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Author Topic: Black IBM M4-1  (Read 4032 times)

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Offline ch_123

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Black IBM M4-1
« on: Fri, 19 June 2009, 11:37:45 »
Got one for myself, still one leftover. Seems to be a good deal.

Link

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Offline chimera15

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Black IBM M4-1
« Reply #1 on: Fri, 19 June 2009, 13:56:05 »
I like how the shipping costs almost as much as the auction price.... geesh.

Oh that's cause the link is for ireland... heh
« Last Edit: Fri, 19 June 2009, 13:58:51 by chimera15 »
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white real complicated: 1x modified siiig minitouch kb1903,  hhkb light2 english steampunk hack, wireless siig minitouch hack
white with rubber damper(cream)+clicky springs: 2x modified siig minitouch kb1903 1x modified siig minitouch kb1948
white fake simplified:   1x white smk-85, 1x Steampunk compact board hack
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Offline bigpook

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Black IBM M4-1
« Reply #2 on: Fri, 19 June 2009, 14:29:31 »
Quote from: ch_123;97624
Got one for myself, still one leftover. Seems to be a good deal.

Link

Show Image


I got one of these too, I think from the same seller? brian_oneill IIRC.
Its not a bad keyboard and it fits in my laptopbag. The keys seem to have a short throw and the trackpoint is pretty neat too.
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HHKB Pro 2 : Unicomp Spacesaver : IBM Model M : DasIII    

Offline bigpook

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Black IBM M4-1
« Reply #3 on: Fri, 19 June 2009, 14:44:44 »
The trackpoint is not a bad thing to have. I find its good enough for work.

Whats wrong with the Unicomp M-4's? Aside from being somewhat pricey.
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Offline IBI

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Black IBM M4-1
« Reply #4 on: Fri, 19 June 2009, 15:09:10 »
Quote from: ripster;97689
It must be because their parcel trucks can't go through these roads.

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I can't speak for Ireland specifically, but I'd consider that fairly wide road in general.
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Owned: Raptor-Gaming K1 (linear MX)(Broken), IBM Model M UK, Dell AT102W, Left-handed keyboard with Type 1 Simplified Alps.

Offline ch_123

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Black IBM M4-1
« Reply #5 on: Fri, 19 June 2009, 15:14:55 »
Quote from: bigpook;97694
The trackpoint is not a bad thing to have. I find its good enough for work.

Whats wrong with the Unicomp M-4's? Aside from being somewhat pricey.

Not up to the same standard. Apparently the keys are really loose or something on them. The IBM (well Lexmark) ones are quite snappy.

@Shipping to Ireland: The funny thing is - it's often cheaper to buy things from the US and have them shipped over than it is to get them over here... We have one of the highest costs of living in Europe.
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Offline microsoft windows

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Black IBM M4-1
« Reply #6 on: Fri, 19 June 2009, 19:26:22 »
I have actually used the M-4's and they achieve perfectly reasonable performance. Their keys, even though they use ruber-dome-style keyswitches, their keys still have a clicky sound to them, but they do ack the springy feel the good ol' Model M's like mine have.
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Offline bigpook

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Black IBM M4-1
« Reply #7 on: Fri, 19 June 2009, 20:09:10 »
I use mine at work when I am in my cube. they aren't exactly quiet. I think the noise they do make comes from me bottoming out the keys.
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Offline ch_123

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Black IBM M4-1
« Reply #8 on: Sat, 20 June 2009, 03:59:38 »
I'd describe them more as "thocky" than clicky. And they're not really rubber domes - if you remove the sleeve out of them, the keys don't pop up after you press them.

EDIT: Looks like someone got it. Judging by the purchaser's history of buying keyboards and trackballs, I assume its someone from here...
« Last Edit: Sat, 20 June 2009, 04:05:10 by ch_123 »
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Offline nerp

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Black IBM M4-1
« Reply #9 on: Sat, 20 June 2009, 16:55:10 »
They're probably similar in feel to a decent Thinkpad, which provide the best laptop keyboarding experience, IMHO. I enjoy typing on my thinkpad very much.
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Offline ch_123

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Black IBM M4-1
« Reply #10 on: Sat, 20 June 2009, 17:20:04 »
Depends on which Thinkpad you mean. The feel is supposed to be identical to an original Thinkpad (which I've never had the pleasure of using). I have a Thinkpad T61. Hard to say which I like better - M4 is more tactile, but the T61's keyboard is more quiet and soft. Both are good IMO
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Offline Mercen_505

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Black IBM M4-1
« Reply #11 on: Sat, 20 June 2009, 19:22:00 »
Quote
I read Unicomps M-4 is not up to snuff, especially for a $100 Unicomp.

Yeah, I have a Unicomp as well as a Lexmark M4, and the difference in build quality is blatantly obvious, even before your hands hit the keys. The Lexmark M4 I have is rock solid :)
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Offline bigpook

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Black IBM M4-1
« Reply #12 on: Sat, 20 June 2009, 19:43:09 »
I don't have a Unicomp to compare it to but the M4-1 I have is made by Lexmark. Its fairly solid feeling but there is a bit of flex at the top of the keyboard.  Granted I have to twist it with both hands to do this but it does not have the tank like build the M's have.
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Offline Qwertyuiop

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Black IBM M4-1
« Reply #13 on: Sat, 20 June 2009, 21:42:27 »
The M4-1 is similar or probably identical to the keyboard in the IBM PS/2 L40sx laptop, which was before they coined the Thinkpad name. I can't find much on this machine online but here's one page:
http://www.nothingtodo.org/classiccmp/l40sx.htm

I didn't own this machine but I used one. It was years later when I got an unfortunately malfunctioning M4-1 so I couldn't directly compare them but as far as I could remember the feel and sound was the same.

I was gonna buy a Unicomp M4 but I guess I won't now. Which means I'm likely out of luck since I don't buy from ebay and I won't buy used keyboards anyway. :rant:
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several Model M\'s, Apple Adjustable Keyboard

Offline Qwertyuiop

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Black IBM M4-1
« Reply #14 on: Sun, 21 June 2009, 23:04:07 »
It'd be nice to know what exactly you're referring to as "another repost"...

If I said something about the L40sx before, I'm sorry, but the post certainly contained more information than that comment.
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several Model M\'s, Apple Adjustable Keyboard
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