In the past week I've purchased and started using both a 1993 Model M 42H1292 from clickykeyboards.com and a Customizer 104 (DOB 2/19/2009 - must not have much inventory piled up!) and I've officially become tiresome to spend time with because I'm gushing obsessively about my new fetish: the buckling spring.
Oh the sweetness I'm feeling to watch my words literally snap into place. My first PC was an original IBM XT and my high school days were spent in PS/2 labs with rows of these babies. Those years were formative ones and my eventual drift towards the writer's life started with my hands on this chattery design, my arrogant adolescence being confronted against these keys.
I don't know how I rediscovered the Model M, but since I have, I don't know how I fogot about it. I had moved on, I guess, with the rest of the world, to soft squishy boards that were purchased on the premise of quietness and appearance.
So I've been lurking here for a couple weeks, soaking up information. I saw someone post a link here in the comments section in a blog post by someone about the Model M and the Unicomp somewhere. I am very impressed with the community here and wanted to say thanks for all the knowledge I've sucked up.
My experience buying from clickykeyboards was solid. The board arrived in two days and is remarkably clean. They really do a perfect job making the board as spic and span as possible. No pubes, thank god. The price was decent. I know there are probably boards sitting in junk bins waiting for me to snatch for $5 within a 100 mile radius, but I honestly don't have the time to find, test, and de-pube some random board. The $40 and shipping for this Model M was worth the convenience.
Meanwhile, I ordered a Customizer 104 last week. I was sold on the whole story of an American small business, running on a shoestring, banging out plastic on IBM's old factory parts. Hard working Kentuckian moms putting the keys on the board by hand. This is something I want to support. I stumbled upon the NRP story from January in my research. WOw, I think, here's a little operation keeping this legendary computer part ALIVE. This isn't just a fortunate occurrence for people who cling to buckling spring. This is a real STORY.
I place the order, thinking about how the company had to lay off a third of its employees and stuck in a position in which their equipment can only do so much and their income can't pay for retooling and expansions. I feel a connection, as a newspaper reporter, devoting my life to this. . . old thing that so many people can't live without. But this financial death grip is tightening.
Two days go by and I haven't even received a confirmation. I send an e-mail just inquiring if they needed more info or anything, letting them know I'm patient and not anxious if they don't have the board ready yet.
The next day, I get a shipping notice and tracking number.
The following day, Jim Owens e-mails me and tells me that the 104 won't ship for 7-10 days due to a "parts problem." Tells me that they can send out a SpaceSaver first thing Monday (this week) if I don't want to wait for the Customizer.
I think, maybe the tracking number is just generated when they process the order and the box is set aside or something, even if the board isn't ready. I really would rather have the Customizer over the spacesaver so I tell him I have no problem waiting. But, sure enough, the Customizer IS shipping since UPS starts telling me it's in transit from Kentucky and all is well.
So Jim was confused or something. Granted, the board was made a day after I placed the order. I tried calling Jim before I left the e-mail but I got his voicemail and hung up. I didn't want to be a nag.
I hope everything is OK over there. Jim e-mailed me on a Saturday night. I picture this guy, Jim Owens, tapping away on his own customizer, putting in some extra hours to do his part to keep the company going.
So anyway, back to the boards. I have to say, I prefer the Unicomp so far. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe if I got the 1391401 instead of a 42H1292 I'd think differently. The M performs PERFECTLY, for the record. It's just. . . The Unicomp feels tighter but smoother in a way. I think it just might be that one board is broken in and the other is literally, only 6 days old as I type this. That's kinda sexy to me. My new board is an INFANT! If I had a woman's breasts, I would at least offer it some teat...I'm getting off-topic again. Apologies.
The IBM board came with two-piece keys. Compared to the Unicomp, the shell plastic does seem just a little more solid, but the difference in build quality is pretty tough to tell apart. I could confirm that the injection molding marks are pretty apparent on the Unicomp. This doesn't bother me at all. In the normal ambient lighting of my room, the board actually looks quite smart and fits in with my setup quite nicely. It's a nice solid slab on the desk, and that's what counts.
The Unicomp has more of a rumbly, scratchiness which I think can be attributed to the subtle differences in the shell and housing. I need more time on both boards to really compare the differences in key action. But both boards are very wonderful to type on. I find myself wanting to find reasons to keep hammering away. I write for a living, so I have ample opportunity to use these boards, but since I've got them, I've been going above and beyond my normal keyboarding amounts, replying to emails that don't really warrant reply, writing much more elaborate instant messages, and, perhaps most noticeably to you, writing massive and wordy posts on message boards.
With the Model M, My coworkers gathered around me and admired the board once I took it out the box. It's so pristine and new looking, you'd think it was brand new. Already, a few other reporters are pledging to look into getting their own. Many of us grew up and got through college on these boards, so the revelation that there's a big market for them and they're still proving to be reliable workhorses has caused quite a stir in my office.
Now, quick question - what is the overall consensus on the 42H1292? Is it a disaster that I got it? Should I set it aside for backup/parts and get me a bona-fide 1391401? Or is this new obsession of mine just starting to get the best of me and the only difference would be weight, heft, cosmetic stuff?
Here's the link to the actual board I bought:
http://www.clickykeyboards.com/index.cfm/fa/items.main/parentcat/9246/subcatid/0/id/389138There's a part of me that thinks I should just get another Unicomp. Anything for Jim.
