The most unique keyboards out there.

[damorgue]

Could the ones that have them or know of good sources of info provide them? I don't read foreigneese
KMAC
The Cheat
356
etc

I would like to know more about them, even though I will never own one.

[EDI]

Space-cadet keyboard

[touchtype]

Learn Korean.

[The_Beast]

I need the "rub out" key

[fl0w3n]

Space-cadet keyboard

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Whoa, badass...details on this? 

[hashbaz]

I need the "rub out" key

I need a "GREEK" modifier.

[modulor]

Perhaps the Humble Hacker?  http://www.humblehacker.com/keyboard/

[Harlequin]

for custom keyboards, i think LZ SE (from S.Korea) is probably the most unique custom keyboards out there. It costs too much though.
I've read from DT that there will be a GB for LZ SE. Around 700 USD i think. Basically they are shipping from Korea so it costs extra.
Not sure if it's still going on or not.

[dorkvader]

Space-cadet keyboard

Whoa, badass...details on this? 

Similar to the symbolics keyboard. Made by Microswitch, I believe. Very old (Like '82 or so?), a million modifiers, etc. The "Knight Keyboard" is older, though. Pretty easy to find more info on google: The space cadet had a bit of a following, so information is abundant.

[Tenkey]

Wow thats a sick looking keyboard, never seen anything like that

[modulor]

The space cadet had a bit of a following, so information is abundant.

It uses Hall Effect switches that are said to be some of the best feeling switches ever made.  Here is the thread over at DT for Lisp keyboards: http://deskthority.net/keyboards-f2/the-lisp-keyboards-t98.html

[Findecanor]

The most unique keyboards out there must be the ones that are unique.

Period.

[damorgue]

The most unique keyboards out there must be the ones that are unique.

Period.

I didn't think that much about it when I posted it. I was actually looking for info on how the case of the cheat and 356 works since I intend to make a couple of cases and was looking for inspiration. Is the middle part watercut?
Posting info on the 'not-very common' boards is fine, doesn't have to be one of a kind really.

[Sifo]

So basically... Korean customs

[damorgue]

So basically... Korean customs

I was looking for info on those, but please feel free to contribute information on other interesting boards. I don't think there is a thread were such information is stored, where people can show of their holy grails and perhaps tell us a bit about them.

[damorgue]

Anyone with the 356, 356mini, the cheat or simlar that could post some detailed pics and show us how they were constructed inside?

[microsoft windows]

Space-cadet keyboard

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I wouldn't call that keyboard anything terribly special. It's pretty typical for keyboards designed in the early 1980's. Has a bit in common with the Commodore 64 keyboard, which is pretty common:
http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/c64/h/front.jpg

[dorkvader]

Space-cadet keyboard

I wouldn't call that keyboard anything terribly special. It's pretty typical for keyboards designed in the early 1980's. Has a bit in common with the Commodore 64 keyboard, which is pretty common:
http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/c64/h/front.jpg

It also has "a bit in common" with my IBM 6110668 (122-key F), as well as most other keyboards. It's still pretty unique (not counting the Knight keyboard, and other Symbolics keyboards of course). What with the million (well 6 at least) modifiers, the three (four?) language keycaps (Greek for equations, English, and is that APL?), those hand keys, honeywell keyswitches.... Sure it bears a striking resemblance with the large 2X doubleshot spherical keycaps, but there are a large number of properties it has that aren't really manifested in other keyboards.

It also doesn't have a windows key

[Okita]

Picture that inspired me to buy a HHKB Pro 2. This is a picture I saved - I can't remember where I got it nor do I know which type of board this is. The cabke, however, can be easily found with a google search.

[whiskerBox]

We used to have a cool wiki with expensive and rare keyboards.

[dorkvader]

Show Image

Picture that inspired me to buy a HHKB Pro 2. This is a picture I saved - I can't remember where I got it nor do I know which type of board this is. The cabke, however, can be easily found with a google search.

Sort of looks like that 356 mini to me. I was going to go with Pure LE, but then I saw the stepped capslock.

[damorgue]

No one wants to show of their customs or authentic Cherry prototype or something? I would have guessed that the ones who has them also likes to show them to people.

[mkawa]

there was a thread in the old pictures archive with pictures of korean customs. if someone *AHEM REAPER AHEM* could start it up again, that would be keen. i have a bunch of kits sitting in my room that i haven't had time to build, but i'll definitely take some pics when i'm done with them (at my current keyboard building rate this could be a while though)

[Pyrolistical]

The most unique keyboards in the word are the set of keyboards of with the population of 1

Here are the ones I know of:
http://pyrolistical.github.com/blog/2012/08/11/full-custom-keypoard/
http://www.humblehacker.com/keyboard/
http://mykeyboard.co.uk/microswitch/
http://www.datamancer.net/keyboards/keyboards.htm

[dorkvader]

And fully half of them use Dvorak (or a close variant)

I notice that #1 was also posted on GH, here.

[Velma]

Im curious about how these stunning datamancer boards look if you open them and check what switches they use. Its a shame they dont provice more "technical" information for us nerds, "Mechanical keyswitches with millions of keystrokes compared to those throwaway plastic rubber dome boards" doesnt say very much this day and age.

[IvanIvanovich]

If I remember correctly datamancer use something like the Dell AT101 a lot for thier works. If you look at most of them you can tell its Alps anyway.

[nullstring]

Similar to the symbolics keyboard. Made by Microswitch, I believe. Very old (Like '82 or so?), a million modifiers, etc. The "Knight Keyboard" is older, though. Pretty easy to find more info on google: The space cadet had a bit of a following, so information is abundant.

You sure? Emacs was created in the 1976, and was inspired by the space cadet keyboard. Logic would insist the space cadet keyboard would pre-date (or co-date?) this.

[Velma]

Lol, it almost seems like the symbolics space and knight boards are like the "Mayian" crystal skulls of the keyboard world. Unique, enegmatic little novelty items with a certain cult following 

[dorkvader]

Similar to the symbolics keyboard. Made by Microswitch, I believe. Very old (Like '82 or so?), a million modifiers, etc. The "Knight Keyboard" is older, though. Pretty easy to find more info on google: The space cadet had a bit of a following, so information is abundant.

You sure? Emacs was created in the 1976, and was inspired by the space cadet keyboard. Logic would insist the space cadet keyboard would pre-date (or co-date?) this.

I'm not old enough to know for sure, but wikipedia says the knight keyboard is older. More importantly, the jargon file agrees:
http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/S/space-cadet-keyboard.html

It's hard to find real dates on the space cadet keyboard, though. All I know is that Webwit's appears to be from 1982 (hence my post). Interestingly enough, the controller chip on the space-cadet keyboard is programmed in lisp.

According to the following lisp machines were only made in 1977 or so (date of the CADR. The first prototype was '75)
http://www.andromeda.com/people/ddyer/lisp/

According to Wikipedia emacs was ported to CADR (Second lisp machine after CONS) from ITS in 1975. (Which is interesting, because the emacs page says 1976 was he initial release)

Having now looked, it's surprisingly difficult to get dates on all this stuff. Basically the only source with dates is that above-linked history of lisp machines. There's no date on the keyboards as far as I've seen (Except internally, but there aren't enough internal pictures)