Re:Xerox to acquire Lexmark
by MisterTea on Monday December 23, 2024 @11:34AM
(#42495620)
It's amazing how they had a whole stamped metal frame in there to stiffen it up. Like what was the design criteria that made them think they needed all that steel? Violent cavemen users?
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They may have expected typists coming over from typewriters to hammer on it for 8 hours a day, or to give them a similar feel to ease the transition and limit complaints.
Re:Xerox to acquire Lexmark
by justsomehnguy on Monday December 23, 2024 @10:12PM
(#42499448)
This one.
You could hear a former typist from the other side of the building even on a rubber dome keyboard.
Perhaps injection molding and plastics in general weren't as advanced at the time?
Re:Xerox to acquire Lexmark
by shiroiushi on Monday December 23, 2024 @08:04PM
(#42498874)
It wasn't a "frame" really, it was just a single sheet of stamped steel in a curved shape.
The Model M wasn't nearly as impressive, or durable, as the Model F that preceded it and which was included with the IBM PC. Those keyboards had metal housings, unlike the plastic housings of the Model M.
IBM was a typewriter company and their keyboards reflected that for quite awhile - keys you could “tell” you pressed, machines that could take a beating.
Also most keyboards from the era were “similar” since the switches were somewhat of a standard. It wasn’t until the PC market took off and went nuts that cost cutting and other developments began - especially in the portable/laptop area.