Scored a compact Model M today!

PaulQ · Post by **PaulQ** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 2:21 pm

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this today at Value Village for only $2.99! It's in perfect shape; just needs a little cleaning. It's my favourite of the model M line, and my all-time favourite keyboard, due to its compact size, shape, and crisp, tactile response:

It's the exact same model and type this guy is trying to sell for $110:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/IBM-PS-2-Model-M-Cli ... dZViewItem

Sitting next to it in this picture is an origional IBM PS/2 mouse still in the original factory plastic bag. I'm debating whether it'd be worth it to sell on eBay or if I should just keep it for my collection.

ral-clan · Post by **ral-clan** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 2:48 pm

Okay, now I understand what you're going on about when you talk about those model-M keyboards. Were these the ones that came with the PS/2 PCs made by IBM in the early 90s?

I really like the tactile feeling of these keyboards. No mushy feeling at all. The keys don't wiggle from side to side when you press on them. Great stuff. The keytops have a slightly "sand-blasted" texture to them.

Do any keyboards have the "beep" feature in them anymore? I remember some IBM clone keyboards from the early 80s had a switch on the bottom of them to turn the beep on and off. The was a little piezo speaker inside the keyboard which would give you a little audible beep or "peck" every time you pressed a key! I thought that was a great feature, but it probably would have been annoying to office-mates.

gklinger · Post by **gklinger** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 3:49 pm

I've got a bunch (more than 5) of the compact model and twice as many of the full size ones. I've even got a couple of black ones with integrated trackpoint. I gotta clean out my storage locker...

PaulQ · Post by **PaulQ** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 4:00 pm

ral-clan wrote:Okay, now I understand what you're going on about when you talk about those model-M keyboards. Were these the ones that came with the PS/2 PCs made by IBM in the early 90s?

I think IBM sold them with all their computers, up until (and including) the PS/1 line, IIRC.

ral-clan wrote:I really like the tactile feeling of these keyboards. No mushy feeling at all. The keys don't wiggle from side to side when you press on them. Great stuff. The keytops have a slightly "sand-blasted" texture to them.

There really is nothing quite like them. It may be the only keyboard that has a cult-like following.

ral-clan wrote:Do any keyboards have the "beep" feature in them anymore? I remember some IBM clone keyboards from the early 80s had a switch on the bottom of them to turn the beep on and off. The was a little piezo speaker inside the keyboard which would give you a little audible beep or "peck" every time you pressed a key! I thought that was a great feature, but it probably would have been annoying to office-mates.

Mine has a hole for a speaker, but no speaker within:

Also note that the cable can be detached from the keyboard, which is a very nice touch.

gklinger wrote:I've got a bunch (more than 5) of the compact model and twice as many of the full size ones. I've even got a couple of black ones with integrated trackpoint. I gotta clean out my storage locker...

The full sized ones don't appear to fetch anything too spectacular on EvilBay, but you may be interested to discover what people are paying for the sought-after compact model:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Vintage-IBM-AT-Model ... dZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.ca/IBM-PS-2-Model-M-Cli ... dZViewItem

You may be sitting on a gold mine.

d0c · Post by **d0c** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:18 am

keyboards with speakers, thats cool

Kweepa · Post by **Kweepa** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:41 am

Wow, the perfect keyboard. IBM clicky feel, no numeric pad! I didn't know this existed. Must... have...

carlsson · Post by **carlsson** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 8:58 am

I'm more of a Keytronic guy. However only a few models get my approval. Last week I looked a spare Keytronic PS/2 style which I could've picked up for less than $0.50, but it was not my preferred choice so I let it down. I suppose one day the old keyboards are all used up (perhaps not the Model M, which seems indestructable if well serviced) and one will have to stick with a newish keyboard. :-/

PaulQ · Post by **PaulQ** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 2:48 pm

Kweepa wrote:Wow, the perfect keyboard. IBM clicky feel, no numeric pad! I didn't know this existed. Must... have...

Apparently, Golan has some.

I've bought and have gotten things from him in the past; I would've probably got one from him if this one didn't turn up locally for such a cheap price.

I must admit, the lack of a numeric keypad is rather nice. I have direct access to the cursor keys, as well as the page up/page down keys from my trackball. Well, I guess technically a numeric keypad has that too, but I've never bothered with it for that.

PaulQ · Post by **PaulQ** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 5:15 pm

For reference, here is the Lexmark variant I've been using for the past while:

Yes, that is a trackball in the upper right hand corner. It is, quite possibly, the worst location for a pointing device on a keyboard ever; as such, I never really used it on a regular basis. However, the bottom still contains the speaker grill (with no speaker), and is stamped "Made in USA" on the label.

The Lexmark Model M was made in '95, while the compact IBM model M was made in '93. The compact one leaves room for both my Logitech Trackball one one side and a beverage on the other side on the keyboard tray.

For the record, the Lexmark Model M has removable keycaps like the original; the compact Model M does not.

ral-clan · Post by **ral-clan** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 11:35 am

How can two different companies both call their keyboards "Model-M". Are they affiliated? Did one buy the design from the other, or is it just co-incidence?

The trackball being up in the corner really reminds me of those old ICON computers we had in our high school. Anyone remember those? They were custom designed for the Ontario school boards or something.

They were cool looking but so proprietary that they never had good software or support. The later model had a detatchable keyboard that looked like the Lexmark one above (although the trackball was larger).

http://www.old-computers.com/museum/com ... st=1&c=971
http://www.100megspopup.com/redawa/BIC/BIC10.html

PaulQ · Post by **PaulQ** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:47 pm

IBM Sold the Model M to Lexmark in the 90's; lock, stock and barrel. The bottom of the Lexmark even indicates a copyright of 1994. My particular Lexmark model is model M5-2, while my compact IBM version simply states model M. Most people call any buckling spring keyboard a Model M.

I remember the Icons very well. Impressive looking machines; I wrote my first AI program on one. Well, sort of. I never actually completed it, because I never had enough time with the Icon.

ral-clan · Post by **ral-clan** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:01 pm

I only remember a few things about the ICON. The drawing program, and the fact they had us learning PASCAL on those machines. Also the big single 10MB hard-drive and dot-matrix printer the computers were all networked to.

gklinger · Post by **gklinger** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 3:42 pm

DigitalQuirk wrote:IBM Sold the Model M to Lexmark in the 90's; lock, stock and barrel.

Not exactly. IBM spun off their subsidiary that made printers and keyboards etc. in 1991 and named it Lexmark (named for the location of their head office in Lexington, KY). Lexmark continued to manufacture parts under the IBM name as well as their own name. Product names and model numbers were often duplicated and in some cases, both the IBM and Lexmark names appeared on products.

You're close enough though.

PaulQ · Post by **PaulQ** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:38 pm

Thanks for clearing that up, Golan. That goes to show all of you who think I might know it all; I really don't.

carlsson · Post by **carlsson** » Fri May 02, 2008 1:27 am

Ironically though, IBM is recognized for a very high build quality, perhaps a bit overpriced but you often get a lot of value for your money.

Lexmark on the other hand is a brand recognized for ultra-cheap printers that require custom, very expensive ink cartridges, and the printers themselves sometimes are of questionable quality. I know they OEM (or used to) products to Dell etc, which does not improve the brand reputation.

Maybe IBM figured peripherals such as keyboards, printers and so on need to be possible to sell cheap, which was in contrast to the company profile and lead to splitting off the subsidiary?