This is why it is so distressing to me to see the relentless disparaging of Unicomp on this forum.
Newcomers read the ugly viscious nitpicking about how "they don't make 'em like they used to" and become thoroughly confused.
Unicomp makes the best sub-$100 keyboard anywhere and should be well praised for it.
Apologies if my post regarding Unicomp was offensive. I was just expression my opinion and experience.
Newcomers will be thoroughly confused on geekhack no matter what. The level of details on boards, cases, keycaps, and switches alone can scare someone off. I've been into computer hardware hardcore for almost 30 years and it's still intimidating. There's so many people here with infinitely more knowledge on keyboards that unless you're willing to search and read hundreds of threads to get 'up to speed' you're out of the loop. I'm just now starting to grasp what some of the boards people on here rave about are, even after being registered for years.
Many newcomers come here because of searching on Unicomp or IBM keyboards. (It's how I found gh.) And that being said, from an seo standpoint, having threads endlessly discussing the two companies just helps the products and people to finding gh (although I agree that vicious arguements are not going to paint the products or gh in a positivelight).
People searching about these keyboards
want to read about something about them. It's why reviews have become important in any product sales cycle. And people that are searching for these keyboards aren't dummies or will read one thing and make a hasty decision--they're just like us; they will do their homework, go into the details and see if it's exactly what they want--buckling spring, new or old, or maybe even something completely different in the end. The important thing that we can do is offer our honest opinions and that's it.
I've been tempted to get a Unicomp just to have one and make my buckling spring journey complete, but since I have read others' opinions from people that own them that the feel is the same, there's no point. However, I did observe a quality difference on a space bar. That is a fact. Does that mean the whole keyboard has a lesser quality? I don't know since I don't own one, but my opinion is that the manufacturing quality control would be the same, so I'd see a difference. Would others? I don't know. Would it matter? Probably not except after maybe 50 years or so, but by then the original IBMs will also have any time-related issues. Bottom line, I've clarified what I observed as fact and what is my opinion. What someone wants to do with that information is up to them.
After looking at some of the prices of competing keyboards, not only is the Unicomp priced less--it's truly a bargain. I forgot about the warranty aspect, and that's an important point that you won't get from owning one of the originals from decades ago. I think if I had to recommend a newbie path to try buckling spring, it would be to get a Unicomp and try it. If you like it and then want an original IBM, you can seek one out. Finding a good IBM has its own issues as well, especially after they have become popular. That in itself is intimidating as there is that whole 'used-car salesman' type of seller out there that most people don't want to deal with.
