[geeks] Finally! A USB "Model M"

[velociraptor]

On 11/4/05, Bill Bradford <mrbill at mrbill.net> wrote:
> I have two Tactile Pros.  (and one Kensington Studioboard Mechanical, which
> is EXACTLY the same except for a differently-shaped Enter key).  They're
> actually made by STRONG MAN ENTERPRISE CO LTD.:
>
> http://www.strong-man.com.tw/p01.htm
>
> I love them, but they're JUST TOO NOISY.
>
[...]
> My ONLY complaint about the E2s is the same complaint I have about most of
> the older Apple ADB keyboards - the "touch typing locator dots" are on the
> D and K keys instead of the F and J keys like EVERY OTHER KEYBOARD IN THE
> KNOWN UNIVERSE.  For touch typists, this is a BAD thing.  Fortunately, a
> couple minutes with a razor blade or the tip of a pocketknife, then a
> few swipes with some very fine sandpaper (or one of the "sanding blocks"
> my wife uses for her fingernails) gets rid of them completely.
>
> The Tactile Pros are "clackaclackaclakca".  Model Ms go
"CLICKACLICKACLICKA".
> Extended IIs have a pleasant "THUNKATHUNKATHUNKA".

I tend to be sensitive to a certain high frequencies, and the IBM Model
9 had a kind of "pinging" echo to go with the clicking that grated on my
ears and did weird things in terms of vibration to my teeth (yeah, I know
it's weird--you should see how I get around high pitched monitor noise...
must control urge to ki^H^Hbreak things).

Setting the Mattias on the bare desk was bothersome, but now I have
it on a neoprene pad (giant mouse-pad like thing, $6)--between that
and the white plastic for cosmetic appearance inside the keyboard
it keeps the noise down enough for me.

Maybe it's just accumulated use as I never had my hands on a "new"
Extended II, but I prefer this keyboard.

But, as I mentioned in a different thread, I also like the scissor
keyswitches in Apple laptops and the MacAlly keyboard I have.

Ultimately, though, I would like a chair with those "hand wells" that
have the tilting hat switches instead of keys.  I still don't know what
a good replacement for a mouse would be though.  I have more
RSI trouble because of the mouse than I do the keyboard.

=Nadine=