerged and newer switches have been created. You have a decent collection of the current best rated mechanical keyboards, however you have a 14 year old Hipster son whom is dabbling in PC gaming. Half life 3 is going to be released next week and he wants to relive your glory days and pick up an older mechanical keyboard from 2015. he jumps on EbaGoogZon.xom (thats a thing now!) and browses older mechanical keyboards to bid on...

which boards do you guys think will be the exciting vintage boards 20+ years from now, and why?

i will go with my obvious choice and vote HHKB pro 2, whose rubber domes have now stiffened with age to a nail shattering 200g weight. Still an aesthetically pleasing keyboard in the future, i expect this beauty stand the test of time and shine on forever.
Title: Re: Vintage Keyboards of the Future!
Post by: JaccoW on Wed, 26 November 2014, 17:52:28: Quote from: Hak Foo on Tue, 07 October 2014, 22:09:45
There's a good chance that by 2035, someone will own the "last Unicomp board". As supplies dry up, there might be something identifiable as "the last run of real ALPS-switch boards."
(http://www.simonsellars.com/images/children_diego.jpg)
*never forget*