6150 keyboard

From: Julius Sridhar <vance_at_ikickass.org>
Date: Sat Jan 26 02:32:47 2002

On Sat, 26 Jan 2002, Doc Shipley wrote:

> Well, I got irritated with the keyboard (ever try to use vi without
> the Escape key) and jerked it apart. Very gently.
>
> 1) I'm certain that it's re-badged OEM, not IBM-built. All the screws,
> internal and external, are Phillips.

IBM's keyboards were always built by Lexmark. Recently (a few years ago),
Lexmark spun off their keyboard operation, which was swalllowed up by
Unicomp. This keyboard was built before IBM spun off Lexmark, which means
it was built by IBM.

> 2) It's not a double membrane, it's rubber cups over a PCB, with foil
> inserts in the caps. The traces on the PCB were covered with
> unidentified goop. *Only* under the Escape key. I dunno.

The mechanism in IBM keyboards is called a "buckling spring mechanism".

> 3) It works now.
>
> 4) Thanks, Tony. Even though this one bore no resemblance to your
> instructions, sometimes *thinking* you have a clue is as good as
> the real thing.
>
> On to TCP/IP, NFS, and maybe a game or two of hangman.
> Speaking of hangman, is it just me, or is the NetBSD port of hangman
> purely evil? Come on, now. "Prolegomenous?" Seriously, I've played
> hangman on a bunch of different Unices, and the recent NetBSD hangman is
> by far the hardest I've ever seen.

Excellent!

Peace... Sridhar
Received on Sat Jan 26 2002 - 02:32:47 GMT