Vintage Keyboards of the Future!

[HipsterPunks]

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.

[Lurch]

SSKs will never die!

[Computer-Lab in Basement]

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.

[JPG]

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.

[ConscienceDrop]

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.

[HoffmanMyster]

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!

[CPTBadAss]

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.

[intelli78]

I think the Korean customs will be highly sought after.

[cookie]

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!

[paicrai]

razee blackwidow

[Binge]

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.

[Hypersphere]

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.

[rowdy]

Anything zombie-proof, and probably fairly heavy (to double as a weapon).

[Puddsy]

model m

KUL

[tp4tissue]

Any keyboard once touched by the -Guiding Light- of the 21st century, Tp4..

[Hak Foo]

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."

[Premonition]

Any keyboard once touched by the -Guiding Light- of the 21st century, Tp4..

Show Image

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

[epicepee]

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.

[Oobly]

Any keyboard once touched by the -Guiding Light- of the 21st century, Tp4..

Show Image

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...

[Novus]

The premise of this is wrong.
Let me fix it.

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 3the 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.

[JaccoW]

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."

*never forget*