

Rare IBM M15 split ergonomic keyboard hits eBay, bids pass $1600 - ukdm
http://www.geek.com/articles/chips/ibm-m15-split-ergonomic-keyboard-hits-ebay-bidding-war-2010101/

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arohner
New startup idea: manufacture ergonomic, mechanical split keyboards for less
than $200.

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jrockway
Well, non-split mechanical keyboards are more than that. I paid $240 for my
HHKB and $250 for my Realforce 87U. Both phenomenal keyboards, though.

The uTRON is what I consider the ideal keyboard, and it does exist:
<http://www.plundertech.com/utron-keyboard/>

Topre switches are my favorite, and I love how it puts more load on your
pointer fingers instead of on your pinkies. I'm definitely going to pick one
up soon, but it will require a trip to Japan.

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alinajaf
NSFW!

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jrockway
Does look to be a shady site, but that's what adblock is for. It's the only
place I could find high-res pictures of the keyboard.

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wayneyeager
What a small world. My wife was project manager on this keyboard at
IBM/Lexmark in Lexington, Ky.

I just showed her the article and she said she must have thrown away over 100
prototypes!

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technomancy
Droooooool.

Does the knob in the middle come off though? Because if you can't position
each half independently that seriously kills the appeal of this vs a Kinesis
Freestyle.

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mudiarto
I used to have one like that, and I threw it away :( ...

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michaelhalligan
This is why geeks will never rule the world.

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lsc
If anything, I think this is a sign that geeks are gaining power. I mean, old
cars, golf clubs, pens, and other obsolete stuff that business people like can
be collectable and worth a lot of money. Old computers being worth a lot of
money would indicate that nerds also have a bunch of surplus wealth that can
be spent on nostalgia.

(of course, this assumes that it is being bought out of nostalgia. I can
imagine situations where it would make sense to spend $1500 for a keyboard for
it's utilitarian value, if the keyboard really was that much better for me
than other alternatives. If that is the case, it really makes no statement
about the rise or fall of the nerds, though it would say something sad about
the current state of user interface hardware.)

