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geekhack Community => Off Topic => Topic started by: itlnstln on Thu, 14 January 2010, 08:58:12

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: itlnstln on Thu, 14 January 2010, 08:58:12

It seems like even after all the understanding of causes, research and development used to make plastic that no longer yellows over time, it seems that it's still occurring (http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=17398).  Ironically (or appropriately), it's happening to one of the original gross offenders, Apple.

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: keyb_gr on Thu, 14 January 2010, 10:14:56

For all the problems these machines seem to have, according to the comments the "yellowing" is not plastic but screen backlight related.

Anyway, there is absolutely no reason why yellowing shouldn't be occurring. Maybe not the purely oxygen-related variety, but you can still expect some when UV radiation is in play.

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: itlnstln on Thu, 14 January 2010, 10:18:29

Yeah, I just thought I would take a jab at them.

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: timw4mail on Mon, 18 January 2010, 12:23:53

Quote from: itlnstln;150830

Yeah, I just thought I would take a jab at them.

Why, because it's the "cool" thing to do?

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: itlnstln on Tue, 19 January 2010, 07:46:45

Why not? You take jabs at Internet Explorer, because it's the cool thing to do.
 
That said, I'm an equal opportunity jabber.
 
Rule no. 1 of ItlnStln's posts:  don't take them seriously.

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: hyperlinked on Tue, 19 January 2010, 09:52:03

Quote from: itlnstln;151979

Why not? You take jabs at Internet Explorer, because it's the cool thing to do.

I think maybe it was more the fact that the jab seemed disconnected. Linking together two incidents that share the word "yellow" was confusing at best.

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: itlnstln on Tue, 19 January 2010, 09:55:22

Like this (http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:8529)?
 
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=7399&stc=1&d=1263844202)

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: itlnstln on Tue, 19 January 2010, 11:12:07

I don't take sides, either.  It was just a little funny that offended some folks.  Oops.

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: ak_nala on Tue, 19 January 2010, 22:08:36

Actually, the original Mac was pretty yellow to begin with. They didn't change to Platinum until a few years later. Beige was in when the Mac first camp out, and Apple beige was browner/yellower than the rest of the PC world. It's the space bar that looks really bad on Ripster's board.

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: rdjack21 on Tue, 19 January 2010, 22:40:25

And to make things balanced even Topre has issues with yellowing keyboards:

(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=7428&stc=1&d=1263962273)

I'm going to have to go read up on how to remove the yellowing so I can fix this board or either swap the case on it maybe stick it in my black HE0100 case.

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: msiegel on Tue, 19 January 2010, 23:12:37

Quote from: rdjack21;152238

I'm going to have to go read up on how to remove the yellowing

yellow or not, that is a neat keyboard :D

if you do retrobright i'd love to hear about it :)

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: microsoft windows on Wed, 20 January 2010, 13:00:23

(http://gadgetsngizmos.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/wireless-keyboard-n-mouse.jpg)
Apple's old keyboards that came on their eMac's are very prone to yellowing. Leave one of those things out in the sun for just a few days and it'll look like a thousand dogs pissed on it.

Many people didn't like that aspect of their keyboards, so Crapple went and changed it and made their new crappy "Sleek" model. However, some people liked that "sunny" yellow color, so that was taken into consideration as well.
(http://www.zcover.com/store/catalog/images/YELLOW.jpg)

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: itlnstln on Wed, 20 January 2010, 13:08:04

Quote from: ripster;152350

Unfortunate the Matias TP3 kept with that old design.

I think they're trying to market it to those that prefer the old design, anyway.  It's a nice-looking keyboard, though.  I like it better than the TP 2.

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: elservo on Wed, 20 January 2010, 14:19:03

Any reason why the new Matias TP keyboards are so damned expensive?  They're using Alps, right?

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: itlnstln on Wed, 20 January 2010, 14:37:02

Quote from: elservo;152371

Any reason why the new Matias TP keyboards are so damned expensive? They're using Alps, right?

They're just a boutique keyboard marketed to Mac users.  They do use ALPS (compatible) switches.  They are trying to capture the old-school Mac users that used the AEKII back in the day.  I think the nostalgia factor and some of the bells and whistles contribute to the price.  I also think it's programmable to a certain extent, if I'm not mistaken.

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: hyperlinked on Wed, 20 January 2010, 16:04:00

If the TP3 is any good, it's not necessarily any more expensive than other high end keyboards. It's also not even the most expensive keyboard they make... not by far.

Wanna try $595 for a rubber dome board?
http://matias.ca/halfkeyboard/index.php

They seem to have two niches... Apple tie-in products and special needs products.

So far as rubber domes go, I'm rather fond of the Matias Optimizer board:
http://www.matias.ca/optimizer/index.php

I was considering the TP3 until they took out the Optimizer macros from it... but then again the Optimizer macros may have been part of the problem with the TP2. The hardware based shortcuts led to really serious ghosting problems.

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: hyperlinked on Wed, 20 January 2010, 16:08:00

Quote from: itlnstln;152351

I think they're trying to market it to those that prefer the old design, anyway.  It's a nice-looking keyboard, though.  I like it better than the TP 2.

It might also just be less risky to fix a product they screwed up the last time around. If they redesign it from the ground up, it also poses the possibility of introducing new bugs. The TP2 had a lot of issues.

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: ak_nala on Thu, 21 January 2010, 03:21:16

Quote from: ripster;152350

Unfortunate the Matias TP3 kept with that old design.

Show Image

(http://www.matias.ca/tactilepro3/resources/images/TP_header_r1_c1.jpg)

I doubt it will ever be a classic like the IBM Model M.

Actually it echoes the rounded clear/white design just previous to the minimalist blocky clear/white one MS Windows showed.

The latter one was really, really poorly conceived (if you ever see one in person you'll know what I mean), whereas the one previous that shipped with the G4 iMacs and Power Macs of the time was merely flawed, being rubber domed and that silly clear plastic that shows everything that drifts down in there (was a bit better when it was clear/black/silver as originally shipped).

And let's not even talk about the yellowing on those particular boards!

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: elservo on Sat, 23 January 2010, 13:41:01

I mean I'm glad that there is still a community of Mac users out there that knows what a real keyboard is, but the price point makes it a bit hard to make any kind of dent in the user base.  Pretty soon Mac keyboards will just be holograms, and Tom Cruise will be arresting us for crimes we haven't committed yet, and then what do we do?

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: itlnstln on Mon, 25 January 2010, 07:33:34

Quote from: elservo;153256

Pretty soon Mac keyboards will just be holograms, and Tom Cruise will be arresting us for crimes we haven't committed yet, and then what do we do?

Beat their asses with Model Ms.

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: didjamatic on Mon, 25 January 2010, 08:25:28

See Shift key on the small board... Shift Shift Shift!!!

(http://matias.ca/halfkeyboard/resources/images/hk_header3.jpg)

Title: ...and it's not just Apple ones.
Post by: sethstorm on Thu, 28 January 2010, 17:18:57

(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=7585&stc=1&d=1264720678)

Unless the thing was stored badly, this Sun Type 6 has developed a very unnatural shade of yellow on its keys. My Type 5's arent that bad, which makes it a bit surprising.

No, I don't believe Sun ever sold these in "faded yellow".

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: ricercar on Thu, 28 January 2010, 18:01:50

That one is exceptional. I went through a pallet of old keyboards Tuesday that had 5-10 Sun keyboards of that appearance, save the keys/mice were still whitish, with no yellowing.

Title: Plastic Yellowing Still a Problem
Post by: sethstorm on Thu, 28 January 2010, 19:05:23

Quote from: ricercar;154449

That one is exceptional. I went through a pallet of old keyboards Tuesday that had 5-10 Sun keyboards of that appearance, save the keys/mice were still whitish, with no yellowing.

Bought it a year or two ago from Hamvention as a cheapish rubber dome keyboard.  It's worse than what the flash hides.

Question is, I'd wonder if you could fit one of those in a Type 5 case (as I already have a good Fujitsu[Sun Type 5, not Peerless] donor).