One of the
best keyboards ever manufactured. Almost completely
indestructible, these keyboards have the best
tactile feedback imaginable while
typing. Every time I see one I try to acquire it, most people seem more than
glad to let go of their old
grungy Model M's. I give them a quick clean up, and
viola.. Good as new, and still
working perfectly. I've never seen an
IBM Model M keyboard that is not functional. I've seen some with missing keycaps, but even with them missing, they still work fine.
IBM Model M's are also really
heavy. This is
great; the keyboard won't walk around on your
desk as you type. Some of them also have
replaceable cables. I
doubt you'll find a replacement cable
these days, but the fact that
IBM did that shows how much thought they put into the design of these wonderful keyboards.
Each
key has a separate keyswitch. You get a nice,
satisfying click when you press a
key. You get another satisfying click when you
release the key as well. This is due to the
buckling spring design. The keyboards also have greater
reliability, due to sealed
keyswitches which are based on capacitance (two metal plates getting closer together when the key is pressed) rather than actual electrical contact. Modern keyboards tend to have a large printed circuit board upon which a rubber conductive mat is laid, with little
bumps. when the bumps are depressed, a keypress is detected.
Cheap design, but when dirt and oxidation gets under that mat, it's toast. Model M's don't have this
problem.
If you find a Model M, try to get it. Best of all.. no annoying
Windows Keys, so it's great for
Linux users.
}:)