Just went to Insight Computers, in Chatham NY and got talking keyboards. It so happened they'd just got a brand-new never-opened 1993 IBM Model "M" Keyboard in. Needless to say I bought it on the spot. $20! Awesome! I was literally the first person to break the seal on the packaging. It had been sitting in storage since it came out of the factory in 1993!
I actually think I prefer the feel of this one (IBM Blue Label, Lexmark manufactured) to the feel of my other one, which is an older 1391401 from 1989. Both keyboards are awesome, but this one has a slightly "tighter" feel to it (a titch less play in the keys) and features the built-in cable and the coffee drainage canals, so you can spill your drinks into it without fear of damaging the keyboard. My 1391401 also had about 3 or 4 keys that required just a bit more force to buckle than the others, which meant I had to remember to always push a bit harder on those keys. Not so on this one! All of the keys are amazingly crisp and snappy. Additionally, my other "M" is a tad more beige in color (though spotless and in pristine condition). This one is more of a lighter eggshell/off-white color.
People these days are getting ripped off up the wazoo by companies like… well almost all of them, selling absolute crap rubber mush keyboards that cost them a whopping $3 to produce.
I'll take my steel-backplate-bearing snappy Model Ms any day of the week.
Awesome.
