
GENUI Acquires Mechanical Keyboard Switch Maker CHERRY - hrez
http://www.legitreviews.com/genui-acquires-mechanical-keyboard-switch-maker-cherry_187114
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oliwarner
"Hooray, somebody has acquired the company that makes a product that I already
considered perfect" \-- Nobody, ever.

I've only every bought one Cherry keyboard. 15 years ago, used daily still. I
think that's their main failing as a business. They're too good.

I just hope their new owners don't try to fix this.

~~~
alexeiz
The demand for mechanical keyboards and switches is as high as ever. Countless
Cherry MX clones are flooding the market. Cherry just can't keep up with the
quality and the lower cost of clones. They could only be profitable while
holding the patent for their switches. When the patent expired it was the
beginning of the end for them.

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pcunite
Typing this response using a Filco Majestouch tenkeyless keyboard ... with
"black" cherry switches.

Keep it real ...

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bad_alloc
This is wierd, ZF primarily builds gearboxes and car parts. What can they do
with a keyboard company?

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notatoad
Cherry is hardly a keyboard company, they make industrial switches, sensors,
and control systems. mechanical keyboard switches are just one product.

~~~
adrianratnapala
They also make lots of terrible, bog-standard, 20 EUR rubber-dome keyboards
too -- but maybe those are not seen outside of Germany.

~~~
makomk
I've got the UK version of one of their bog-standard rubber dome keyboards and
it's decent enough, for a rubber dome keyboard anyway. Think it cost less than
the equivalent of 10 EUR too.

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mrmondo
Very long time cherry appreciator, I hope their staff and products are well
looked after by the new owners.

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neves
Long life to Cherry. The world need more Mechanical Keyboards!

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DiabloD3
Welp, I'll have to find someone else to source my switches from, so hard to
find good mechanical switches.

Cherry MX Reds for life.

~~~
ocdtrekkie
Given that the company they just bought is the _industry standard_ for this
part, I'm sure they intend to keep making them. Doesn't make sense to cancel a
star product.

~~~
DiabloD3
Not cancel, but usually when someone gets bought, the product quality tanks.

~~~
ocdtrekkie
That's highly dependent on the type of acquisition. What the new owners want
from the purchase makes all the difference. In the case of Google and many
Silicon Valley companies, you see "acqui-hires", where they buy the company
just as a way of hiring staff. Those, for example, almost always kill the
original product entirely. Sometimes it is just a "if we cut quality, we can
raise profits on this little investment we just bought into". But often it's
to take advantage of mutual strengths to grow product lines in ways they
couldn't before.

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krylon
I am not a big fan of Cherry keyboards in terms of typing experience - on
those I have used, I had to push the keys pretty hard, and there was little
tactile or acoustic feedback. It feels like dipping my fingers into cold
honey.

On the other hand, those things pretty much last forever, I have two of 'em
still sitting on my shelf that must be 16 to 18 years old, and they worked
perfectly the last time I used them. They are still PS/2, so I can no longer
attach them to any of my machines, but something inside me refuses to throw
away gear that still works.

~~~
traverseda
That seems... weird.

What are you comparing them to in terms of feedback? Was it some bizarre
switch like the cherry MX red?

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tinco
No, he's using Cherry keyboards from the 90's of early 2000's. Those are
membrane so regular mushy keyboards.

Cherry is famous for the mechanical keys it produces but it still caught the
membrane wave so it could be relevant in the 90s.

~~~
krylon
Back then, Cherry sold "noiseless" keyboard that did not click (at least not
very loudly) when typing on them. I have no idea if those were mechanical of
not, but I did not like the way they felt (but like I said, they were
extremely reliable).

So I guess the more expensive Cherry keyboards are closer to, say, a Model M.
Good to know, I will keep that in mind when shopping for a keyboard the next
time.

~~~
michaelcampbell
There are lots of refurb Model M's around if you want one. Or if you want a
'new' one, you can get Unicomps (pckeyboard.com) that uses the same buckling
spring tech.

~~~
krylon
I used to own a Model M. Must have been twenty years old, but it still was in
great condition. Then I gave it to my parenty, hoping that such an old school
keyboard would make them feel more at home when using the PC.

Turned out they never used the damn thing and then - I hope you are sitting
down! - threw it out. They're my parents, and I love them dearly. But that
made me kind of sad.

