This is probably the first "alternative" keyboard layout that I've actually been interested in since the Microsoft ergo keyboards hit the market back in the nineties.

The #KeyMouse  isn't cheap but it looks like a good portion of its sticker price goes into some high quality parts.

• #CherryMX  keys throughout
• Anti-ghosting design
• 6 key rollover on each half/hemisphere/side
• Dual high res mouse sensors
• Backlit keys
• Bluetooth 3.0 and USB interfaces
• Fully programmable layouts, every key can be assigned as you like
• Cording capable
• Cross platform - Windows, MacOS, Linux, etc...

I'll take two!

NOTE: I am in no way affiliated with the company, I'm simply excited to get my hands on a KeyMouse.

I'm selling the Unicomp/Amiga keyboard in case anyone is interested.

Just finished building an ErgoDox keyboard. It has Gateron Brown switches.

I'd like to promote an exotic tactile keyboard. This pocket device provides magnetic tactile input elements for every your finger, which can also be adjusted to feet your very own hand.
If you like unusual gadgets you can check it out at kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/octodon/octodon

anyone having issues with the media keys on their Das Pro 4 not registering on ubuntu lts using i3wm??

I even use xev and I do not get a keybind on the output.

ps: under unity it works fine :( 

#i3wm   #daspro4   #ubuntu  

I've just published a new edition of the Model M Troubleshooting FAQ; you can find the link on the community sidebar,

The new content is that there's now hard evidence for some Unicomp SOCs  being confused by undervoltage.

don't know much about these keyboards.  i'm looking for a gaming/typing keyboard that i can feel but not hear.  what color should i go with?  or is it not a color thing...

A little while ago I ran across something about a refurbisher of Model M keyboards - not clickykeyboards.com, but someone else.  I can't remember where I saw it now.  Who else makes a business out of Model M restorations?

Hey community,

What is the smallest size a buckling spring keyswitch can be while still being usable and robust? Were there any efforts to make a low-profile keyboard with the same feel and clickiness?

Hi everyone. I recently DIYed a keyboard wih MX whites, and I teard one of them. What's that golden part made of? Is it real gold?

Yes, this is one of the legendary Northgate OmniKey keyboards sitting on my desk, borrowed so I can review it for Tactile Keyboards. In fact this review is being typed on the OmniKey, which I'm reviewing as I type.  How's that for strange loopiness?

By comparison with the Model M the OmniKey is a relatively rare beast -  but some people claim it's a better tactile design than the Model M and the surviving specimens tend to be jealously guarded. There is no Unicomp equivalent; nobody is making these any more. This one is a bit yellowed with age.

I was able to make it work straight up with an AT-to-PS/2 passive adapter and a Blue  Cube active PS/2-to-USB adapter - note that an ordinary passive adapter will not work, as the keyboard wants more power than PS/2 can supply.

Like the Model M it's a rugged, solid, massive piece of equipment that seems built to last a century.  This one has to be nearly 25 years old, was obviously heavily used in its time, and runs with nary a glitch or skip.

The keyswitches are not buckling-spring but a different mechanical switch type manufactured by ALPS. The feel is very old-school and similar to a Model M, both tactile and clicky. Possibly a hair less of a tactile stop before the registration point, but that could be my imagination; they ride very, very similarly.

I would cheerfully use this as a daily driver if not for the absence of a Windows key, which I've never actually used under Windows but my preferred window manager under Linux (i3) uses as a command prefix.

Nevertheless, this is an excellent keyboard. Having used it, I believe the OmniKey deserves its reputation as perhaps the only real equal of the Model M.  And the people who think it's better?  I don't think I agree, but I don't think they're crazy, either.

I just received my custom WASD V2 keyboard. The inspiration for its design is on the monitor. Ctrl-A-A

Earlier today I went to the Philadelphia edition of keyboardio's road show promoting the Kickstarter for the Model 01. It's a very nice keyboard, enough to seriously tempt me even at $300 and despite some identifiable drawbacks.

Good things: Tactile mechanical switches.  The arc shapes do their job, which is to enable strain-free reachability of all keys, very well.  The layout is intelligent and tuned for programming; the Esc key placement, in particular, was well thought out (convenient to the left forefinger).  You get firmware source code, schematics, and a screwdriver with every unit.  The warmth and grain of the maple base is extremely pleasant to the touch and my hands fall into a least-strain position naturally.

Bad things: Quiet tactile mechanical switches - I crave more click. The embedded arrow keys would take some getting used to. High price.

Jesse and Kaia, the geek power couple behind keyboardio (he programmer, she engineer) told me that they wanted to use buckling-spring switches but Unicomp quoted a ridiculous NRE figure at them.  They ended up using what are in effect tactile-silent ALPS switches (the details are complicated because the switches got divorced from the brand).  They don't want to promise tactile-clicky ALPS in the Kickstarter but say they're now reaching a production volume where that'll be an option soon.

The most interesting thing I learned today, other than "Yes, this feels good" is why my surprise that the keyboard fit my smaller-than-average hands so well may have been unwarranted.  Kaia mentions studies indicating that the change in geometry when you curve your fingers into typing position minimizes the effects of hand-size differences.

Jesse mentioned the first use for per-keycap LEDs that actually makes sense to me, caring as little as I do about pure visual glitz: having them go warning red when you're in a root shell.

The road show will be passing near enough to many of you that you should go, if only to hang out with the other seriously-far-gone keyboard geeks it will attract.  And Jesse/Kaia's tale of how it came to be is very amusing, especially when it includes the juicy bits they don't say on the Internet for legal reasons.

Itinerary and much else at the link:.  My verdict: "When you have full click, I'm in."

$300 is probably a bit more than I'm willing to spend on a keyboard, but it's not at all unreasonable for what's on offer here...

Here is my Unicomp Customizer. Instead of Windows keys, it has "A's" like on the old Commodore Amigas. It was a PS/2 model until recently when I ordered a USB pcb from Unicomp. Unfortunately, the USB controller is not recognized at boot time. I read on a troubleshooting site that someone got it to work with a 150mA 5V regulator (TPS73150). I have one on order, but would like some help wiring it when it arrives.

Turns out my Unicomp keyboard works only with its cover removed. With the cover on, maybe because of some kind of pressure on the membrane, keys 5, S, spacebar (it can be erratic - some keypresses not registered, some registered twice, and so on), and F5 stop working.

I need yet to trace the continuity in the upper part of the membrane.

But really, this is sick in terms of quality. I've never seen this happen to a real IBM keyboard in the past, and I'd expect better build quality, given the mad bucks I've paid for it.

#Unicomp   #fail  

One of my Unicomps, the UB40PGA (black 104-key chassis with trackpoint), has developed a glitch.

The b key sometimes fails to register.  And (apparently to accommodate the trackpoint) the b key is a bit special - it's a unit keycap rather than a keycap overlay on a blank base with a plunger.

Has anyone encountered this problem and fixed it?