Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mfci!ryland
From: ryland@mfci.UUCP (Chris Ryland)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Apple keyboard complaint; "Open Keyboard Foundation"
Keywords: keyboard
Message-ID: <815@m3.mfci.UUCP>
Date: 26 Apr 89 11:35:20 GMT
Reply-To: ryland@multiflow.com (Chris Ryland)
Organization: Multiflow Computer Inc., Branford Ct. 06405
Lines: 31

I have a serious complaint about the Apple ADB keyboards: they're
junk.  Any keyboard that doesn't have N-key rollover is junk.

Their tactile quality is horrific, but this is more taste than
science.

Their layouts are damaged in subtle but important ways: they're
not quite "ASCII typewriter standard" (e.g., with the "`~\|" keys
down by the space bar on the standard keyboard, or with the ESC
key out of reach on the extended keyboard).

Ok, enough whining.  What should we do about it?

Why not form an "Open Keyboard Foundation" that would pool
people's resources, and commission a Microswitch ADB keyboard?
Microswitch still makes the best keyboards in the world (Apollo
still uses them, for example, though Sun gave in long ago to
the Taiwanese urge), and having a high-quality ADB keyboard would
be a real boon to the Mac market.

I would imagine that we'd need hundreds of people to share the
NRE fees for such a keyboard, and it would still cost several
hundred dollars each.  I imagine we'd have to at least show a
large amount of interest in such a product to get MS interested
enough to consider it.

Anyone interested?  Reply to me by mail, and I'll summarize any
interest.

--Chris Ryland
  ryland@multiflow.com, ...!uunet!mfci!ryland