In praise of IBM keyboards
By Marc Perton
When I was growing up I wanted an IBM Selectric. It was the Rolls Royce of typewriters, and conjured up images of smoky newsrooms as well as sleek high-tech offices. I never got one; back in 1980 a Selectric II typewriter cost more than a computer does today (the last typewriter I owned was a Selectric knockoff from Juki, a Japanese company better known for its sewing machines). I was reminded of my youthful fixation by some of the comments to an Engadget post I did earlier this week about Lenovo’s latest ThinkPad. Although commenters seemed pleased that Lenovo hadn’t made any major changes to the model’s keyboard, some purists were up in arms about the fact that Lenovo had added a Windows key, something IBM had steadfastly refused to do. Like the Selectric, the ThinkPad has long had devoted fans, many of them drawn by its keyboard, considered one of the best on any laptop. I think Lenovo will move cautiously when it comes to changing it. Adding a Windows key was a bow to the realities of the marketplace (I suspect that IBM’s refusal to do so had less to do with ergonomics than with a refusal to acknowledge Windows’ level of dominance); making wholesale changes would show an utter lack of understanding about that marketplace. The fact is, IBM knows keyboards, and has produced some of the best for decades. Lenovo won’t change that. I don’t have a ThinkPad. But I have something even better—and better even than the Selectric: a vintage IBM Model M keyboard, considered one of the best ever made. It’s loud, heavy and incredibly tactile. And you can still get one for about $40 from a company called ClickyKeyboards, which specializes in the Model M (and sells some rare models for over $150). And, no, it doesn’t have a Windows key.
When I was growing up I wanted an IBM Selectric. It was the Rolls Royce of typewriters, and conjured up images of smoky newsrooms as well as sleek high-tech offices. I never got one; back in 1980 a Selectric II typewriter cost more than a computer does today (the last typewriter I owned was a Selectric knockoff from Juki, a Japanese company better known for its sewing machines). I was reminded of my youthful fixation by some of the comments to an Engadget post I did earlier this week about Lenovo’s latest ThinkPad. Although commenters seemed pleased that Lenovo hadn’t made any major changes to the model’s keyboard, some purists were up in arms about the fact that Lenovo had added a Windows key, something IBM had steadfastly refused to do. Like the Selectric, the ThinkPad has long had devoted fans, many of them drawn by its keyboard, considered one of the best on any laptop. I think Lenovo will move cautiously when it comes to changing it. Adding a Windows key was a bow to the realities of the marketplace (I suspect that IBM’s refusal to do so had less to do with ergonomics than with a refusal to acknowledge Windows’ level of dominance); making wholesale changes would show an utter lack of understanding about that marketplace. The fact is, IBM knows keyboards, and has produced some of the best for decades. Lenovo won’t change that. I don’t have a ThinkPad. But I have something even better—and better even than the Selectric: a vintage IBM Model M keyboard, considered one of the best ever made. It’s loud, heavy and incredibly tactile. And you can still get one for about $40 from a company called ClickyKeyboards, which specializes in the Model M (and sells some rare models for over $150). And, no, it doesn’t have a Windows key.
