Model F
My first PC keyboard was a model F. The layout is very different from a model M, and the interface is very different. I was able to find a converter to deal with the interface, so I was able to connect it to my HP xw6600 and it worked. But the layout is so different to the model M, I don't think I can use it. My fingers know where to go on a keyboard, and if a keyboard is significantly different, it really bothers me and slows me down.
That's a pity, because the feel of that keyboard is even better than the model M.
It cost me £288. It was the only keyboard you could use at the time I bought it (1983). It was a very good keyboard.
One day, the Q key stopped working. After staggering along for a while without it, the problem worsened; the W key stopped working. So I dismantled it. There were a LOT of pieces, and I found that the problem was a dead greenfly. I cleaned everything, and reassembled it, and it worked again.
And it still works. But the layout isn't close enough to a model M for me to feel happy with it. Yes, I could get used to ut, but all the other keyboards I use are model M, and I'm not going to become accustomed to three model M and one model F.
Maybe I'll use it one day.
Is it possible to remap the old keyboard https://www.linuxuprising.com/2020/12/remap-keyboard-and-mouse-buttons-on.html and then put stickers on the keys to change them, or even move the keys?
ReplyDeleteYes, that's possible, and I did remap the keys. But I've gotten used to the large ENTER key on the model M, and the extra 20-odd keys, and I'd use a model F if I had to, but constant switching between a model F and model Ms means that my fingers keep hitting the wrong keys.
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