said Dr. Nikolaus Klepp via tde-users:
| > Digging through issues one by one here. Am using the desktop more
| > after having gotten a TKL (SSK in IBM parlance) Model M from Unicomp.
| > I have a couple of genuine IBM SSKs, but they have become to valuable
| > to use. The Unicomp reissue is if anything better, and I love it. But
| > I digress.
|
| Oh ... I want one ... just for decoration that is :)
It's here:
https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/MINI_M
The white keys are definitely better in person than the gray ones. Unicomp
was Lexmark employees who bought up all the equipment when Lexmark stopped
making Model M keyboards for IBM (and the equipment used by IBM before it
spun off keyboards and printers as Lexmark). They kept making Model Ms,
though after the existing stock was gone sold them as Unicomp. I have a
batch of them from those days (and earlier, actually -- more Model Ms than
anyone has a right to, including the 122-key battle cruisers in both IBM
and Unicomp livery). Anyway, over the years the equipment got worn out and
the quality suffered, so a few uears ago Unicomp created the New Model M
(
https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/NEW_M), which had the same guts
but a less ridiculous case, all new tooling, and as a result a brand new
Model M, unavailable since IBM made 'em pre-1991.
Then, by popular demand, they produced the Mini M, which is like the IBM
Space Saving keyboard -- a model M without the number pad. Much nicer,
actually, than my original SSKs. All nice and clicky and good. (They still
make the older stuff for those who prefer it. Fortunately, the Unicomp
Model Ms I have are nearly 20 years old, so they were made before the
tooling went loose.) The Mini M I'm typing this on was made December 10
and I received it December 18. Like IBM, they put the "birth certificate"
on the back. Praise the Lord, there is no awful Unicomp logo on the front
of the keyboard. Though the LEDs are a too-bright blue, if you get some
very yellow gel or tape, you can turn 'em green the way God intended.
Chyrosran22, the Jeff Cooper of keyboards, did an excellent review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxT1ja8OWRY
While we're in the neighborhood, a guy named Joe is also reproducing the
Model F, which is in some respects clickier and nicer and more technically
profound. Those who have gotten them seem to love them, though they come
without the keys attached and the whole operation seems slightly, um,
weird to me. I asked a few questions, swallowed hard and ordered one
anyway, but Joe canceled my order because I'm not the kind of customer he
wants. (He's right.) In case you're more forgiving than I am and are
interested:
https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/
Chyrosran22 on the Brand New Model F, to which project I believe he
contributed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzcEtwSFz9I
And to round it off, there is an application, "bucklespring," that plays
the sounds of a Model M through your speakers as you type. I installed and
used it just to see how it sounds, then deleted it, inasmuch as I have an
actual Model M.
I wrote about some of this here:
https://ofb.biz/sa1250
And here:
https://ofb.biz/safari/article/1272.html
--
dep
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