Mike Levin

This is a tale of amazing customer support and clicky keyboards. Some quick research will turn up two old-school keyboard technologies that give the satisfying, and I believe, productivity-boosting, audible and tactile “click” feedback of hitting a key. I now use 2 iMacs (at home) and a PC laptop on a docking station (at work), and my biggest obstacle to productivity has been adapting to a dramatically different keyboard each time I move positions. Most modern keyboards feel like typing on mashed potatoes. The new Apple flat keyboards have a bit more satisfying “hit” feel, but they’re so flat that it feels a bit like typing in glass—probably preparing us for the switch-over to touchscreen keyboards. But that’s fodder for another story. My problem was not merely adjusting to dramatically different keyboards, but also since I took up a hard-core old-school text editor, vim, I’ve been trying to memorize key positions, so I never have to move my hands to the mouse or take my eyes off the screen. With such different keyboards, this is basically impossible, and a waste of synapses. Switching keyboards so often was a double-whammy to my productivity, and I resolved to buy 3 identical keyboards. And since I was, I determined to do it right, and carried out my research on clicky keyboards.That research will show you two types of keyboards still around: ones based on the Apple II Extended Keyboard, and ones based on the IBM Model M keyboards. Ones based on the Apple II Extended Keyboard used Alps switches, and that tradition is now carried on by the Matias Tactile Pro keyboard, geared towards the Mac market, and now out-of-stock (even though I just got an email that their model 3 will be available in January 2010). The cool thing here is that Matias actually convinced the factory to keep manufacturing Alps switches by guaranteeing them a million-unit order. The keyboard also looks beautiful (to satisfy the Mac crowd), but it’s out-of-stock and geared towards the Mac. Continuing research will turn up Unicomp keyboards, a little factory in Kentucky that exists online in nothing more than a Yahoo store, but they carry on the tradition of the buckling spring keyboard going all the way back to IBM Selectric electric typewriters that have that incredibly satisfying click. The springs actually “buckle”—something any mechanical engineer will tell you is a major no-no, but in the case of making high quality keyboards, is heaven-sent. The interesting thing here is that Unicomp is an awesome all-American story of a factory that “bought itself” because the Lexmark printer company that was spun off from IBM was not interested in keyboard technology. So, this is the actual factory that made the IBM Model M keyboards for IBM, now owning itself, preserving and offering an incredibly valuable product for people who are serious about their typing! So, I ordered 3 of these, and the extra keys to make it look correct on a Mac. I actually got the Customizer 104, which updates the Model M to have the extra “Windows” key between the Ctrl and the Alt. They my tricky order correct the first time (piecing it together from an email that was separate from the order with the extra Mac keys instructions) and sent them right away. When they arrived, I popped the keys off with a knife, put the Mac keys in, and let the Macs semi-auto-detect the keyboard (I had to hit 2 keys in a “test”). I also had to switch the command and option keys through software to make it 100% correct. Now, I have 3 identical high quality old-school keyboards. But in getting used to the keyboard, I started encountering a “double capital letter” effect on the first word of sentences. It turns out that it’s just my old habits, but I made the stupid mistake of popping a key off and trying to put more tension in the spring to “release” the key quicker.This was a stupid move, because the clicking sound went away. It turns out that when you pull a buckling spring out of it’s recession, it’s nearly impossible to put back by hand. So, I emailed them for advice, and got Chuck Cropper, whose reputation already preceded him on the Internet. The response I got is as follows…Hello Mike Ouch, not sure what to tell you. Without a special tool (Spring Hook ) I don’t know of any way to get the spring seated back on the pivot plate. Without it being seated it want have that buckling effect. The spring hook looks a little like the hypo a doctor gives you a shot with. The needle part goes into the center of the spring then the needle is placed on the tip of the pivot plate, (looks like a nipple when looking into the button chimney), then when depressing the other end instead of going inside the tube or spring in this case, it goes on the outside of the needle pushing the spring in place. I have tried several things like little screw drivers, fountain pens and etc but the trick is to keep the spring from buckling until it is seated. The closest I got was using the ink tube from a pen to give stability to the spring. then using a coffee straw over the ink tube to push the spring in place. I think this would work if you have steady hands and patience. I hope I haven’t went off the deep end with this suggestion. It is hard to describe exactly how the spring hook does its job with out seeing it in action. Let me know how you make out. Good Luck Chuck My reply: Brilliant suggestion. Coffee stirrers and ink tubs are like perfectly made for the job. I wouldn’t hold back on that suggestion, as it works I bet nearly as good as the syringe tool. I put the click back in shift. I did however ruin one spring from stupidity, and so I merely swapped springs with an almost-never used key. Good solution. Thanks. Mike And his reply: Mike, you made my day.Take Care Chuck Now that’s customer service!

This is a tale of amazing customer support and clicky keyboards. Some quick research will turn up two old-school keyboard technologies that give the satisfying, and I believe, productivity-boosting, audible and tactile “click” feedback of hitting a key. I now use 2 iMacs (at home) and a PC laptop on a docking station (at work), and my biggest obstacle to productivity has been adapting to a dramatically different keyboard each time I move positions.

Most modern keyboards feel like typing on mashed potatoes. The new Apple flat keyboards have a bit more satisfying “hit” feel, but they’re so flat that it feels a bit like typing in glass—probably preparing us for the switch-over to touchscreen keyboards. But that’s fodder for another story. My problem was not merely adjusting to dramatically different keyboards, but also since I took up a hard-core old-school text editor, vim, I’ve been trying to memorize key positions, so I never have to move my hands to the mouse or take my eyes off the screen. With such different keyboards, this is basically impossible, and a waste of synapses. Switching keyboards so often was a double-whammy to my productivity, and I resolved to buy 3 identical keyboards. And since I was, I determined to do it right, and carried out my research on clicky keyboards.

That research will show you two types of keyboards still around: ones based on the Apple II Extended Keyboard, and ones based on the IBM Model M keyboards.

Ones based on the Apple II Extended Keyboard used Alps switches, and that tradition is now carried on by the Matias Tactile Pro keyboard, geared towards the Mac market, and now out-of-stock (even though I just got an email that their model 3 will be available in January 2010). The cool thing here is that Matias actually convinced the factory to keep manufacturing Alps switches by guaranteeing them a million-unit order. The keyboard also looks beautiful (to satisfy the Mac crowd), but it’s out-of-stock and geared towards the Mac.

Continuing research will turn up Unicomp keyboards, a little factory in Kentucky that exists online in nothing more than a Yahoo store, but they carry on the tradition of the buckling spring keyboard going all the way back to IBM Selectric electric typewriters that have that incredibly satisfying click. The springs actually “buckle”—something any mechanical engineer will tell you is a major no-no, but in the case of making high quality keyboards, is heaven-sent.

The interesting thing here is that Unicomp is an awesome all-American story of a factory that “bought itself” because the Lexmark printer company that was spun off from IBM was not interested in keyboard technology. So, this is the actual factory that made the IBM Model M keyboards for IBM, now owning itself, preserving and offering an incredibly valuable product for people who are serious about their typing!

So, I ordered 3 of these, and the extra keys to make it look correct on a Mac. I actually got the Customizer 104, which updates the Model M to have the extra “Windows” key between the Ctrl and the Alt. They my tricky order correct the first time (piecing it together from an email that was separate from the order with the extra Mac keys instructions) and sent them right away.

When they arrived, I popped the keys off with a knife, put the Mac keys in, and let the Macs semi-auto-detect the keyboard (I had to hit 2 keys in a “test”). I also had to switch the command and option keys through software to make it 100% correct. Now, I have 3 identical high quality old-school keyboards. But in getting used to the keyboard, I started encountering a “double capital letter” effect on the first word of sentences. It turns out that it’s just my old habits, but I made the stupid mistake of popping a key off and trying to put more tension in the spring to “release” the key quicker.

This was a stupid move, because the clicking sound went away. It turns out that when you pull a buckling spring out of it’s recession, it’s nearly impossible to put back by hand. So, I emailed them for advice, and got Chuck Cropper, whose reputation already preceded him on the Internet. The response I got is as follows…

Hello Mike

Ouch, not sure what to tell you. Without a special tool (Spring Hook ) I don’t know of any way to get the spring seated back on the pivot plate. Without it being seated it want have that buckling effect. The spring hook looks a little like the hypo a doctor gives you a shot with. The needle part goes into the center of the spring then the needle is placed on the tip of the pivot plate, (looks like a nipple when looking into the button chimney), then when depressing the other end instead of going inside the tube or spring in this case, it goes on the outside of the needle pushing the spring in place. I have tried several things like little screw drivers, fountain pens and etc but the trick is to keep the spring from buckling until it is seated. The closest I got was using the ink tube from a pen to give stability to the spring. then using a coffee straw over the ink tube to push the spring in place. I think this would work if you have steady hands and patience.

I hope I haven’t went off the deep end with this suggestion. It is hard to describe exactly how the spring hook does its job with out seeing it in action.

Let me know how you make out.

Good Luck

Chuck

My reply:

Brilliant suggestion. Coffee stirrers and ink tubs are like perfectly made for the job. I wouldn’t hold back on that suggestion, as it works I bet nearly as good as the syringe tool. I put the click back in shift. I did however ruin one spring from stupidity, and so I merely swapped springs with an almost-never used key. Good solution. Thanks.

Mike

And his reply:

Mike, you made my day.Take Care

Chuck

Now that’s customer service!