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Comment by anonymousiam | Hacker News Reader

At over $300 each, I'm not sure they are worth it. The Model M is similar, still in production, and about $100. It's also made in the USA.

https://www.pckeyboard.com/

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As a bit of a Model M fanatic, the Unicomp keyboards are nice but they are not as durable as a Model M, and certainly not as a Model F. I've had a number of Unicomps and they have all died eventually.

My current keyboard is a Topre REALFORCE (exact model https://www.realforce.co.jp/en/products/104UB-S_XF11T0/ ) and it's been going strong.

Kind of regret getting the one with very dim keycaps, I have to admit.

The real deal would be the Model F 122 key - which I still have somewhere and still works with a strange adapter I found on eBay - the additional keys make weird letters.

I've been using Unicomp keyboards since 2008. Right now I have four working Unicomp keyboards. Two Unicomp keyboards have failed on me in the past 14 years. Maybe they aren't as durable as the original Model M, but at least for me, they seem pretty durable.

Yeah, they're certainly more durable than a normal keyboard, and all deaths have been abnormal (spills, etc).

I agree.

I need function keys, essentially I do not get the trend towards micro-sized keyboards - I want more keys, not less.

THANK YOU for making me feel less like a lone voice crying in the wilderness!

I do not get the trend for tiny reduced keyboards. I use my numeric pad. I use all my cursor keys, not just up/down/left/right but Ins/Del/Home/End/PgUp/PgDn – and not only on their own, but with Ctrl and Shift and combinations thereof.

I want more keys, not fewer. I want F-keys I can use for program control _and_ maybe another set for media/screen control _as well_. Not either/or, both.

I don't want more combinations to hold down; I want fewer. If there's a combo I need a lot, then I want it on its own key. I don't want a Fn key on a desktop.

I don't want one on a laptop either, but I also don't want an Amstrad PPC-sized laptop: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amstrad_PPC_512

OTOH, this applies too: https://ifunny.co/picture/as-canadiangold-follow-i-don-t-wan...

my ideal is like the offspring of a 122-key IBM keyboard and the space cadet keyboard, ideally fully macroed and programable.

Being able to configure my keyboard to go Control-A n on a single keypress is useful for me.

:-)

Sounds great to me!

Topre all the way. I have now four of those, and the one I like the most is the PFU variant with 45g uniformly weighted keys. Being able to adjust the actuation point is great for the occasional gaming session. They are also very silent, especially when placed on a mat.

For new options, I think the Unicomp options are pretty nice, though I did have 1 in 4 fail over the past 12 years. Not as strong/durable as original IBM Model M options, plastic casing is lower grade and backplate is thinner. Another down side compared to other options is no backlighting.

I've also been pretty fond of Cherry MX Brown switch keyboards, probably the most similar feel imo. Have a few das keyboards, which have been pretty good, started using this at work since my unicomps are more noisy. Since WFH using the unicomp again.

While I've been willing to go up to the $100-150 price range, I don't think I'd notice the difference going beyond that where I would find it worth it. Laptop and sub-$75 keyboards all feel like mush... and the knockoff "brown" switches aren't nearly as good imo.

I tried ordering a mini-m recently. Their website said it was in stock and would ship in 3 days, maximum. I tried using a credit card that had a different address for shipping and billing. It wouldn't go through. I contacted support and they claimed to be unable to process a transaction with differing addresses. I used a different payment method, and it worked. I waited 8 days for a shipped notification before contacting them. They replied that it won't ship for at least another 2 months. They said they had no stock. I asked why it says they do on their website, and they just redirected the conversation and never once apologized. They never updated their website to reflect the truth about their stock. They also never fixed the problem with the website allowing orders with differing addresses. I ended up having to wait about a week for the multiple orders to drop off my credit card. I really needed a new keyboard quickly as my current one was starting to defect and unicomp really wasted my time.

Model M is very stiff in comparison. I hated it and I rather like model F.

I believe the original model f, adjusted for inflation were more expensive.

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