Unicomp's "New" Model M Keyboard

Hate to say it as I like Unicomp as a concept, but had a related experience.

Purchased a keyboard from them back in 2015/2016 and really enjoyed the few months that it worked. There is something about those springs... When it stopped functioning a short while later I contacted Unicomp asking how I could fix and/or replace it and was told I'd have to buy a new one.

Probably meant to be as I developed the need for an ergonomic keyboard. Purchased a Kinesis Freestyle2 and it's worked without issue.

Can confirm. I owned Unicomps before and after their retooling. The old ones developed problems quickly, and I've been on a new one since shortly after it was available, (three years?). Reliable, and as loud and clicky as it should be.

I remember stacks of Model M's at radio rallies and other flea-market-type places. You couldn't give them away. If only I'd known...

Every couple of years, I try a new keyboard. But after a day or two I return to the Model M that I'm typing on now. I bought a few on ebay about 20 years ago - so I'm good until retirement.

How long ago were the issues? A co-worker of mine bought one many years ago (10-12 if I had to guess). It was pretty bad. He spent a bunch of time filing down all the bits of extra plastic from the manufacturing process. I had seen better finishing on keyboard costing a fraction of the price. Not that Unicomp has the highest prices in the market, far from it, but it’s not a $10 OEM board either.

I had wanted to buy one, but seeing his always made me think twice, so never did.

I initially tried to go the classic route and get a refurbished Model M from the clicky keys guy. After having thismmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm happen at sporadic intervals with multiple boards (after paying to ship it back), I wrote it off and got a Unicomp New Model M. Been cruisin' and clackin' hard ever since.

I have a 1983 IBM Model M... ...from my cold, dead hands (though I can't use it at the moment because it's too loud for my wife and kiddo).

This sounds like the setup to a Stephen King novel about malevolent office supplies.

Yeah, it's loud. My wife complains about it. (I didn't realize how loud until I got hearing aids.)

Fortunately, we have offices far apart from each other.

Are they louder than blue switches???

Thanks, I had no idea these were running a Pico, yay QMK

After years of typing now I must continually adjust angle and type of keyboard to avoid stressing various RSIs too much. Standard keyboards now just hurt, even if they're nice.

Which ergonomic model did you choose?

I used the EnduraPro for a few years. Moved to more ergonomic keyboards (ErgoDox and now Lily58) when my fingers and wrists started complaining. Have written multiple books with the new keyboards with no pain. YMMV.

I actually felt that the model M specifically gave me my first taste of RSI. The spring force is so much higher that after a while my fingers and wrists were just flatly sore.

The problems began after I started gaming on it - and I'd been using them for work for a long time before that (5 years?). You tend to push a lot and push hard when gaming to be sure they key activates, and it's not really ideal for your fingers. And yes, they're "not good for gaming" but that's normally about the deadzone and reset, not just outright causing RSI.

I ended up going through a period of trying out some other stuff, ended up with Rosewill RK9100BR, and then just went to a keychron k8 instead. I have a couple of those now.

I'm in the same boat, but if Unicomp ever manufactures a split-key I might be willing to forgo thumb clusters and ortholinear layout. Might be. I do love me a buckling spring.

https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/product/ortholinear-split-er... you could have both

I really don't understand some people's affinity toward Cherry and similar keys, they're quiet and odd feeling.

I think a lot of nostalgia built up in that ~10 year period where it was really difficult to find a new mechanical keyboard, so the old Model M (and to a lesser extent the Apple Extended Keyboard) developed something of a cult following.

Personally I've settled on Kailh BOX White switches as pleasantly clicky without too much resistance.

I have one of these, having never used one growing up (so lacking the nostalgia) and I love the thing. To this day, no other keyboard can compete in terms of synchronizing the tactile "click" and the onscreen response. The only reason I don't use it more widely is because it's so loud and large.

For me, it's straight nostalgia, although I do think they feel great. I learned to type on a 5150, so it feels very "right" for me. I'd imagine a lot of folks who grew up with green screens and literal floppy disks love them. I don't always use a mechanical keyboard, but I've always owned one.

I agree that buckling springs are a bit of an acquired taste nowadays given how niche they are. I like them a lot, but I grew up typing on a Model M, so maybe I'm just acclimated to them.

Beyond nostalgia, I like buckling springs because they provide clear feedback about when a key actuates. Both the click and the "tactile bump" you feel occur when the key actuates. This is difficult to achieve and many keyboards (including those using Cherry switches) do not have this property.

I remember using these in the 90s and my hands would feel numb after an hour. No issues using modern keyboards, but the constant boing from typing is still firmly stuck in my head.

> but I really don't understand some people's affinity toward buckling spring switches...

> they're loud and odd feeling,

you answered your own question. One person's hatred is another's love.

I find MX-style switches (Cherry in particular, but not limited to them) to be very inconsistent. This is especially true of clicky switches like blues, but even linears can be all over the place. I think the most consistent switches I've found are Topre, Matias Tactile Click, and maybe beamspring (I say "maybe" because I've only used one such keyboard).

I still prefer the F to the M.. however I can't really type of qwerty boards anymore for any length of time without risking RSI. Kinesis Advantage for me for the rest of my life.

That vertical bar Newsletter / Project Updates that wouldn’t go away, I just had to close the tab…

If you can get one in a reasonable amount of time. It took about 1.5 years to get my F62, and a year to get my split Model F. They're definitely nice keyboards, though IMO the "F" switch is a bit overrated. The main advantage for me is the ability to have a 60% keyboard.

I am not sure about the rest of their nice, but at least the Logitech MX Master 3 allows you to switch between 3 paired bluetooth devices via a button on the bottom.

It sounds pretty nice, but it's a non-starter for me. I am highly dependent on key bindings for the cluster of six keys: Ins/Del/Home/End/PageUp/PageDown. This cluster used to be pretty common but is increasingly rare. The Unicomp has it, the Keychron does not.

"Built with the Mac users’ experience in mind while still retaining compatibility for Windows devices..."

No thanks!

Das Keyboard keeps me hooked with their on-board USB hub. I'd love to switch but it's just so damned handy. I don't know why more kb manufacturers don't do this.

Logitech mice (like the MX3 master) have a profile toggle switch on the bottom that can swap between 3 different BT devices or their supplied dongles. Super fast and convenient.

I tried a Keychron and it doesn't work with my KVM, which uses ScrollLock for switching between computers, and it doesn't work very well with Linux...

So Das Keyboard it is!

They shouldn’t need that kind of maintenance unless you’re using it in an unusually dirty or dusty environment, as far as I know. I have a coolermaster tenkeyless with mx blues that I got about 10 years ago as a main keyboard that has worked without issue.

I've had a Cooler Master tenkeyless for nearly 10 years and I still use it. I have had to repair a couple solder joints over time however.

I think they're generally reliable. I have a pair of Filco keyboards, one five years old, the other ten, and I haven't had any trouble except I did have to open the older one up and clean it recently as a couple switches had gotten gunked up.

I dump the hair, crumbs and fingernail bits out of my Model M every couple of years - that's about it.

They should require essentially zero maintenance except maybe cleaning out all the dust/lint/crumbs/etc. that fall in between the keys. The actual key switches should last like... 20 years or more. What switches in your Coolermaster? I have a Coolermaster Masterkeys Pro S (Cherry MX Brown switches) and have used it for like 7+ years with no problems, all keys 100%-responsive and no double-actuations that I've ever observed.

I’ve had my New M for a couple years now, and it’s been great. No complaints. Unicomp has sorted out their QC issues, and it’s a solid board. I’d say that the lack of a removable cable is a bit of a bummer, but that’s a nit pick.

That's not, AFAIK, normal.

I have a variety of mechanicals and none of them are like that (mostly cherry switches, but a Unicomp spring type also), but that also means I swap through them with some regularity so no one of them gets 100% use.

I take the keycaps off once or twice a year so I can clean under/around them. I don't do any maintenance other than that, and I did the same with my pre-mechanical keyboards (it's actually much easier as the cherry keycaps are way more durable/easy for being removed and put back than e.g. butterfly mechanisms that a lot of membrane keyboards use)

I didn't know Kinesis had a split board. Thanks for the tip.

The ErgoDox/Moonlander are in that price range and are highly thought of.

I supported the Keyboardio kickstarter and purchased two Model 01s which I liked very much. The problems I had with it were twofold: first - I use my pointer finger for the "c" key, which was very difficult and I had to switch to my middle finger. This adjustment was made with a little effort and eventually my brain was able to switch depending on which keyboard my hands were fit to - sort of like a dialect. The much larger problem was that _both_ the 'b' keys broke within the first couple of years. It did not quite fit the heirloom quality point for me and I didn't feel like taking it apart and figuring out what was going on.

Since then, I have switched to Mistel split keyboard which have the exact feel as any other qwerty keyboard and I haven't looked back (though I did rebind some of the keys, like the arrows for example, to match the vi movement keys).

I'm interested in keymouse (keymouse.com) but frankly don't feel like dropping a bunch of money on another experimental design. So I've got two Mistels for both my daily drivers and will likely continue with that brand as I've been very happy with the quality.

ZSA Moonlander is awesome (https://www.zsa.io/moonlander). Their configuration tool is excellent, its a really easy keyboard to use and configure without making it a full time hobby.

I really like my keyboard.io Model 01. The thumb (and palm) keys are excellent.

Beyond that, there is a market for prebuilt Dactyl and similar hand-made boards.

I’ve been using an Ergodox-EZ for 7 years, it’s been so good for my wrists.

I was doing quite a bit of shopping for a split ergo about a year ago.

My main contenders ended up being:

  - Glove80
  - Advantage360
  - ZSA Moonlander
  - ZSA Ergodox
  - Various alice layout KB's (not full split.  ex: Keychron K15)
  - Custom building some sort of sofle or dactyl - ZSA recently came out with the voyager which looks essentially like a wired 65% sofle.

In the end I went with the Glove80, which I _highly_ recommend. It's the most comfortable keyboard I've used, bar none. The biggest knock I have on the Glove80 is the fit/finish for its price-it doesn't feel like you'd imagine a $400 keyboard would. The unique design makes it worth it for me, though.

I've had over a dozen split or mechanical keyboards over the years. By far the most comfortable for everyday usage (software development) was the Matias Ergo Pro. The keys are outstanding. The layout is terrific. The keyboard is completely adjustable so the R in RSI is vastly reduced, I would move mine around constantly. But the quality is atrocious. After less than a year mine was repeating some keys and not registering others. The company rep told me this was normal but sent to me a replacement anyway - and that one had the same issues a year later.

That said, if money were no object I would just get a new one every year. That's how much I loved that keyboard while it was working.

I like split ergonomic keyboard, and Alps switches, and prefer a Mac keyboard, if possible. Unfortunately, the Mattias Ergo Pro I’ve had since launch was not particularly reliable. Apple’s ergonomic keyboard has odd choices for function buttons and (a deal breaker for me) a terrible escape key.

I recently found a Gemini III P20028 which is nearly perfect except it is missing a “Command”/Windows key.

I also have an Apple Extended II which is my daily driver at a desk. And I have one of these Unicomp’s which I enjoy as well. I used to use IBM Model Ms, and like their switches almost as well as Alps.

For my own comfort, I’ve found switches to be more important than split. I’ve used Cherry and clones, and they really aren’t in the same league in terms of tactile response as Alps or buckling springs. It’s too bad they’ve become synonymous with “mechanical” keyboards.

I’ve liked the idea of many of the minimalist keyboards, but always want a full number row, dedicated Esc, brackets, Pipe, etc. I thought the Ergo Pro would be that, but when switches started double registering after only a few years, I grew cold to it. I have 30+ year old keyboards that are working great, anything modern and hundreds of dollars should do the same.

I’ve always wanted to try a Kinesis, but it would have to be so much better than what I have to justify double the price that I can’t really justify the price. After 20+ years of keyboarding nearly every day and finding boards that don’t give me pain, I have no reason to try at that price.

I ended up getting the ZSA Moonlander, which I'm quite happy with. I probably would have gotten the Advantage 360, but the measurements indicated it would be too tall to fit on my keyboard tray and still slide under my desk.

That said, I eventually ended up getting "The Platform" for tenting my Moonlander. And while the tenting is collapsible, The Platform lifts increases my keyboard height just enough that it now no longer slides under my desk with my keyboard tray.

But I prefer the tenting, so I just live with it. I just unplug my keyboard and set it aside when I need to close my keyboard tray.

I constructed myself a Miryoku inspired layout for my Moonlander. Though getting the timing right for using home-row mods is very tricky, and it is unclear to me if it is worthwhile or not.

I haven't used that many different keyboards, but each one has kind of added a feature to my must-have list.

My first mechanical was a tenkeyless Max Keyboard Nighthawk. It sold me on the TKL size, and backlighting. It also has a USB hub, which is very convenient for mouse dongles and headsets.

For several years I used a Kinesis Advantage at work. I never loved it, but it sold me on having my preferred layout (Dvorak) in hardware, rather than configuring it in the O/S. I also liked having a backspace under my left thumb.

Not long after I got a Kinesis Gaming Freestyle Edge RGB at home. Even better than the Advantage, I could program an arbitrary layout (and lighting) in hardware. And because it's split, I can program the left spacebar for backspace.

When I got tired of the Advantage, I bought a System76 Launch, a compact TKL with a split spacebar. This sold me on hot-swap switches. I generally like light tactile switches like the Cherry MX Brown in the first three keyboards, but it's fun to put clickies on some of the keys, and very light linears on the pinkie modifiers.

I guess the point is that as your list of must-have features grows, the set of candidate keyboards shrinks. There aren't many programmable RGB keyboards with hot-swap switches, a split spacebar, and a USB hub. What are your must-haves?

Using a Lily58 after almost 10 years of ErgoDox. Happy to answer any questions.

I'd highly recommend Kinesis advantage360. I previously tried a moonlander, but I wasn't a fan. The curve of the kinesis is perfect.

It has truly spoiled me and now typing on a regular keyboard is terrible. My only complaint is that they are so big and chunky that traveling with them isn't all that feasible. So I'm confined to the crappy laptop keyboard when on-the-go.

I didn't know Kinesis made an Ergodox layout, that's probably what I'll buy when my Ergodox EZ quits. Again. Which it will.

The first one died after 26 months. Sounds weirdly specific, why would I remember that? Two-year warranty. The owner of the company was shockingly rude to me, accused me of threatening to trash his reputation if he didn't give me free stuff. I had sent him some links to times I had praised and recommended his product (they're all on here, feel free to Algolia it if you're curious).

Well, Erez Zukerman, you deserve to have your reputation trashed. The product itself is decent. Unless it randomly dies on you right after the warranty expires, in which case, fuck you.

I used a Moonlander for a few years, and then I impulse-bought the Dygma Defy during its crowd funding campaign. I like the Defy slightly better but I definitely should not have bought a second several hundred dollar keyboard.

I've been using a Matias Ergo Pro Programmable for the past three-or-so years and it's been excellent; all the wrist pain I had been experiencing after typing ceased once I started using it, and that's held true since. The switches are tactile but quiet. The keycaps are well-sized with a pleasant texture. It's very weighty, and never moves. It has arrow-keys and Home/End/PgUp/PgDn. The cable that joins the two halves is just a standard 3.5mm TRRS audio cable. The USB cable is detachable. It does have a few flaws: the Escape key's awkwardly out-of-the-way, the same goes for the Delete key; the fabric used for the palm-rests is sort of difficult to clean; very rarely, a pressed key will get stuck and will repeat after it's been depressed.

I've also tried the Kinesis Freestyle 2... I'm much less of fond it, it might just be the worst keyboard I've used (especially relative to its price). Its switches are bad, even by the standards of membrane switches—to get keypresses to reliably register I have mash the keys so forcefully that it ends up being louder than the mechanical Ergo Pro. The keycaps are small, with a texture that's unpleasant to the touch. The cable that joins the two halves is proprietary, and the cable that comes out of the box is too short at 9", the 20" cable costs 20% of what the keyboard does and is still too short to fully utilise the split. The USB cable isn't detachable. Something about the way the right half is laid out makes it difficult to get your hand in position to use it. The Escape key's really out-of-the-way, as is the Fn key. Though, it does have a lot of macro keys.

Layout-wise, I haven't seen anyone beat the Keyboardio. The thumb cluster is perfect, and the palm keys are fantastic. The only thing it lacks is a sculpted key well like the Kineses/Maltron.

From looking at it, the Glove80 looks to be a near-perfect layout (good thumb cluster, sculpted well, but no palm key). The switches give me some pause, but I haven't ever tried them.

I wonder if the "New" Model M has the same problem, or if they've finally updated/replaced their tooling. AFAIK they were/are still using the old machines from the 80s and 90s.

I wrote my dissertation on a HHKB2, and I use a realforce in my office now. It doesn't look "weird" but it's an absolute delight to type on.

Fwiw, open office with short cubicle walls + standing desks that put your desk surface above the wall + mech keyboards was the bane of my existence. Appreciate having some awareness and compassion for those around you.

Exactly so.

I remap CapsLock to Super, and still use Model Ms today, via generic cheapo PS/2-to-USB convertors. (Any convertor with an LED on it should work, or that has 2 inputs; that means it's an active device.)

I tried an original Unicomp and it wasn't the same. Not even close to as nice to use. I doubt the "new" one is fully up to spec either.

I have been typing on these things for about 35 years now, and no RSI so far. Perhaps because they give my hand and arm muscles and tendons a good workout every day...?

It's a nice looking keyboard, but it lacks the thing that makes the Model M really special - buckling springs.

Switches, right?

Abomination. That's where \| should be.

If you go old enough the actual IBM-made keyboards do have swappable keycaps separate from the key stems.

Yeah, the custom keycap scene is dominated by Cherry MX-compatible sets. There’s a handful of custom caps for Kailh Choc low profile switches and even smaller handful for Topre, but if you’re a fan of Alps or especially buckling springs there’s basically nothing.

This is a big reason why most of my boards are MX-type.

There are still a surprising number of motherboards being made with a PS/2 port.

I suspect some motherboard companies have people who still cherish their Model-M's, because support for them seems to be flawless. How many other completely unmodified thirty-plus year-old peripherals can you plug into a brand new computer and expect to just work?

The ASR-33 starts out loud when you're not even touching it :-)

Can't beat a linotype for surround, though. Clanks and thumps from all around you...

I use the key puller that came in the box with one of my keyboards for that.

It's led to some awkward moments in calls as the gap in the handle is just big enough to get my finger in easy and make it hard to take out.

Never noticed a power-draw problem. Given that even old USB is mandated to supply at least 500mA and that there's little more than a MCU inside the keyboard, I find it hard to believe that power (or even just in-rush current) could be the problem.

smarter people did harder work in rooms full of loud loud keyboards.

It’s a new mold for the plastics as the original IBM/Lexmark one was wearing out. Also, it comes with USB and meta keys.

I have a vague memory of setting up a Windows 3.11 machine at my dad's office to emit typewriter clacking from the PC speaker on keypress - and a separate carriage return ding for the enter key...I'm sure no one was annoyed!

Not sure why you're being voted down. That's the reality of this keyboard [1]. It's the loudest keyboard I've ever used, besides a (hardware) typewriter. It's ludicrous loud, compared to something like a modern notebook keyboard. Just as I did when I had it, and others did to me, everyone else in the room will be driven crazy with the typing. This keyboard requires being alone in a room, with a door.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXJzmky2DaI

This was my first mechanical keyboard, and I had the same reaction. My fingers would feel fatigued after an hour of heavy use.

Does that show that the uptake for AZERTY+ has been below expectations so far?

Relevant context for others:

TIL that "it is practically impossible to write French correctly using a keyboard that has been bought in France", says the country's government. Because the AZERTY layout makes typing certain accented letters difficult (especially capitals), many don't use them, changing the language

<https://np.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/5pwmqu/til_th...>