This was already being discussed somewhere else.
Apparently it is the later inferior Lexmark trackpoint rather than the earlier superior IBM type.
Wow, neat thread. That was my keyboard (one from my collection) that sold. Wouldn't have been appropriate to post before the sale concluded I thought.
Anyways, no, you are incorrect (but close - at least in my opinion - more on that at the end).
A little Trackpoint and Model M history:
The Lexmark Trackpoints
are the IBM Trackpoints. The Lexmark and Maxiswitch Model M13's came with either the Trackpoint or Trackpoint II. The Trackpoint II was definitely the better of the two, and less likely to get stuck/pegged to a corner or side of the screen. All of them suffered from crappy attachment to the membrane cover plate - if caught early, the correct epoxy could permanently fix that (the "heat welds" would fail).
The keyboard that sold has a Unicomp force sensing pointing stick and
does not have a Trackpoint (I, II or otherwise) in it, as mentioned in the auction itself.
It is not an IBM technology. It was used by Unicomp on all their subsequent M13's because, though they got the keyboard rights, they did not get the Trackpoint rights. I had a pretty detailed communication with them about this when trying to get Trackpoint (II) parts for one of my daily use M13's.
That brings us back to your "inferior" statement. Correcting for which one (Unicomp force sensing joystick type pointing device instead of genuine Trackpoint) I personally think you're right. It's "inferior".
More accurately, I simply don't like it. It feels like a broken Trackpoint. Perhaps that's because I've used (and still use) many many Trackpoints, from the very first iterations through some of the latest, in most of their incarnations, and even on other brands' licensed uses of the technology.
Part of what made this keyboard so rare, not just among IBM M13's (which, btw, were mostly made by others - and not by IBM), even among Industrial M13's is that it has the Unicomp stick instead of the better (in our opinion) Trackpoint or Trackpoint II. This was the absolute last production run of the Industrial M13's with the IBM logo. AFAIK, the only things left after that were shells and components to fulfill the few IBM service contract requirements for any replacements/repairs. But, this is from the last year, and the only time frame that used them.
As a matter of fact, this is the final production year of
*any* production run Model M13's - the Industrial series as built by Unicomp. No blacks or beige.
It saddened me to part with such a very very rare Model M13/Model M, but the box had been collecting dust for seemingly ages.
Best,
Rob
