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I bought these two used keyboards, they are not made anymore, they belong to the Early Intel Macs era right? How are they?
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The top one is my favorite keyboard. I have a new-in-box spare in case mine breaks. It's the perfect size and super nice to type on—people talk about how great mechanical keyboards are but I like this keyboard more, the feel is perfect.
The one on top is Early Intel era. I have two of those.
The one on the bottom is PowerPC era, specifically iMac G5 style. They might have come with the iMac G4s too, IDK. They were shipped with the PowerMac G5 though.
I hate them. They collect every last crumb and detritus that may come around your computer.
The one on the top is from 2007. It came with the alu iMacs IIRC.
The one on the bottom (A1048) is from 2003. I concur with @eyoungren on these being a great “DNA collector”. I find them to be great keyboards, too. Great to type on. Lots of travel. But they need regular cleaning.
The one on the bottom (A1048) is from 2003. I concur with @eyoungren on these being a great “DNA collector”. I find them to be great keyboards, too. Great to type on. Lots of travel. But they need regular cleaning.
They were also shipped with the early polycarbonate iMacs. I have a bluetooth version of this keyboard and I totally agree, these are real crumb trays.
And even though I've used one for years, I just can't say I like typing on it. It's just so mushy. The top one and its relatives are much better to type on as the keys don't need to travel as far to reach the membrane.
I had one of these at my old job. When I left there it was still working. I might have it in my garage, IDK. But it's the only one of this type I cared for. That's because over 13 years at that job my fingernails managed to scratch out grooves in the CMD key, the 'A' key, the 'S' key and the spacebar. There was also a dent in the CMD key because my thumb was always pressing on it. So, based on the tactile feeling, I knew which keys I was pressing.
I agree with the above post with regards to the usability of the A1048, I find it to be simply too mushy. It's too bad they never made an AA-powered version of the A1314 with a numeric pad, that would be my main keyboard for Mac. I still do use some A1048s just because they have functional eject and volume keys with older OS X versions, and for certain programs that require the keys that are missing from the A1314.
My favorite keyboards all date from the 90s, but I hate having to use adapters that are often flaky. Haven't found a USB native keyboard that I like as much as my PS/2 and serial ones.
My favorite keyboards all date from the 90s, but I hate having to use adapters that are often flaky. Haven't found a USB native keyboard that I like as much as my PS/2 and serial ones.
Apple Magic Keyboard?
It's got what the smaller version has plus the number pad. I've wanted one of those for a while, it's just that even on eBay they run north of $80.
I would love to go for one of those, but I believe the function key mappings don't work in older versions of OS X than El Capitan. That and I'm not sure how easy it is to replace the internal battery in them going forward. I may pick one up for my M1 mini eventually and see how it is.
My experience as well. Terrible for typing on. Still, it’s a neat design and fun to have on the shelf.
I still use one with my M1 Mac mini. Never found it very mushy. In fact, it feels remarkable close to my nice mechanical keyboard with tactile Alps switches (just with a softer bump). But it binds like crazy when not in use for a few days, which is the main issue in my opinion.
I have the top one. Spilled coffee in it in 2010, but was able to wash it out and it was fine.
Just recently it stopped turning on, even with good batteries. Does anyone know if there is a reset procedure on these?
Just recently it stopped turning on, even with good batteries. Does anyone know if there is a reset procedure on these?
The bottom keyboard is basically indiscrutable and will last for ever. I have a older model from 2002 and still going well (typing on it now), couple of keys get stuck now and then. And yes agree collect all kinds of junk!
Anything which is not an extended keyboard in my book is junk.
Anything which is not an extended keyboard in my book is junk.
Pretty sure I still have one like the bottom keyboard in a box of junk somewhere. I would have guessed that it came with one of my PowerMac G4's (still have a dead grey one in the attic), but it might have been the G5. I liked that keyboard fine at the time, not sure that I'd be happy with it today.
Found a wikipedia page with info on these and other keyboards here.
en.wikipedia.org
The Apple Extended Keyboard II was my favorite for many years.
Found a wikipedia page with info on these and other keyboards here.
Apple keyboards - Wikipedia
The Apple Extended Keyboard II was my favorite for many years.
I had one that the batteries leaked so badly that it burned a hole through the case and the batteries are permanently fused to the case. I pulled out the logic board which was unharmed. You might have luck replacing the logic board if you are handy with repairs.
I got one of these years ago that was like that. Batteries had fused with the tube, though with a flathead and a hammer I made them come out. Obviously the keyboard did not survive that, but I didn't care to salvage anything but the keycaps anyway.
Haha just joining in on the love for top one A1314. Typing on it right now, my go to keyboard for the iPad
The top one had two revisions, one that took 3 AA batteries and a later one that only uses 2 AA batteries. I seem to recall it was a little finicky to get re-paired to a Mac when it lost connection, so I was very happy when they introduced the models with lightning ports that just needed to be plugged in once to establish a pairing. That aside, it was a huge improvement over the previous Apple keyboards.
There's a matching Magic Trackpad to go with it. It's smaller than the current model but just as comfy to use.
There's a matching Magic Trackpad to go with it. It's smaller than the current model but just as comfy to use.
A1314 is a great form factor but to me the angle is an ergonomic non-starter. I used to prop something on the bottom so it would at least lie flat, but then I got tired of fighting an ergonomic nightmare and got an ms sculpt which is roughly same form factor but more kind on your hands.
MT1 trackpad too, it's good in principle but the direction of slant is just wrong. I even tried using it upside down for a bit (which you can actually do, either via some default on older osx or private api on newer osx), but then you lose physical click, which makes drags really annoying. This would be solved by using newer trackpad which is force-touch based and can be propped however you want.
MT1 trackpad too, it's good in principle but the direction of slant is just wrong. I even tried using it upside down for a bit (which you can actually do, either via some default on older osx or private api on newer osx), but then you lose physical click, which makes drags really annoying. This would be solved by using newer trackpad which is force-touch based and can be propped however you want.