Hm, maybe he replaced the caps from some older M. But they may also really be still there. Sometimes those letters seem not to get worn off ever.
Judging from the dirt, I guess he is using the keyboard regularly. Which I wouldn't be able to. Not something this dirty. Jesus, can't you just clean it from time to time.
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I use a natural keyboard. Much, much easier on the wrists.
At the danger of sounding like an old man, the old adage that they don't build things the way they used to is actually 100% correct here.
Old keyboards from my experience never faced the dreaded discolouration and rubbing modern equivalents do with even with laser etching.But also, white on black is going to pick up and show discolouration from skin oils/products far easier than traditional black lettering on polar white/beige/grey ever did.
I think it's also to do with the quality and type of paints used more than anything. Laser etching makes no odds.
The lettering on my Targus KB in the office still looks as crisp as the day I got it and it's used probably the most heavily of the bunch. Not so for a Chicony or MS one which have both discoloured. Same for my notebook, the lettering on that has started to darken a little. Not grounds for an RMA though as stated by most notebook manufacturers.
I think we have to thank modern health and environmental regulations for the limitation of what manufacturers are able to use nowadays.
i know i know it's microsoft and i doubt it would last 20 years.. but checkout the sculpt ergonomic keyboard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=LTei3LDMNUw
I have the original that keyboard evolved from. The PS/2 Natural Keyboard from 1996 complete with W95 floppy discs. It's gone yellow but still works okay. I have relegated it to the cupboard though because it takes up way too much desk space. It is a massive keyboard.
Hehe. Yeah, that's why I always prefer black, as this color is also the color of the plastic, so it never goes any other shade in time.
My Sharp MZ-800 is soooo horibly yellow these days. But runs Flappy the same.
Unicomp still makes buckling spring keyboards just like the old IBM keyboards. They aren't cheap but you get what you pay for. I purchased a black with white keys 5 or 6 years ago and it works flawlessly.
https://www.pckeyboard.com/
The cheapest one I can get from a brand name.
Using K120 for a few years now, no complains here, still feels the same as new one.
Hehe. I actually have two of them too as spares, among many others.
There are two versions of K120. One for home and one for business use.
They basically look the same, the only visual difference is that the home one has the lower part of the body grey, the business one is all black.
But the main difference is the force needed to press the keys. The home one is definitely easier here and much quieter. The business one is more stiff and also louder.
I got angry with one of them about a year ago or so and threw it across the room. It hit the wall and few caps went on their short sight seeing journey of the room. I managed to find them and put them back. No problem, seems to be perfectly fine.
I remember fondly a Honeywell serial keyboard I used for many years, with the full-size 5-pin DIN plug. It looked pretty much like the IBM Model M (above) and had a nice feel.
Now I just use something reasonable, and reasonably cheap. Not fussed by brand, but the current one is Microsoft.
The Windows keys kind of ruin it for me. We don't need no stinkin' Windows keys!
Cheap small sized keyboard I can position anywhere i want.