[X4U] Alternative to Apple Keyboard?

[Randy B. Singer]

On May 24, 2014, at 11:46 AM, catsoul wrote:

> Beautiful as it is, I'm sick of trying to type on the thin, aluminum keyboard with the short-travel keys.

Keyboards are a very personal thing.  However, it sounds like you might have the same sensibilities that I do.

I used to love the old white keyboards from Apple.  The M9034LL/A, because it had good feel, size, key resistance, and key throw was my favorite. This keyboard doesn't have the "click" of buckling spring keyboards, but it also isn't mushy like cheap modern dome or membrane keyboards.  Unfortunately this keyboard is getting hard to find.  Most vendors are overcharging for it.  (It is $150 from Amazon):
http://www.amazon.com/Apple-M9034LL-A-USB-Keyboard/dp/B0000ACOBG/

I searched for something similar that was cheaper and easy to find.  What I settled on is really close, and about 1/4 the price:

Matias USB 2.0 White Keyboard for Macintosh
$35
http://www.matias.ca/usb2keyboard/index.php
You can get it for the same price, with a crappy mouse included, here:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Matias/FK104M/

When you first get it out of the box, the action on the keys is a little mushy.  But after a few weeks of use things sharpen up.  Feel is good, throw is good, resistance is good, everything works really well.  The Caps Lock key is thoughtfully relocated to a place where you won't accidentally hit it.  The USB dock is a nice little extra feature for using USB flash drives.

If you prefer only the best, you can still purchase a high quality buckling spring keyboard, but it will cost you.  IBM sold the license to make those keyboards to Lexmark and they in turn sold the license to Unicomp. 

Unicomp buckling spring keyboards can be purchased directly from Unicomp:
SpaceSaverM 
$94 plus about $15 shipping
http://pckeyboard.com/page/category/SpacesaverM
(The black one with bright white keys is particularly attractive!)

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Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)

Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html
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