The first thing you notice about the IBM Model M keyboard, when you finally get your hands on it, is its size. After years of tapping chiclet keys and glass screens on two- and three-pound devices, hefting five pounds of plastic and metal (including a thick steel plate) is slightly intimidating. The second thing is the sound – the solid click that’s turned a standard-issue beige peripheral into one of the computer world’s most prized and useful antiques.
I have a Model M somewhere at my parents’ house, with the very rare Dutch keyboard layout (we use US English now). However, I absolutely detest keyboards like that. I prefer keyboards with a decent click, but as little travel as possible, so that it requires as little pressure as possible to press a key, yet still get a decent click. Surprisingly – to some, perhaps – I am a huge fan of Apple’s separate (so non-laptop) keyboard, and you can pry mine from my cold, dead hands.
However, I know I’m in the minority, and the Model M is a hugely popular beast of a keyboard. Great article by The Verge.
best one in my humble opinion:
cherry g80
There’s a (now) broken Model M from a long gone PS/2 lying outside the house for the kids to pretend type on :^D
I retired mine when I had to start doing more conference calls from home. The clicking was overly-distracting for anyone on the other end of the phone.
Also, it had a stick plus key on the keypad, which I never could get working smoothly no matter what I tried. It seemed the plastic just didn’t fit, and I was hesitant to try filing it down.
It’s still hanging around here somewhere – maybe I should put it on ebay or something.
I had a model M myself over a decade ago, but I lost it in a fire. It felt absolutely fantastic when typing, I liked the long key-travel and the satisfying click on my fingers when the key touched down, but I wouldn’t wanna use one now simply due to how noisy they are. Plus I kind of want a keyboard with volume-control buttons and at least play/pause on it for convenience.
My current keyboard is a mushy, flimsy wireless Logitech – one that sucks arse, but I haven’t wanted to toss out a working keyboard, so I’ve just stuck with it. It is finally starting to fall apart, though, so I’m eyeing a new keyboard sometime soonish.
Fire is about the only thing that can kill a Model M.
This is why I plan to move to a Boscom 5250 keyboard soon – I’m currently using a Sun Model 7 USB keyboard with additional function keys on the left (for starting programs and manipulating windows) and on the right (for volume control and session management). The 5250-style keyboard is a Model-M-alike (same feeling), but offers 2×5 on the left and further 12 keys on top. It’s fully programmable, which means you can turn every key in whatever you want it to do (send a specific key code, attach that to a symbol, or a key combination, or cause a program action). Key caps can also be re-arranged as desired, and caps exchange is possible with IBM keyboards.
Of course I still have some original Model M keyboard here (black and blue IBM logos), and all of them (!) still work. Even though their HIL cables aren’t in proper condition (only one exception where the “arms” didn’t fall off), they are still fully usable, and a joy to use. Whenever I start writing code, it feels better and “more natural” to do so on an IBM keyboard than on the Sun keyboard…
In my opinion, there is only one keyboard that is a little bit better than the MF-2 layout IBM keyboards: It’s the one that originally came with the IBM PC and PC/XT. Even though its layout is different (“XT layout”), its mechanical structure seems to be a bit different, and the keys feel better. The following keyboard for the IBM PC/AT (“AT layout”) feels the same like the MF-2 keyboards that are still around today. (Needless to say, I have all of them here.) The keyboard coming with the 3270 terminals which uses a similar mechanical concept strangely feels worse. Of course it’s not usable on a PC. 🙂
Special ordered with the traditional/classic coloring, but with the Dvorak layout. Some serious problems with it though:
1. When I received it, it was *not* the model with Windows/Menu keys that I wanted. This was a major problem, because I actually *use* those Super keys for issuing commands to the window manager, ever since I switched from desktop environments to tiling window managers (Alt does not work as well, it is used for too many other functions). Also, I map the Compose key to Menu, and this is also no longer possible. Also not cool when I paid an extra $10 for the customization, and the final cost was over a hundred! If I wasn’t already sick of dealing with companies at that time, no doubt I would have arranged to send it back and get it replaced. Oh well, too late now.
2. When I ordered Dvorak, I expected the keycaps to be different. Nope, the entire board is actually hardwired Dvorak, meaning you can plug it in to any computer running any OS and be in Dvorak. Which is awesome, by the way. But with my multi-booting and playing around with OSes for various purposes, I would have much preferred a “standard” layout that could be switched easily inside the OS. As it is, if I want to play games, it is HELL to switch it back from Dvorak to US, for example. For Windows, it requires AutoHotKeys; for Linux, I don’t even want to try… it’s just not worth the trouble. Also, with it hardwired Dvorak, playing with other layouts like Colemak and CarpalX is not even worth trying, for the same reasons: it’s too difficult to switch to the layout without being able to use the operating system’s native keyboard layout selection. Manually going through every single Dvorak key, changing it to the target layout, then testing to make sure it works correctly? No thanks!
3. Major technical problem here: For some reason, often the keyboard just will not be recognized by the OS (Windows or Linux) at boot, requiring me to unplug and then re-plug the USB cable. Uh, WTF? Does it on my new Lenovo laptop as well as my old Dell piece of shit desktop.
4. For a while, the “P” key stuck. Most presses of that key would end up with two or three letters appearing on-screen, and this was beyond annoying. At some point it stopped though, after I gave up trying to fix it.
At this point, since I’ve got more into gaming and less into typing (for now, anyway), the extra noise is pointless and actually somewhat annoying. I’m thinking about getting a more gaming-oriented board, the CM Storm QuickFire TK (Cherry MX Red, backlit). I’d like to get Filco Majestouch 2 keyboards with both Cherry MX Black and Blue at some point, but they are just too expensive. Due to the problems I’ve had with my Unicomp I’m not so sure I’ll want to get another but an antique “original” Model M is out of the question too. I do like the weight and sound of the keys for normal typing though. I have had to switch back to a stacking window manager/desktop environment for the time being, too–which is one of main everyday the reasons I’m anxious to dump this keyboard for something new right about now.
So… for the tl;dr crowd: Long story short, beware of Unicomps and be prepared to possibly have to deal with their customer service (which is itself a pain in the ass to get ahold of) if you don’t like the idea of using a decades-old keyboard and if you are considering a “brand-new” Unicomp model. Assuming mine didn’t have such annoying flaws and defects, I would probably recommend it to anyone who types a lot, but probably not to a major PC gamer. Too bad that’s not the case. No idea how the “original” Model M was, but I do know that they are PS/2 only. And I know it wouldn’t bother everyone, but I just don’t like the idea of using a keyboard that was made before I was even born; no doubt they are no longer at their prime as they were when they were brand new.
I too have a unicomp keyboard with the windows keys in speckled black, more than ten years old now. I dislike other keyboards especially the Apple keyboards as they feel like you are typing on oatmeal. All mushy. Bah humbug.
When people see me with this hooked up to my mac they ask why don’t I use a real keyboard. I do not bother going into discussions of the merits of buckling spring unless they are interested instead I ask them to pick it up.
That stops all silliness.
I use this one at home: http://www.amazon.in/Bharat-Gold-PS2-Wired-Keyboard/dp/B00A17MNHU
The reputation of these things is that your grandkids will be inheriting them, and if an intruder comes in while you’re on your PC, it can double as a blunt weapon!
It’s about 2000 Rupees (say 30 USD or so), for Cherry MX Blue switches and nice sculpted keycaps. Not too loud, but you can still hear the clicks. It works great for both soft and hard typing.
I have a Dell AT101W and a Filco. Some people over-rate the advantages of a mechanical keyboard, and some fetishize the Model M, but…CLICK CLACK MUDDY-FUNSTER!
If your after a modern rendition of the buckling spring Model 20 keyboard then one from UNICOMP should be fine. I bought my one about 2 years ago for my Mac and have never gone back to chiclet/other keyboard.
I initially did miss ergonomic (i.e. wavy-type) keyboards but in the long run the feel/sound of the buckling spring technology had won me over. Simple technology that just works.
It appears Unicomp are owners of the buckling spring technology (bought from IBM).
I have a Das Keyboard Quiet, closest thing I could find but with a lot less noise:
http://www.daskeyboard.com/blog/introducing-new-das-keyboard-profes…
Am I the only one still using a Model M as primary keyboard? Mine was made in ’85, so it’s almost as old as I am 😉
I got so used to it that I can’t easily change. I’m considering sampling a few Cherry red/black/blue/green/etc. keyboards though… Because, at some point, you just have to move on I guess.
I’m don’t miss the Windows keys at all, and the large space bar is so nice that it often gets me into trouble when I have to type on a newer keyboard where it is smaller…
I have a 1989 Model M that we use on the desktop. I love the feel, wife hates the noise but admits it is a nice keyboard regardless. I think a happy medium would be a mechanical gaming keyboard. We will probably have to upgrade keyboards for the next system which won’t have a PS/2 port. The keyboard is very important; this is the physical interface to your expensive system and you touch it more than you touch your loved ones; why use some cheap $10 BestBuy crap?
There’s also a spare parts Model M. I’m wanting to paint it black and get a Blue enter key + grey F1-F12 keys like the classic Thinkpad keyboard. I think you can order colored keys from UNICOMP.
Yeah, I miss the Windows key when using Gnome or Win7. Haven’t worked that one out yet.
I have a ’92 that I use on my main workstation at the office (I’m typing on it right now). I rescued it out of the trash of a different employer over ten years ago. I washed it, started using it and it hasn’t skipped a beat since. These things are tanks.
I own six Model Ms – this one, several later Lexmark units, a space saver model and even a modern reproduction from Unicomp. I still come back to this one, though – it has the best key feel.
Typing this on a ’95 Model M with portuguese layout. Best keyboard ever! For everything, even gaming!
Will give him a viking funeral when it goes to Valhalla!
Only thing that comes close in layout and comfort is a KeyTronic keyboard I have, but it’s mushy in comparison.
Why needlessly pollute?
It was before the Model M, for an IBM PC AT clone, using the huge AT keyboards plug (was like twice the size of a PS/2 plug).
Had only 10 functions keys, in two columns to the left of the letters, with a numeric keypad to the right.
It was a speed-typing keyboard, with a shorter throw than other keyboards, and the keys were all slanted slightly toward the middle. Watching my mom type on that back in the 80s was a thing of beauty. WordPerfect and WordStar couldn’t keep up with her.
Unfortunately, even with an adapter, it didn’t work with the 486 we upgraded to in the 90s, so it got relegated to the junk heap. No keyboard since has really compared; although my current keyboard at work (a Kinesys 2 split keyboard) comes very close.
I still use my 1984 Swedish layout model as my main keyboard. It works like a charm, and is cleaned and did never turn yellow. (at least not yet)
The trick is to take it apart every few years and run the plastic parts in the dishwaser.
What of those who don’t have a dishwasher?… ;/
…though I don’t need it for some time, I just got a new keyboard from Lenovo (model LXH-EKB-10YA
), a quite nice chiclet rubber dome smallish one (so fitting with my smallish table). And I do know the feel of old mechanical keyboards, couldn’t care less… There are perhaps some traces of lineage with Model M in this one though, it’s quite heavy. 
And maybe this will be the one where I’ll learn proper touch-typing…
Actually, there are now two keyboards connected to my PC, also some horrible A4tech Evolution low profile rubber dome ps2 keyboard that I borrowed from “family” when my previous gave up the ghost, that’s waiting for power off to be disconnected I guess…
PS. Though there’s one not nice thing about the new keyboard: Fn key in the left down corner, like in many laptops …oh well, at least it’s like I’d be getting used to typing on one.
IBM Model M, when you have to type every last mother**** character in ASCII7, accept no substitutes.
I’m the same way about keyboards that Al Bundy was about toilets:
Bud, keyboards today aren’t worthy of the name. They come in designer colours and they’re too low… and when you type, they make this weak, almost apologetic sound. NOT the Model M. They only come in beige, and when you type on them, KER-CLICK! That’s a man’s click Bud. The Model M says “I’m a keyboard, gimme your best shot”. Oh if only Model M’s could speak the stories they would tell.
Though not all model M’s are made the same. Pretty much any of them made after ’91 aren’t up to the same quality as those that came before — likewise the ones from unicomp are a rinky poorly made joke by comparison… ESPECIALLY the ones that slap those stupid “let’s make the spacebar smaller making it harder to type” windows keys. Over two decades later and the mere presence of those keys piss me off. (see every time I’m stuck on a laptop)
This “travel, what’s that” rinky little toy crap that’s pretty much everywhere now — I don’t get how people can do any serious typing on them… but to be fair with the halfwit L33T “I canz type wurds” and TLDR asshats being a significant portion of who’s using computers these days, I can’t say it surprises me.
Meh, those Windows keys and that Menu key that you despise make excellent functional keys for tiling window managers and a Compose key for inserting foreign and special characters. I have a Unicomp and it’s a pain in the ass having to deal with the fact that I don’t get those in an optimal way. I have had to switch back to a typical stacking window manager in the meantime, and while I have got the Compose key back by switching it to right Alt (after months of extreme reluctance), I have lost the functionality that the key once had. Prime example, a common one I always used to use: single-handed right-alt and left/right arrow keys to go back or forward through web pages. I still always want to use it, but can’t. Never again will I accept another keyboard without those keys.
Me neither, but for slightly different reasons. Having started off serious computer use on the Amiga and then on the Mac, I’ve always had those extra command keys, and they always operated menu shortcuts. Going from that to systems which didn’t always have those keys just feels horrible – using Control and Alt for shortcuts when they were only ever used for control characters and alternative characters just felt (and still feels) wrong. Give me Windows-Q to quit over Alt-F4 any day!
Perfect timing. Less than a month ago I raided my father’s basement and dug out his old Model M keyboard. I played Zork on this keyboard, learned to type on it, wrote my first program with it. It collected dust for 25 years, but worked flawlessly when I hooked it up (via AT->PS/2->USB adaptors). It’s spotless now, and I use it every day as my primary keyboard. I’m typing on it right now! click-CLACK!
No, you are not. I completely agree with all your complaints about it. If everyone wanted a keyboard like the Model M then they’d still be in production.
What you are seeing here is a small and vocal group of people that prefer the noise and hammering required to type on the Model M. The market has clearly shown that most people prefer soft typing without the noise, or that they just don’t care much one way or another.
Or has it? Maybe the introduction of the soft keyboard got popular because it was different, and now that they are dominant, most people haven’t have the opportunity or experience with a mechanical one.
Clearly the fact that mechanical keyboards, not necessarily the M, are finding a new market again shows many people would prefer them if it was a choice that was immediately in front of them.
I think markets, especially in tech, clearly show almost nothing, except the fact that people get bored with the status quo and wants something new, regardless of the pros and cons, and you just have to release an alternative when that boredom has reached a saturation point.
I don’t doubt that if some people would be exposed to a Model M keyboard they’d like what they see. It is just that overall the market has spoken, people did not care enough about mechanical keyboards to buy them.
Oh, there are fans of mechanical keyboards alright (just check the previous page of comments
). And if there’s a market for them so they can get what they want, great! What I’m trying to say is that I don’t think they are in the majority.
I don’t know about that. When it comes to keyboards I personally rather dislike the Model M because I have to type so hard on it.
We can probably all agree on a keyboard just needs to have the right feel when we type on it. This feel is highly individual. For me, that is not what I get from mechanical keyboards.
Everyone who’s tried typing with my Rosewill RK-9000I with Cherry MX Blue switches liked it… just not necessarily enough to pay four times the price of the cheap-but-durable membrane keyboards that they’re already used to because they were included with every pre-built PC they owned.
That’s definitely gonna skew the results, regardless of how vocal a given minority is.
I will, however, admit that the Model M’s buckling spring switches aren’t for everyone, both because of their volume (Cherry MX Blue switches would be more fitting for a generally-appealing “clicky switch”) and because their non-linear hysteresis curve optimizes typing at the expense of gaming.
Edited 2014-10-08 04:29 UTC
In order to care about something to any degree, you have to actually be aware it exists in the first place. When was the last time you actually encountered a mechanical keyboard for sale (aside from used ones at thrift-stores) – or as a BTO option on a new computer?
Not the majority overall, no. The majority of computer users probably also don’t type heavily, worry about things like carpal tunnel syndrome/RSI, or care about the quality of their tools in general (beyond getting the cheapest thing that works). But among people who DO, those who prefer mechanical keyboards certainly are the majority (at least if sites like deskthority.net and geekhack.org are any indication). Which is what Thom appears to be referring to.
The Model M != all mechanical keyboards. It’s probably safe to say that the Model M keys require more force to actuate than any other mechanical keyboard you can buy today. Which was by design, since it was intended to replicate the feel of a typewriter keyboard. Any mechanical keyboard you can buy new today will have a substantially lighter typing feel – hell, the Model M was heavy even compared to other keyboards of the time that used mechanical switches (Alps or Cherry, mostly).
And don’t forget that in today’s open-plan offices, people with noisy keyboards might not be popular, and companies might even go so far as to rule their use out in an office environment – and office use has to count for a huge proportion of the market.
That and the fact that many offices just take what’s given to them by Dell or whoever their supplier is… I did get strange looks for swapping my horrible Dell for a Cherry keyboard, but most of the comments were people asking why I had an old keyboard, purely because it was white when the office trend was black. Didn’t have the guts to swap it for a Model M, even though there was a 1989 one in a store room. some people in the office were sensitive to noise so it wouldn’t have gone down well!
You put far too much faith in market forces. People will buy inferior keyboards because they have no idea what they’re buying and it comes with their computer in a package. They only replace the keyboard if it doesn’t work properly for them at all.
And for people who do buy keyboards separately, mechanical keyboards are currently the only fashionable type. Do they want the loud click? No, not necessarily. But they certainly don’t want the inferior membrane keyboards either.
The phrase “the market has clearly shown” implies that the market actually had a choice. Most people just use the keyboard that came with their computer, which is almost always (at least in the past 20 years) rubber dome – for one reason: they’re cheaper. I doubt that most computer users under the age of 30 even know that there’s such a thing as a mechanical keyboard, let alone have any direct experience using one.
Kinda difficult for the market to “choose” something, when the majority of that market is unaware that the 2nd option even exists…
BallmerKnowsBest,
Absolutely.
Earlier this year I visited my parents and took my desktop to do work on it, but I forgot my keyboard. Low and behold I went to the stores and I bought the very last wired keyboard in stock. It was cheap plastic thing that I would have never bought otherwise, the thing is so fragile. The six or so wireless models were junk too. I’m thankful that I was at least able to get a wired model, next time I might not have the choice.
When my monitor died, I needed to replace it in a hurry. I went to three stores looking for the old 4:3 aspect ratio, but every last monitor for sale was a widescreen. I came home with a widescreen, which I still regret to this day since vertical space is more important, but I needed a new monitor.
A vender may look at sales and think we virtually all want widescreens, soft keyboards, or whatever, but it’s completely flawed if there aren’t ample choices to begin with.
Edited 2014-10-08 18:38 UTC
I’ve got a mint Model M tenkeyless in storage at home. I went through a phase of buying and trying the different types of mechanical switches several years back. I would say that my favourites were the following, in that order: White Alps, Topre, Buckling Springs, Cherry Blue.
However, these days the mechanical keyboards are in storage and I’m using the Apple chiclet keyboard (scissor switches) at work and at home. Blasphemy, I know.
I prefer Sun Type 5 keyboard.
Edited 2014-10-08 02:37 UTC
Compared to its successors (Type 6 and 7 USB) I also prefer it. Sadly, I can’t simply attach it to my home PC. 🙁
I have been using model M in the past and love it/them.
I can however not strongly enough recommend the TypeMatrix 2030 keyboards. Without a doubt the most comfortable keyboard to type on. Once you get used to the grid layout, you don’t ever want to go back.
http://www.logitech.com/en-ca/product/wireless-combo-mk520
The logitech mk520. This is the best keyboard I have ever used, it’S wireless, has rounded keys and the mouse is has soft rubber edges with out joins on the side that normally scrape on your thumb and fingers.
I continue updating my home/work computers over time but what remain the same are all the IBM Model M keyboards around them.
😉
Just want to say that the Amiga keyboard is one of worlds best keyboards. One of the reasons why so many still uses Classic Amiga even today.
I just love typing on my Amiga 1200. Its fast and productive. Love it!
“So many”? In your Amiga-dreams…
I’m the proud owner of not one, but two original Model M keyboards.
According to the date label in the bottom, both of them are more than 20 years old and still work like a charm.
Love the sound (albeit it is loud) and the precision. Never had a misstype.
Had one bundled with our first home PC, an IBM PS/ValuePoint 486SX/25. Perhaps coincidentally, the years when I used it were when I was most prolific as a writer. Put it in storage when we finally got a newer PC. The combination of poor storage conditions, heavy usage, and post-optimal vintage did not bode well for its longevity.
For me a notebook type keyboard is the best kind. I write faster, more correct and am simply more comfortably using one.
I have a very similar non-IBM brand keyboard at home. Looking at it, it’s nearly identical. The only difference being that mine is black, has no IBM label, has a Windows key, and some of the keys are worn on the face. It still works fantastic with similar sound and action.
For the life of me I can’t remember the name (I’m not at home right now). If it ever dies I’ll definitely get another, although most likely in USB.
i’ve got an m80 sitting at work that no one uses. i should probably ebay/craigslist it. i really need to use split keyboards. i also had a lexmark keyboard for a while as well which was a rebranded model m….
Edited 2014-10-09 02:12 UTC
Wonderful keyboard. I regrettably sold mine about a year ago. I think the IBM PS/1 it came with is still in the attic somewhere. Keyboard sold for almost £45 on eBay. It was it in great working order and had a lovely heavy solid feel to it.
I have read OS News for years but never registered or commented. This piece of news just hit some sweet spot in my nervous system and I had to finally create an account.
In the golden days of 80s computing I used IBM keyboards and they were the best in every sense. Then everything changed and keyboards became incredibly cheap and mushy.
I just love OS News and this kind of information it gives. Little did I know that there is some secret society using old clickety click keyboards and that they still are operable.
Also while I agree with most opinions that OS News presents, this is something I do not. Actually I am writing this on an Apple keyboard but there is a Steelseries mechanical keyboard right next to me. This my small portable keyboard which I carry in my bag.
For a long time since 80s, decades actually, I typed with ever worse keyboards until one day at a computer store I tried a gaming keyboard. It was like old memories coming back from your first love. Now all my peripherals come from gaming gear: keyboards, mice, headphones etc. The price is double but quality is triple. I love huge buttons with long travel and big sound. It really puzzles me how people can settle for that mushy rubbery feeling of cheap keyboards.