29 Jul
2013
29 Jul
'13
2:09 p.m.
On Mon, 29 Jul 2013, Geoffrey Oltmans wrote:
All of the other examples so far I think (with the
exception of the QL and
Apple IIc) are not quite as bad as the ST from the standpoint that they
don't really LOOK like "real" keyboards, whereas the ST's does, and
therefore you are even more disappointed with how bad it is.
Although I will admit that I think the ZX-80/1 is probably the worst. The
PCjr's original chicklet keyboard is pretty bad, though I think not as bad
as the press it received back in the day. I would probably be really irate
about it if I had just plonked down $1300 for a PCjr though.
Ah, but how do you feel about the REPLACEMENT keyboards that RS (coco),
IBM (Jr), and maybe even Commodore (Pet) replaced the Chiclets with?
(mine were replcaced FREE by RS and IBM!)
Answer CAREFULLY. How much is riding on the SHAPE of the keys, and how
much on the underlying mechanism/feel?
When IBM was planning the Jr, they asked [focus groups] what they wanted.
People said that they wanted a "home" version of the PC, at half the
price. They EXPLICITLY said that they WOULD be willing to cut corners on
the keyboard!, be limited to single drive, less RAM, etc. But, when the
Jr. came out, IBM found out that there is a gap between what is asked for
and what is demanded. The purchasers bought the half-price Junior, and
then were irate that they were unable to expand it all of the way to the
equivalent of their office PC.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com