Information from Unicomp

[dfrey]

I e-mailed support@pckeyboard.com with this question:

Do you have plans to build a keyboard similar to the Spacesaver except without the numeric keypad?

What I'm looking for is a keyboard with:
 * No numeric keypad
 * Mechanical key switches
 * Standard key layout including arrow keys, insert, delete, home, etc.
 * Windows keys

If you made that keyboard, I would buy 2 for sure.

Thanks,
David

This is the response I received:

Hello David.
I checked with development and there are no immediate plans to make a keyboard without a number pad.
 
Chuck

Bummer  

[ozar]

Thanks for the info!

If they'd make a buckling spring board without the number pad but also make an add-on number pad for it, I'm pretty sure it would be a huge hit.  I'd buy two of them (without the number pad) immediately.

[ozar]

I came close to buying that exact board (without the trackpoint) a few times but the rubber domes were the deal killer.

[FKSSR]

Boo.  That does stink.

[Etinin]

If they produced an Unicomp version of the Model M SpaceSaver, I'd buy it.

[bigpook]

If they produced an Unicomp version of the Model M SpaceSaver, I'd buy it.

There are a few of us here that would buy it. Sadly, that does not seem to be happening anytime soon.

[cmr]

i'm sure someone's explained before, but what exactly is the selling point of cutting off the numpad?

[bigpook]

i'm sure someone's explained before, but what exactly is the selling point of cutting off the numpad?

some of us simply do not like having numpads. As for me I don't really have a need for a numpad and they take up too much space.
Its even more problematic if you mouse on the right hand side as it adds to the reach.

[ozar]

For right-handers like me that never use the number pad at all, it gets in the way and forces the mouse to be further to the right than it should have to be.  I've thought about moving the mouse to the left side of the keyboard and that would help alleviate the problem a little, but I'd still have a mess of keys on the keyboard that are of no use whatsoever to me.

[cmr]

ah okay, reaching for the mouse. got it.

on the rare occasion that i find myself at an unfamiliar machine without a number pad, i tend to move the mouse a few inches to the right so it's in the usual place.

i don't think putting the numpad on the left would help much, though, since as far as i know most ten-key typists use their right hands.

[MANISH7]

i know most ten-key typists use their right hands.

do they really have a choice? :biggrin:

[iMav]

I came close to buying that exact board (without the trackpoint) a few times but the rubber domes were the deal killer.

The M4's are actually pretty nice.  They don't use rubber domes, they use a "buckling rubber sleeve".  :wink:

[tad]

Heh, working the checkout line at a retail job taught me left-handed 10-key entry very quickly. Later on, they "upgraded" to a touch-screen system, which dramatically increased checkout times.

Lesson learned: Never underestimate the efficiency of tactile feedback.

[bhtooefr]

If they produced an Unicomp version of the Model M SpaceSaver, I'd buy it.

iMav already did.

The last one.

[iMav]

iMav already did.

The last one.

    :yo:

[ozar]

Thanks for the info, iMav... I knew they weren't buckling spring, but figured they might be better than a common rubber dome considering the price.

[itlnstln]

ItlnStln - Leader of the Numpad Liberation Front.
 
I almost use my numpad more than the letters on my keyboard.  I guess that's what happens when you work in retail, though.

[FKSSR]

I use the numpad as well, though it maybe is only two to three times a day.  However, I would like to have an external one I can put to the right of my mouse (if I try it on the left and can't do it with my left hand).

[masonkbgeek]

Numpadless I don't want.

When are they going to do an M15?

[itlnstln]

Numpadless I don't want.
 
When are they going to do an M15?

They can't.  Maxi Switch and Goldtouch hold all the patents.  They can fix parts but not build new ones.

[D-EJ915]

They can't.  Maxi Switch and Goldtouch hold all the patents.  They can fix parts but not build new ones.

hmmm...what a bout a kit ... ~.~

[xsphat]

Who makes Maxi-Switch? Playtex? What a horrible name for a company. Sort of like Unic-omp.

[itlnstln]

Who makes Maxi-Switch? Playtex? What a horrible name for a company. Sort of like Unic-omp.

LOL!  This is the post of the day.  You win... the post of the day.  Thanks for playing.

[lexicon]

I don't think I've ever actually used the numpad on a keyboard.  I've actually gotten used to the Cherry MX G80-11900 on my secondary (sitting on the couch) computer.  The touchpad took some getting used to, but it's better than stretching a mouse cord across the couch, and I use keyboard shortcuts for almost everything anyway.  The number pad is above the touchpad on the right, so it's easy to ignore.  I just wish I could get this board with different switches.  On the other hand, it cost me $20 nib....

[bhtooefr]

The G80-11900 has blacks, right?

Get yourself a G80-3000LSCRC and use it as a blue switch donor, if that's your thing.

I'm afraid there's not a good cheap NEW brown donor, although there is the Compaq MX 11800, the trackball-equipped predecessor of the G80-11900, which can be obtained cheaply.

[itlnstln]

The G80-11900 has blacks, right?
 
Get yourself a G80-3000LSCRC and use it as a blue switch donor, if that's your thing.
 
I'm afraid there's not a good cheap NEW brown donor, although there is the Compaq MX 11800, the trackball-equipped predecessor of the G80-11900, which can be obtained cheaply.

The only thing I would like more than my G80-3000 with browns is a G80-1800 with browns.  Mmm...

[ch_123]

Hello David.
I checked with development and there are no immediate plans to make a keyboard without a number pad.

Chuck

Am I the only one who is somewhat surprised by the idea that Unicomp has a development department? I mean, when was the last time they came out with a new product?

[wellington1869]

Am I the only one who is somewhat surprised by the idea that Unicomp has a development department? I mean, when was the last time they came out with a new product?

well said.

[ozar]

Maybe they are still developing their current products trying to improve on them, but yeah, I've not seen anything new coming out.

[ozar]

When Jim said let's start selling these #*@(!  black blank keys that we could never get the white lettering to stick on.  Geekhacks will buy them for $20 a bag.

- Ripster

They really need to try packaging those blank keys a little better.  Buyers keep receiving broken keys when they order them... I know that I did.

[skriefal]

Am I the only one who is somewhat surprised by the idea that Unicomp has a development department? I mean, when was the last time they came out with a new product?

Probably custom products made for and relabeled by other companies.  Keyboards for server equipment, medical equipment, etc.  I have one that they made a few years ago for ADAC, a maker of medical imaging equipment.