I have a load of ADB keyboards and only 2 Apple USB 'boards. One has a dead row of keys. Anyone have experience?
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Does anyone use an ADB to USB adapter?
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I have a Griffin iMate on the computer from which I'm typing this, connected to an ADBII Mouse.
I was using an AEKII for a while, but had too many ADB-only computers that I needed the ADB keyboards for.
They work fine as long as you are only using a keyboard and/or mouse...any other ADB peripherals are hit or miss.
I was using an AEKII for a while, but had too many ADB-only computers that I needed the ADB keyboards for.
They work fine as long as you are only using a keyboard and/or mouse...any other ADB peripherals are hit or miss.
Forget aesthetics...I'm guessing you have never used an Extended or Extended II keyboard. You'd probably change your tune if you did very much typing(I do) and had used one of these.
Along those same lines, I consider the ADBII mouse to be the most ergonomic mouse Apple has ever made, although it's fairly limited in features and(of course) is a ball mouse.
If you are referring to the rounded mouse then i 100% agree with you! My Beige G3 has that mouse and yes it is not a pretty mouse and neither is the yellowing keyboard but there is something about it that just seems soo comfortable. It just seems to fit right into my hand. Thats one of the reasons i want to keep the Beige G3 alive. I love the keyboard and mouse, For its comfort not its display design. The Design in display id say the winner for that is the classic hockey puck mouse. i have an orange one. Looks nice.
I think that Apple only made two ADB mice. The original came out in 1986 and was "blocky" with a sort of pentagonal cross section. These actually aren't uncomfortable to use, but the design is definitely dated.
The ADBII mouse came out in the early 90s, and had the "tear drop" shape that a LOT of companies copied(the current Mighty Mouse and the Pro Mouse of a few years back were similar in design and size, but more of a perfect oval than the ADBII). The ADBII is near ergonomic perfection, IMO, and is also the ideal size. The downside, of course, is that you are stuck with one button. That was back in the day when Apple actually put reasonable length cords on their mice, too
I think these had about 3 feet of cord-perfect to plug into the keyboard and have have plenty of working room, but also not too short as modern Apple mice, or too long like most PC mice. The "hockey puck" mouse was a big step downhill, although I do have one kicking around here and am currently using it with the B&W that I'm souping up. I know that this is a controversial item, but I just can't get used to it.
I bought one of these recently to use with my OW Powerbooks because it looked ergonomic, although limited in functionality. It felt flat. Too flat for me. I don't think anything is going to top the Microsoft mouse of that era for just getting everything right except for lefties. Pity MS never made a Mac ADB version.
I can also recommend the Griffin iMate. I used one for years with a Keytronic MacPro Plus keyboard (ADB), which I purchased in the early 90's, and an Apple ADB II mouse. My wife uses the iMate now with the same keyboard and mouse on a hackintosh I built for her running Mountain Lion. The iMate still works great.
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Just picked one up on eBay, most seem to have very high prices but I managed to find a seller offering new units for $25 shipped.
I like the older keyboards better than the new ones. It's probably because I learned to type on a manual typewriter, and need to feel the resistance and slight travel of the individual keys to type well. I don't like the chicklet style boards at all.
$25 seems like a good price to me. You should get allot of use out of it.
$25 seems like a good price to me. You should get allot of use out of it.
I have that exact keyboard and mouse pairing for my 6100/66, and I love it!
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Btw, I love that Hackintosh that you made... What did you use for the internals?
Nice! I have an SE that I would consider modernizing. Did you document your build?
zotac 9300 motherboard
Core 2 quad 2.4
4gb ram
Geforce 9300 (overclocked to 9400 speeds)
Apple airport extreme via pcie adapter
64gb SSD
320gb HDD
1024x768 8" LCD
It works really well. I built it to replace my ageing mac mini as a media centre, but the mrs doesn't want it sitting under the TV :-( .
Sorry, I didn't. There was a lot of trial and error getting things lined up at the back and the power button at the side, that was the hardest part.
Like most keyboards from that era those are mechanical that in itself in my mind makes it worth the few bucks to convert to usb.
When talking about Apple keyboards, I wouldn't say "most."
The main ones are the Apple Extended Keyboard and the Apple Extended Keyboard II . These use Alps key switches(they are not buckling spring like the venerable IBM Model M). There are some variations in them-some have dampening at the end of the keystroke and don't "click" like a Model M, while others do. All that I've used, though, have a very nice feel.
The Appledesign Keyboard is a membrane keyboard, and a really bad one at that. I'm not sure what technology the Apple Keyboard and Apple Keyboard II use, but I'm pretty sure they're not mechanical. The AKII, though, is a nice, compact but fully featured keyboard.
Of course, if you're stuck on Buckling Springs, Unicomp up the road here in Lexington(in the old Lexmark/IBM factory) still makes the Model M. They even have a USB variant with Apple keycaps.
I looked into this. The Arduino board would cost as much as the going rate for an iMate. I suppose it is an excuse to devour some more Altoids, though.
If someone could either make or post a guide on how to do this, I would probably give it a shot, because I would love to use my Apple Keyboard II with my MBP or G5.
Typing this now with an Apple Extended Keyboard II. Picked up a Griffin iMate for only $2.99
If only the thing wasn't so big, otherwise I might use it to replace my aluminum Apple Wireless Keyboard on my iMac. It sure is nice to type on.