ok why won't unicomp build the real minis? do they not like money?
It requires a big investment in tooling. They would sell a few to the people here.
Where they make their real money is selling lots of keyboards to offices that don't find the Model M too noisy, and need the tactile feedback for the most accurate typing - finding that the extra cost of a decent keyboard pays for itself in more accurate data entry.
Like the Japanese companies that buy Topres - for example, for airport check-in counters.
Corporate customers aren't so short on desk space that they want to give up the numeric keypad. Unicomp is willing to make modest efforts to pick up extra money, but naturally they will go for those that promise the biggest sales for the smallest extra investment.
I hope they figure out a way to break out into the mass market.