And this was continuing the practise of Apple's previous Apple Desktop Bus keyboards (like the beloved M0116 http://deskthority.net/wiki/Apple_Standard_Keyboard ) which had ADB ports on both sides, mainly so that you could daisy-chain the mouse onto the keyboard. It's really dismal that this hasn't become standard on USB keyboards.
> The extended AT layout one always seemed to be more beloved
Perhaps: M0115 vs. M0116 is probably the quintessential AT vs. compact layout conflict, though, so I'm sure there were plenty of supporters on either side. I also assume that the compact M0116 actually sold significantly more, as I've almost never seen an extended keyboard used with a non-modular Mac like the SE or Classic. The M0115 was consciously part of the Macintosh II revolution (or counter-revolution?): SJ was famously among the people who presumably preferred the M0116 http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/841771 .