[Coco] CoCo4! 50% done!

[Steven Hirsch]

On Fri, 7 Feb 2014, Richard E Crislip wrote:

> On Thu, 6 Feb 2014 20:52:27 -0500 (EST)
> Steven Hirsch <snhirsch at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 6 Feb 2014, Aaron Wolfe wrote:
>>
>>>> Is PS/2 even still a thing? I haven't seen a system with it in
>>>> years...?
>>>>
>>>
>>> Yep.  Most brand new business line PCs come with PS/2 boths, as do
>>> most PC enthusiasts motherboards (just put a brand new intel i7
>>> system together with the latest asus motherboard.. PS/2 ports
>>> included).
>>
>> Great minds must think alike...  I just built a nice i7 system with
>> one of the ASUS Z87 motherboards - selected specifically because it
>> had a PS/2 port for my beloved Type M keyboard :-).  Cannot touch
>> type accurately on anything else.  And, they last forever!  My
>> fingers are currently tickling a Type M with a 12-Nov-87
>> manufacturing date.  They do not build them like they used to.

> Humm.. Ignorance on display... What is a Type M keyboard? TIA

The canonical IBM keyboard, introduced with the MicroChannel PS/2 machines 
circa-1987.  They used a (at the time) proprietary and patented buckling 
spring arrangement to give a feel similar to the Selectric typewriter.

Considered noisy and "clacky" compared to the mush-a-matic keyboards 
currently in vogue, but much easier for a touch-typist to deal with.

The manufacturing rights to the Type M went to Lexmark when they were spun 
off from IBM and eventually were bought by Unicomp, who still manufacture 
them:

http://www.pckeyboard.com/

To keep up with the times, USB versions are now available.  But since I 
have a dozen of the PS/2 interface versions on a shelf in the garage, I 
stick to computers with that input port style.

Steve


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