Re: keyboard suggestions?

["Tom Metro-12" <user=71@nabble.blu.org>]

 Dan Ritter wrote: 
> ...my preference is for: IBM Model M 
> See, for example, http://www.dansdata.com/ibmkeyboard.htm
> 
> On the other hand, I also like the Happy Hacking keyboard. 

I'm also a fan of the Model M. But I prefer a smaller footprint, and 
almost never need the number pad. The Happy Hacking keyboard is OK, but 
like laptop keyboards, the arrow and other special keys (home/end/pg 
up/down) are crowded into the layout. 

The solution is the "space saver" variant of the Model M, as pictured here: 

http://www.dansdata.com/images/clicky2/spacesaver1280.jpg

And discussed here (about halfway down): 
http://www.dansdata.com/clicky2.htm

It looks like a typical IBM 101 key keyboard with the number pad sawed off. 

(I see at the bottom of that page that there is even a split ergonomic 
variation of the Model M.) 

I picked up a couple of the "space savers" back in the mid-90's from a 
surplus electronics store. The units I have were manufactured in 1992. 
One I've been using since about 1995 and it has held up well, the other 
is still new in the box as a backup. 

I see the price has gone up. I think I paid about $50. The site above 
links to a vendor charging over $100. 

The biggest problem I have with this design is using it with KVM 
switches. Some KVM switches require hot-key combinations that require 
switching the keyboard into virtual numeric keypad mode, which at 
minimum adds extra keystrokes, and in some cases just doesn't work. I've 
always preferred KVMs with dedicated switches anyway, so that's not such 
a problem. (I'd love to find an 8-way KVM that support a remote (20 to 
30 feet) keystrip for selecting the computer.) 

It also occasionally switches itself into virtual numeric keypad mode 
right after switching to a different computer via a KVM. Some KVMs seem 
to trigger this frequently, and others rarely. 

Apparently all Model M keyboards have compatibility problems with some 
newer motherboards, due to the higher current draw of the controller 
circuitry, as explained here: 

http://www.geocities.com/jszybowski/keyboard/index.htm

which results in symptoms like a stuck control key and KVM problems. I 
have also seen the stuck control key symptom, but rarely. I'll have to 
try the workaround they recommend some day. 

  -Tom 

-- 
Tom Metro 
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA 
"Enterprise solutions through open source." 
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/

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