The Model M wasn't reasonably priced, that's the whole point. Adjusted, it would've cost around $450 nowadays. Would you pay that for any keyboard? :p
Cherry could play the role the OP speaks about, because those boards do come reasonably priced from time to time, say, €50 ($60). I'm pretty sure it should be possible to arrange the purchase of, say, 200–300 units and pay no more than that per piece. The 'boards would then come with reasonable quality of execution, no frills, no gaming goodies, 1998-style design, and probably brown MX switches inside.Personally, I would say the Model M and any Cherry board are day and night in almost every regard. The Model M is heavy, well-constructed, expensive, and made from the ground up to be a superior typing experience. Cherry boards are cheap, flimsy, light, and to me at least, lack a clear focus on what they're supposed to be.
You might find that companies that used to make extremely durable hardware ...... or gone bankrupt.
When I order a staff member a new computer, I ask them if they want a new keyboard and mouse and just add it onto the lease. I think if Dell offered a ~$75 tactile mechanical, I would choose that one every time. That would only add like $3/mo.
The Model M wasn't reasonably priced, that's the whole point. Adjusted, it would've cost around $450 nowadays. Would you pay that for any keyboard? :p
It is doubtful that the "market" referred in the OP does actually exist.
It is doubtful that the "market" referred in the OP does actually exist.
Because... companies would much rather buy crate loads of $5 membranes?Show Image(http://www7.pcmag.com/media/images/245513-hp-compaq-4000-pro-keyboard.jpg?width=630)
(Who doesn't love these?)
I think that in bulk, you could have a 50 dollar mech board with reasonable if not top notch build quality and matias switches. Is that still too expensive?It is doubtful that the "market" referred in the OP does actually exist.
Because... companies would much rather buy crate loads of $5 membranes?Show Image(http://www7.pcmag.com/media/images/245513-hp-compaq-4000-pro-keyboard.jpg?width=630)
(Who doesn't love these?)
It would be great to know data pointing what companies wanted to buy keyboards priced in the hundreds.
I think that in bulk, you could have a 50 dollar mech board with reasonable if not top notch build quality and matias switches. Is that still too expensive?It is doubtful that the "market" referred in the OP does actually exist.
Because... companies would much rather buy crate loads of $5 membranes?Show Image(http://www7.pcmag.com/media/images/245513-hp-compaq-4000-pro-keyboard.jpg?width=630)
(Who doesn't love these?)
It would be great to know data pointing what companies wanted to buy keyboards priced in the hundreds.
I think that in bulk, you could have a 50 dollar mech board with reasonable if not top notch build quality and matias switches. Is that still too expensive?It is doubtful that the "market" referred in the OP does actually exist.
Because... companies would much rather buy crate loads of $5 membranes?Show Image(http://www7.pcmag.com/media/images/245513-hp-compaq-4000-pro-keyboard.jpg?width=630)
(Who doesn't love these?)
It would be great to know data pointing what companies wanted to buy keyboards priced in the hundreds.
There is no market or matias would be making boards for it.
Cherry aside, there are no high quality, office orientated, reasonably priced boards.
it wards off the people who sue for RSI
I think that in bulk, you could have a 50 dollar mech board with reasonable if not top notch build quality and matias switches. Is that still too expensive?It is doubtful that the "market" referred in the OP does actually exist.
Because... companies would much rather buy crate loads of $5 membranes?Show Image(http://www7.pcmag.com/media/images/245513-hp-compaq-4000-pro-keyboard.jpg?width=630)
(Who doesn't love these?)
It would be great to know data pointing what companies wanted to buy keyboards priced in the hundreds.
I think that in bulk, you could have a 50 dollar mech board with reasonable if not top notch build quality and matias switches. Is that still too expensive?It is doubtful that the "market" referred in the OP does actually exist.
Because... companies would much rather buy crate loads of $5 membranes?Show Image(http://www7.pcmag.com/media/images/245513-hp-compaq-4000-pro-keyboard.jpg?width=630)
(Who doesn't love these?)
It would be great to know data pointing what companies wanted to buy keyboards priced in the hundreds.
There is no market or matias would be making boards for it.
This remark makes total sense, and it is my entire point, the OP is just an idea with no warrants based on facts, data or the like.
I think that in bulk, you could have a 50 dollar mech board with reasonable if not top notch build quality and matias switches. Is that still too expensive?It is doubtful that the "market" referred in the OP does actually exist.
Because... companies would much rather buy crate loads of $5 membranes?Show Image(http://www7.pcmag.com/media/images/245513-hp-compaq-4000-pro-keyboard.jpg?width=630)
(Who doesn't love these?)
It would be great to know data pointing what companies wanted to buy keyboards priced in the hundreds.
There is no market or matias would be making boards for it.
At the very least I'm surprised there aren't more TKL options, rubber dome or otherwise.
At the very least I'm surprised there aren't more TKL options, rubber dome or otherwise.
Possibly because mass-market keyboards are aimed at businesses, and businesses all use spreadsheets, right?
And you NEED a numpad for spreadsheets, right?
At least that is the thinking in businesses.
Even here on GH a lot of people looking for their first mechanical keyboard will say they need full size because they do a lot of spreadsheets. For some it is a revelation to get a TKL plus a seaparate numpad, and experience the best of both worlds.
I agree it's all very useful, but can you imagine how much more expensive it would be to go from cheap-as-chips RD to mech TKL plus numpad for all office workers? Surely no boss would bite into a 20+ times cost increase on any item regardless of how comfortable it is.At the very least I'm surprised there aren't more TKL options, rubber dome or otherwise.
Possibly because mass-market keyboards are aimed at businesses, and businesses all use spreadsheets, right?
And you NEED a numpad for spreadsheets, right?
At least that is the thinking in businesses.
Even here on GH a lot of people looking for their first mechanical keyboard will say they need full size because they do a lot of spreadsheets. For some it is a revelation to get a TKL plus a seaparate numpad, and experience the best of both worlds.
It's that sort of set-in-stone way of thinking that is a real shame. I think companies would do better with TKLs and Numpads. It allows for more comfortable ergonomics (choice of which side to use numpad on and mouse closer to keyboard) and those that don't find themselves using a numpad don't have to have one cluttering up their desk.
Surely no boss would bite into a 20+ times cost increase on any item regardless of how comfortable it is.Not to mention bosses typically gives huge incentives to whoever that helped the company to save money, not whoever that helped to enhance user experience at a great cost. There's also a trend of simply assigning laptops instead of a desktop PC, that's taking into account ordering a dock is often...not an option. My brother got a Dell from his company and they refused to shell out for a dock.
Truth be told, the reasons we have to prefer mechanical keyboards over rubber domes are so subtle that most people cannot justify the hefty prices we pay for our devices in comparison. Who pays over $100 for a single key caps set? or over $200 for a metallic case? For most people it is simple insane to do so, when a very good rubber dome, even with some ergonomics features is around $100.A rather saddening truth from the fact that the enthusiast market constitute about a single digit percentage.
I'm pretty sure it should be possible to arrange the purchase of, say, 200–300 units and pay no more than that per piece. The 'boards would then come with reasonable quality of execution, no frills, no gaming goodies, 1998-style design, and probably brown MX switches inside.
Cherry makes many, many point-of-sale keyboards. In fact, I think they are the leader. I find them in the cdw outlet section all the time.Cherry could play the role the OP speaks about, because those boards do come reasonably priced from time to time, say, €50 ($60). I'm pretty sure it should be possible to arrange the purchase of, say, 200–300 units and pay no more than that per piece. The 'boards would then come with reasonable quality of execution, no frills, no gaming goodies, 1998-style design, and probably brown MX switches inside.
I think the simple fact is that there is no company that has targeted the market of extremely expensive, highly durable hardware because it doesn't exist. I could buy one or possibly even several lifetimes' worth of rubber dome keyboards for the cost of what one Model M used to be. The fact IBM PCs used to come with an expensive, fantastic keyboard was just a bonus, but most companies, when given the choice, won't go for more expensive peripherals. You might find that companies that used to make extremely durable hardware (not just computer-related) have almost invariably either dropped their standards over time or gone bankrupt.
The Model M wasn't reasonably priced, that's the whole point. Adjusted, it would've cost around $450 nowadays. Would you pay that for any keyboard? :p
The Model M wasn't reasonably priced, that's the whole point. Adjusted, it would've cost around $450 nowadays. Would you pay that for any keyboard? :p
Crikey, didn't know that. I feel better about my Korean custom now.
The Model M wasn't reasonably priced, that's the whole point. Adjusted, it would've cost around $450 nowadays. Would you pay that for any keyboard? :p
Crikey, didn't know that. I feel better about my Korean custom now.
Custom keyboards have value because of their uniqueness, and because they are craftsmanship products. Model M was an expensive mass manufactured product, that's the main point.
Dihedral - not meaning to toot my own horn :) , I have started a group buy for brand new metal Model F keyboards, the predecessor to the Model M, over in the Interest Check subforum. While they are far from "value-priced" and do not have the standard full layout, with economies of scale they could move further in that direction and someone may want to take on different layouts in the years to come, now that I have paid for production of some of the Model F molds (though we only have about 150 orders so far, so economies of scale are not there just yet).
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=73363.0 (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=73363.0)
The price will be $325 bring your own caps, or I think $350 with caps - already reached the pricing goal!
It is doubtful that the "market" referred in the OP does actually exist.
Because... companies would much rather buy crate loads of $5 membranes?Show Image(http://www7.pcmag.com/media/images/245513-hp-compaq-4000-pro-keyboard.jpg?width=630)
(Who doesn't love these?)
It would be great to know data pointing what companies wanted to buy keyboards priced in the hundreds.
The price will be $325 bring your own caps, or I think $350 with caps - already reached the pricing goal!
Have you ever plan to build a SSK?
However, we have some new Wyse thin clients that have decent dome keyboards.Interesting. I've got one of those somewhere I'll need to check out.
The price will be $325 bring your own caps, or I think $350 with caps - already reached the pricing goal!
Have you ever plan to build a SSK?
An ISO and an ANSI board.. my head hurts.