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Unicomp's "New" Model M Keyboard

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Re: Unicomp's "New" Model M Keyboard

#41

Post by ywain »

geophile wrote: post #28
vunderba wrote: post #19

As an aside and a huge lover of mechanical keyboards since the original IBM model M with the buckler springs, I picked up a Keychron Q5 Pro a few months ago and really like it. https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-q5-pro-qmk-via-wi... It's pretty easy to replace the key caps and it has a very good tactile feel to it. It does weigh as much as a houseboat but that's fine as I prefer it to stay stationary. One thi…

It sounds pretty nice, but it's a non-starter for me. I am highly dependent on key bindings for the cluster of six keys: Ins/Del/Home/End/PageUp/PageDown. This cluster used to be pretty common but is increasingly rare. The Unicomp has it, the Keychron does not.

The Q5 Pro is a 96% layout, but Keychron also has quite a few 100% layouts: https://www.keychron.com/collections/all-keyboards?sort_by=m...

Re: Unicomp's "New" Model M Keyboard

#42

Post by lazzlazzlazz »

jtriangle wrote: post #5

This is quite cool, but I really don't understand some people's affinity toward buckling spring switches, they're loud and odd feeling, not nearly as consistent as anything cherry or their alternatives are offering.

I have one of these, having never used one growing up (so lacking the nostalgia) and I love the thing. To this day, no other keyboard can compete in terms of synchronizing the tactile "click" and the onscreen response. The only reason I don't use it more widely is because it's so loud and large.

Re: Unicomp's "New" Model M Keyboard

#43

Post by geophile »

Hey kids. Stop whining about Model M and Unicomp keyboards being loud.

You haven't typed on an IBM 029 card punch. That puts a Model M to shame.

You haven't typed on an original ASR 33 terminal. That puts an IBM 029 card punch to shame.

My hearing is shot. I'm not sure if it's the rock music or those old keyboards.

Re: Unicomp's "New" Model M Keyboard

#44

Post by SloopJon »

23B1 wrote: post #9

Not sure if this breaks HN's rules, but I'd love to hear anyones suggestions on favorite split keyboards. There's a lot of homebrew boards out there that're very small/light but I have sausage fingers and the demeanor of an orangutan. https://www.amazon.com/KINESIS-Advantage360-Professional-Erg... ^closest I've found, but $$$

I haven't used that many different keyboards, but each one has kind of added a feature to my must-have list.

My first mechanical was a tenkeyless Max Keyboard Nighthawk. It sold me on the TKL size, and backlighting. It also has a USB hub, which is very convenient for mouse dongles and headsets.

For several years I used a Kinesis Advantage at work. I never loved it, but it sold me on having my preferred layout (Dvorak) in hardware, rather than configuring it in the O/S. I also liked having a backspace under my left thumb.

Not long after I got a Kinesis Gaming Freestyle Edge RGB at home. Even better than the Advantage, I could program an arbitrary layout (and lighting) in hardware. And because it's split, I can program the left spacebar for backspace.

When I got tired of the Advantage, I bought a System76 Launch, a compact TKL with a split spacebar. This sold me on hot-swap switches. I generally like light tactile switches like the Cherry MX Brown in the first three keyboards, but it's fun to put clickies on some of the keys, and very light linears on the pinkie modifiers.

I guess the point is that as your list of must-have features grows, the set of candidate keyboards shrinks. There aren't many programmable RGB keyboards with hot-swap switches, a split spacebar, and a USB hub. What are your must-haves?

Re: Unicomp's "New" Model M Keyboard

#45

Post by doublepg23 »

Love the New Model M keyboard. I have one for my personal setup and one for my work setup. Recent batches also use Rpi Picos now which let you flash custom firmware. https://github.com/purdeaandrei/vial-qmk-overnumpad-and-aris...

In theory, they're probably "worse" than a brand new IBM made Model M was but I think people overestimate the feel of extant Model Ms that have been around for 30, 40 years now. I also found PS/2 -> USB adapters to be pretty flaky after a few years.

My comparison is a IBM made SSK and Lexmark made regular M.

Re: Unicomp's "New" Model M Keyboard

#46

Post by __mharrison__ »

jseliger wrote: post #2

I used one for years and liked it, but, after switching to an ergonomic keyboard, I wouldn't want to primarily move back to a standard one.

I used the EnduraPro for a few years. Moved to more ergonomic keyboards (ErgoDox and now Lily58) when my fingers and wrists started complaining. Have written multiple books with the new keyboards with no pain. YMMV.

Re: Unicomp's "New" Model M Keyboard

#47

Post by __mharrison__ »

23B1 wrote: post #9

Not sure if this breaks HN's rules, but I'd love to hear anyones suggestions on favorite split keyboards. There's a lot of homebrew boards out there that're very small/light but I have sausage fingers and the demeanor of an orangutan. https://www.amazon.com/KINESIS-Advantage360-Professional-Erg... ^closest I've found, but $$$

Using a Lily58 after almost 10 years of ErgoDox. Happy to answer any questions.

Re: Unicomp's "New" Model M Keyboard

#48

Post by kilolima »

vunderba wrote: post #19

As an aside and a huge lover of mechanical keyboards since the original IBM model M with the buckler springs, I picked up a Keychron Q5 Pro a few months ago and really like it. https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-q5-pro-qmk-via-wi... It's pretty easy to replace the key caps and it has a very good tactile feel to it. It does weigh as much as a houseboat but that's fine as I prefer it to stay stationary. One thi…

"Built with the Mac users’ experience in mind while still retaining compatibility for Windows devices..."

No thanks!

Re: Unicomp's "New" Model M Keyboard

#49

Post by riddley »

vunderba wrote: post #19

As an aside and a huge lover of mechanical keyboards since the original IBM model M with the buckler springs, I picked up a Keychron Q5 Pro a few months ago and really like it. https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-q5-pro-qmk-via-wi... It's pretty easy to replace the key caps and it has a very good tactile feel to it. It does weigh as much as a houseboat but that's fine as I prefer it to stay stationary. One thi…

Das Keyboard keeps me hooked with their on-board USB hub. I'd love to switch but it's just so damned handy. I don't know why more kb manufacturers don't do this.

Re: Unicomp's "New" Model M Keyboard

#50

Post by ryan-c »

adregan wrote: post #38
NegativeLatency wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not OP, but I use the kinesis advantage but if I was going to pick one again I'd go with the ergodox, also had a keyboardio but switching between types is kinda tricky and annoying

Anecdotal, but ergodox flared up my RSI terribly. I think it might be the shear size of it and overstretching my pinkies with the shift keys pulling double duty with parenthesis. I’m now a happy user of the kinesis advantage (though the configuration software pales in comparison to the ergodox) and feel so much better.

There's a number of options for replacing the control board on the kinesis advantage (or advantage2) with one that runs QMK, providing the same sort of configurability as the ergodox, and the advantage 360 pro runs on ZMK.
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