Memories of keyboard past (zaibatsu), 10/16/2019
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I want to enjoy the memories of keyboards past, by writing a
few thoughts about some of my favorites. If one were to look
at the numbers, the vast  majority of my keyboards have been
mundane. These few stand out.

I've listed  them in the  order that I encountered  them, as
best I can remember. I'm not a connoisseur by any stretch of
the imagination,  so my  terminology may  be off.  These are
just memories and thoughts.


IBM Selectric II (Typewriter):

I learned  to type on  this. We had  one at home,  my mother
worked in publishing. We also  had them at school, in typing
class (which would  later become our computer  lab). I still
recall the hum when it  was turned on, the tan/brown powdery
paintjob, the  smack of the  high-speed rotating ball  as it
typed. I always wondered what it would feel like to stick my
finger in there, but never had the guts to try it.

The keyboard, as I remember it, was a joy to use, with great
feedback. Ours had  correction tape (maybe they  all did). I
typed many reports on one of these things.


Epson Equity II+ (Vendor proprietary, XT):

My  first computer,  which I've  phlogged about  before, and
which I  still have. I  never got  great at typing  on this,
because I  was too  busy playing  Manhunter and  Space Quest
III. The keyboard isn't that nice, but it's memorable and at
least somewhat  unique. After all  these years, I  feel like
the keys need to be taken off and cleaned, it feels a little
rough now.  I do appreciate  the weight of the  keyboard. It
doesn't move around on you, it  stays where you set it down.
I don't know if it has steel plates in it or what.


IBM Model F (XT):

Someone gave me one of these back when XT hardware was being
thrown away  wholesale. I loved  the click, as  people still
do. The  thing was  solid steel.  I think  it's still  at my
mother's house (she doesn't throw  things away), and I often
wonder  if I  could find  it and  use it  again with  my z80
computer (and some kind of interface).

The only  thing that  prevented me from  using this  with my
Epson on a regular basis was the connector end; on the Epson
the keyboard  has a 90deg  angle on the connector,  this one
was straight.  Using it  meant I  couldn't close  the little
cable cover  thing on the  front of  the case. Still,  I had
lots of old computers to use  it with. I believe we had some
of these in our computer class as well.

Of all computer keyboards, I think I miss this one the most,
probably because of it's very distinct feel when typing.


Dauphin DTR-1 (Vendor proprietary, PS2):

The first  computer that I personally  owned. Parents bought
it for me  in high school. I  used it to take  notes on. The
keyboard was tiny, for the  time, and peopled wondered how I
could type  so fast on  it. The  keyboard was just  OK, with
enough feedback to work well.

I still have a DTR-1,  and two keyboards. My Kittyhawk drive
is fried (a  common occurrence for fool hackers), so I don't
really use it, but it's there in  a box. If you have a spare
drive, do contact me about selling it!


MSFT Natural Elite Split (PS2):

I include this rather common keyboard only because I used it
so much.  It was novel,  at the  time, to have  the keyboard
split, and I enjoyed typing on it.


WYSE 60 Terminal (Vendor proprietary?):

I take back  what I said about missing the  Model F  most of 
all. I really, really enjoyed typing on a WYSE 60  keyboard. 
For whatever  reason, the keys  just felt  right.  They were 
light  enough to  be easy  to type  on,  but  had plenty  of 
feedback. That's my memory of them, at least.               

We had  these at the local  library. I can't  recall where I
got mine -a lot of people gave me old hardware  back then. I
would connect it up to my computer's serial port  and use it
as a  terminal with  Slackware. My  brothers thought  it was
pretty cool that two people could use my computer at once.

I'm convinced that  this one is also sitting  at my mother's
house somewhere. I really miss this thing.


Manual portable Typewriter (Azerty):

Long  story, but  while I  was living  in France  for a  few
years, I  found one  of these in  an apartment,  rejected by
it's owner  I suppose. It was  in a little case  that closed
up, I  don't know if  it even came  out. I can't  recall the
brand. It had  rounded keys that you had to  press way down,
and an azerty keyboard that I never grew to appreciate.

At the time,  I didn't have a computer, so  I used this find
to write  journal entries  and a  few letters.  The keyboard
travel was too much, so I couldn't type fast (not to mention
the letters smacking  each other and getting  stuck), but it
was still a welcome feeling to type at the time.


Minitel 2 Terminal (Vendor proprietary, built-in, Azerty):

Also in France. These little boxes could be used at the post
office, if memory serves me,  for a fee. The keyboard folded
down in front, and was terrible to use, with little chicklet
keys. I did a tiny bit  of email on these, and not frequent,
but they still  stand out to me for some  reason. I've often
wondered if  they could  be hacked, but  even if  they could
they wouldn't be worth much more than a curio.


Psion Revo (Vendor proprietary, built-in):

I've owned a  lot of palmtop computers (at  least, more than
one ought I think), and these had the greatest keyboards. It
was small, but I felt like I could type almost full-speed on
it.


iOpener (Vendor proprietary, PS2):

Another one that I still have.  Similar in feel to the WYSE,
I  guess.  A proprietary  key  layout,  with built-in  mouse
thingy. I like this  keyboard because it's different, small,
and pleasant to type on.


What  are your  thoughts on  keyboards, gopherspace?  Do you
have keyboard  memories, warm  thoughts for those  cold keys
that have translated so much of what is inside you, into the
computers of your life? I'd love to hear.