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IBM is still making ThinkPad keyboards

mthompson.org

21–30 of 159 posts

Re: IBM is still making ThinkPad keyboards

#21

This guy went out of his way to buy something with a trackpoint? Surely this is a hoax.

Trackpoints are fantastic once you're used to them. Particularly for reading long documents - they had a "scroll mode" button that would let you use the trackpoint to scroll through a document one-handed without moving from the home row. I miss that thing.

Re: IBM is still making ThinkPad keyboards

#22
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those are excellent and I used one for years: http://jakeseliger.com/2008/05/07/product-review-unicomp-cus... before switching to a Kinesis Advantage. Though I like the keyfeel of the Model M better, the ergonomics of the Kinesis are better.

Can anyone discuss the ergonomics of the Kinesis? It has MX Brown Cherry switches which are easier on the hands, for example. I've often wonder if its unique shape had proven benefits. Many people have tried using it but have given up. Is it better than an ErgoDox, for instance? http://ergodox.org

Looks similar. Keys are straight up and down which is the same. Biggest difference would the lack of curve and built in no wrist rests.

Oh and it is missing functions keys which means I could never use this.... The kinesis has crappy function keys but at least it has them. Can't program with an IDE without then.

Re: IBM is still making ThinkPad keyboards

#23

http://www.pckeyboard.com/ Unicomp is still keeping the glory days of the IBM Model M keyboard alive.

I have one of those. While they're very much a descendant of the Model M, I'd say their quality control is lacking. The PageDown key on my keyboard is much lighter than all the other keys, it feels really mushy and doesn't have the same tactile feedback that it's supposed to have. All the other keys are fine. I can live with it, but I never saw such an issue with any of the Model M keyboard I've used. Also, their USB…

I have one, and I found that problems with it not working during bootup were related to its large power draw. It's been working fine for me since I plugged it into a powered usb hub. YMMV.

Re: IBM is still making ThinkPad keyboards

#24

http://www.pckeyboard.com/ Unicomp is still keeping the glory days of the IBM Model M keyboard alive.

I love what Unicomp is doing. The Model Ms are fantastic keyboards and I have several that I use for programming. They're indestructible and you can maintain and repair them very easily. You can grab keyboards off eBay and swap them out for parts, or source new parts from Unicomp.

I really wish they would offer the full-size in addition to the Compact models. I have big hands and the full-size are much more comfortable for me. Any of the hipster micro-keyboards are obviously right out as well, sadly.

My main work keyboard is a black M13 with the TrackPoint II. The TrackPoint has a very slow cursor speed is not very useful on modern high-res screens. I'd much rather have the new type of TrackPoint that Unicomp offers. It's OK if you turn the pointer speed all the way up, but then you lose resolution and it's hard to use a mouse with that speed.

So far I haven't found a working app that lets you use different pointer speeds for different mice. Some claim to do it but I couldn't make them work. I may bang something out at some point that latches into high-speed mode if you type and drops to low-speed mode after a few seconds without typing or moving the cursor. Or maybe I could do more fine-grained control on Linux.

Re: IBM is still making ThinkPad keyboards

#25

This guy went out of his way to buy something with a trackpoint? Surely this is a hoax.

I know some people that can't use mice without pain. Hence they are trackpoint all the way. I only use the trackpoint on my laptop as well, but I'd rather have my logitech mouse with 'tilt' style wheel.

Re: IBM is still making ThinkPad keyboards

#28
post #22
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can anyone discuss the ergonomics of the Kinesis? It has MX Brown Cherry switches which are easier on the hands, for example. I've often wonder if its unique shape had proven benefits. Many people have tried using it but have given up. Is it better than an ErgoDox, for instance? http://ergodox.org

Looks similar. Keys are straight up and down which is the same. Biggest difference would the lack of curve and built in no wrist rests. Oh and it is missing functions keys which means I could never use this.... The kinesis has crappy function keys but at least it has them. Can't program with an IDE without then.

>Oh and it is missing functions keys which means I could never use this....

There are 5 rows of keys on each hand, just like a standard QWERTY keyboard with a function key row, you just have to place them along the bottom row instead of the top. The problem, I guess, is that there's only 10 keys along the bottom row, but you could place F11 and F12 on one of the many extra keys. Keep in mind they're programmable, and you can have different layers and modifiers that just exist in the keyboard itself.

Re: IBM is still making ThinkPad keyboards

#30
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those are excellent and I used one for years: http://jakeseliger.com/2008/05/07/product-review-unicomp-cus... before switching to a Kinesis Advantage. Though I like the keyfeel of the Model M better, the ergonomics of the Kinesis are better.

Can anyone discuss the ergonomics of the Kinesis? It has MX Brown Cherry switches which are easier on the hands, for example. I've often wonder if its unique shape had proven benefits. Many people have tried using it but have given up. Is it better than an ErgoDox, for instance? http://ergodox.org

I've tried no other ergonomic keyboards but the Kinesis Advantage saved my programming career when a difficult job brought on a bout of RSI. Think it's about 9 years old now and still going strong. Better function keys would be appreciated, though.
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