> And here’s the most modern version of a practice keyboard I know of – itself a small computer.
The author should check out the AlphaSmart line of devices made into the early 2000s, especially the early pre-PalmOS devices! I was kind of surprised not to see any on the list.
My Neo2 is basically a very simple buffer you can type into and dump into a computer later. It transmits to computer by emulating a USB keyboard and dumping the contents keystroke by keystroke into whatever program you happen to have running.
In addition though it has a very simple typing tutor. There's not much to it, it's no true Mavis Beacon alternative but it's a fun little addition to such a simple device.
I actually work with a number of former AlphaSmart employees, which is funny because I bought my Neo2 as a writing aid before I knew any of this. I was telling a coworker about it and he replies "You know I worked on that, right?" No, I did not. Small world.
Very fun to peruse! Curious why the olivetti typewriter has such strangely shaped key caps.
While it seems like OLPC didn't really achieve the full vision of the project, I have some anecdata of success - my coworker got an OLPC when young (otherwise without access to computers), learned to code on it, and is now an awesome programmer.
At the end is the OLPC, whose keyboard was as bad as as it looks. Like typing on a Silpat. Yet I used the hell out of it, would take it hiking even - it was indestructible. Mine's logo was green and purple and I miss it every day
Excellent and super interesting collection! I have the NeXT keyboard, and I used it as my daily driver on my Mac for a while. It has a regular ADB port, so depending on the vintage of your Mac, you can use it directly or with an iMate USB adapter. Once you get used to the convenience of the Command bar, it's really hard to go back to regular ⌘ keys. Weird how this didn't catch on. The lack of function keys is a big minus, though.
And I always wanted an Avid keyboard just because it looks cool (the Extended Keyboard II version, though), but they were always rare and/or expensive.
The Xbox 360 keyboard attachment was underrated in its time. It had almost no impact on use for gameplay, but was a vast improvement to using the d-pad to navigate an on-screen keyboard when typing messages.
Of course I'm going to focus in on the one thing I was involved with. The Nintendo PowerGlove should be compared with devices of its class from its own time rather than modern cherry key keyboards. Yes.. the membrane keyboard was bad when compared to a modern keyboard. But you know what else it was? Affordable. The whole power-glove cost only slightly more (in 2025 dollars) than the last keyboard I bought. And it hooks up to a NES and lets you point at stuff using your hand.
I love my keychron, but last I checked I could not use it to point at virtual squash balls on my TV.
Which is to say, if the only comment you can come up with about the PowerGlove is "This keypad... is so bad," then you seriously missed the point.
[ And while I'm here and b*ching about things... how does the Olivetti Praxis 48 use the same palette as the NeXT ADB Keyboard? ]
[ And I can't stop... Yes, the Canon Cat keyboard is awesome. But it's somewhat weird to use as you don't have arrow keys, just creep/leap forward/backwards. It takes a little getting used to and the keys themselves don't have the best feel. I've been thinking about replacing the key mechanisms with something modern. ]
Microsoft sold their Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard design to Incase and it has been "coming soon" for 3+ years. I don't look forward to finding an alternative.
I have a copy from the kickstarter, it's the best and most expensive ($175) thing I've ever gone in on crowdfunding for.
Absolutely beautiful books. Great photography, they even worked up their own typefaces and do fun typographic things all over the place. Well written and deeply _deeply_ researched.
I have very few complaints, maybe the section on chorders is a little thinner than I'd like, but that's a pet interest of mine and I've chased down a bunch of material so my perspective is weird.
From the kickstarter updates, the original run were an ordeal to make, but I really do hope there is enough interest for a second printing at some point.
I see news about those, mostly from friends doing recreational things with FPGAs.
I guess also relevant since they've managed to crowdfund three (substantially upgraded from generation to generation) runs of them.
It's a lovely little machine, and since November there is also a "core" you can load into the FPGA which turns it into a (heavily upgraded) Sinclair QL.
This makes it one of the more affordable ways to get new QL-compatible hardware, 40 years after the machine launched. It has lots of RAM, 16-bit colour graphics, sound, and more. It runs Aurora, one of the 2 FOSS forks of the QL OS.
Work is underway on enhancing the core further, possibly to a 68030 with 16MB of RAM and true-colour graphics (if I remember rightly!) and to improve integration of the upgraded capabilities with the OS and SuperBASIC.
There is some hope it might be able to run SMSQ/E, the other FOSS fork of the original QDOS OS, and that comes with a choice of desktop GUIs.
It's a deeply idiosyncratic OS (never mind predating Windows, it predates the Apple Macintosh) and I have not yet learned to drive it, but I like the idea that my 21st century Spectrum is now also a rather capable full-16-bit machine with a multitasking OS.
The QL is largely forgotten now except by enthusiasts, but it was arguably the first multitasking home/small-business microcomputer, and there is new QL-compatible hardware still on sale: the Q68 machine, also based on an FPGA.
Neither Aurora nor SMSQ/E is seeing much development now, sadly, but then I believe they're in hand-written 680x0 assembly language, and they only run on a handful of long-obsolete hardware, basically QL clones and the Atari ST.
It's an interesting OS and I wish it had been more successful. I also wish that SuperBASIC had been ported to other OSes, since the source is available. I think I'd quite like SuperBASIC for Linux.
Number 17: The Atari 2600 keyboard... It came with a BASIC cartridge and the keyboard was to be plugged in the joystick port: that's how I wrote my first BASIC programs.
It was extremely limited (and needless to say my parents thankfully realized I needed something a bit more powerful so I then got an Atari 600 XL) but that's how it all started for me!
I don't know if there's anyone else on HN who actually used that Atari 2600 BASIC cartridge+keyboard as a kid?
P.S: I can't compete with such a collection... My rarest keyboard is a Cherry MX-5000 (it's a split keyboard) and second rarest is a venerable IBM Model M, but in "industrial" livery (olive grey instead of beige).
> And here’s the most modern version of a practice keyboard I know of – itself a small computer.
The author should check out the AlphaSmart line of devices made into the early 2000s, especially the early pre-PalmOS devices! I was kind of surprised not to see any on the list.
My Neo2 is basically a very simple buffer you can type into and dump into a computer later. It transmits to computer by emulating a USB keyboard and dumping the contents keystroke by keystroke into whatever program you happen to have running.
In addition though it has a very simple typing tutor. There's not much to it, it's no true Mavis Beacon alternative but it's a fun little addition to such a simple device.
I actually work with a number of former AlphaSmart employees, which is funny because I bought my Neo2 as a writing aid before I knew any of this. I was telling a coworker about it and he replies "You know I worked on that, right?" No, I did not. Small world.
I remember writing essays on an AlphaSmart for various assorted classes, that was probably my first experience with a computer.
I've had an AlphaSmart 3000 apart and it's nice to see some personality expressed on the silkscreen.
And a fun easter egg if you type 1 + 1 in the calculator.
He had a photo of one in Shift, page 899.
Very fun to peruse! Curious why the olivetti typewriter has such strangely shaped key caps.
While it seems like OLPC didn't really achieve the full vision of the project, I have some anecdata of success - my coworker got an OLPC when young (otherwise without access to computers), learned to code on it, and is now an awesome programmer.
What a lovely collection
At the end is the OLPC, whose keyboard was as bad as as it looks. Like typing on a Silpat. Yet I used the hell out of it, would take it hiking even - it was indestructible. Mine's logo was green and purple and I miss it every day
Excellent and super interesting collection! I have the NeXT keyboard, and I used it as my daily driver on my Mac for a while. It has a regular ADB port, so depending on the vintage of your Mac, you can use it directly or with an iMate USB adapter. Once you get used to the convenience of the Command bar, it's really hard to go back to regular ⌘ keys. Weird how this didn't catch on. The lack of function keys is a big minus, though.
And I always wanted an Avid keyboard just because it looks cool (the Extended Keyboard II version, though), but they were always rare and/or expensive.
Missing, notably:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-cadet_keyboard
Oh, wow, its arrow keys were GHJK instead of HJKL (and a different order).
The Xbox 360 keyboard attachment was underrated in its time. It had almost no impact on use for gameplay, but was a vast improvement to using the d-pad to navigate an on-screen keyboard when typing messages.
I still have mine, unfortunately basically nothing supports it at this point
I type day to day on an Apple Extended Keyboard II, which is great, but I would very much like to find one of the NeXT keyboards…
If you're curious about more rare keyboards, HaaTa has a pretty unbelievable collection.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/triplehaata/collections/721576...
Number 23 says it's a Bulgarian keyboard but the linked article states that's in fact Ukranian.
TIL about the SafeType keyboard. Wild.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergonomic_keyboard#/media/File...
Of course I'm going to focus in on the one thing I was involved with. The Nintendo PowerGlove should be compared with devices of its class from its own time rather than modern cherry key keyboards. Yes.. the membrane keyboard was bad when compared to a modern keyboard. But you know what else it was? Affordable. The whole power-glove cost only slightly more (in 2025 dollars) than the last keyboard I bought. And it hooks up to a NES and lets you point at stuff using your hand.
I love my keychron, but last I checked I could not use it to point at virtual squash balls on my TV.
Which is to say, if the only comment you can come up with about the PowerGlove is "This keypad... is so bad," then you seriously missed the point.
[ And while I'm here and b*ching about things... how does the Olivetti Praxis 48 use the same palette as the NeXT ADB Keyboard? ]
[ And I can't stop... Yes, the Canon Cat keyboard is awesome. But it's somewhat weird to use as you don't have arrow keys, just creep/leap forward/backwards. It takes a little getting used to and the keys themselves don't have the best feel. I've been thinking about replacing the key mechanisms with something modern. ]
Microsoft sold their Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard design to Incase and it has been "coming soon" for 3+ years. I don't look forward to finding an alternative.
https://kinesis-ergo.com/keyboards/mwave/
What about the kinesis mWave? Are there significant differences?
I envy people that collect things. It seems like a fun hobby. Wish I was that passionate about something.
You can collect a list of other peoples 'collections which you can pretend to be passionate about.
That safe type keyboard literally made me wonder for a while. And then I read that there are mirrors. Crazy!
I kinda get the idea of that keyboard, but the placement of the central keypad looks super inconvenient.
Fun piece, I'm still curious about a real COLEMAK keyboard.
I've seen a working linotype machine in action. It's a monster.
It’s a shame the book doesn’t seem to be available.
I have a copy from the kickstarter, it's the best and most expensive ($175) thing I've ever gone in on crowdfunding for.
Absolutely beautiful books. Great photography, they even worked up their own typefaces and do fun typographic things all over the place. Well written and deeply _deeply_ researched.
I have very few complaints, maybe the section on chorders is a little thinner than I'd like, but that's a pet interest of mine and I've chased down a bunch of material so my perspective is weird.
From the kickstarter updates, the original run were an ordeal to make, but I really do hope there is enough interest for a second printing at some point.
> I have a copy from the kickstarter
Me too. But it cost half as much as my ZX Spectrum Next...
I see news about those, mostly from friends doing recreational things with FPGAs. I guess also relevant since they've managed to crowdfund three (substantially upgraded from generation to generation) runs of them.
It's a lovely little machine, and since November there is also a "core" you can load into the FPGA which turns it into a (heavily upgraded) Sinclair QL.
This makes it one of the more affordable ways to get new QL-compatible hardware, 40 years after the machine launched. It has lots of RAM, 16-bit colour graphics, sound, and more. It runs Aurora, one of the 2 FOSS forks of the QL OS.
Work is underway on enhancing the core further, possibly to a 68030 with 16MB of RAM and true-colour graphics (if I remember rightly!) and to improve integration of the upgraded capabilities with the OS and SuperBASIC.
There is some hope it might be able to run SMSQ/E, the other FOSS fork of the original QDOS OS, and that comes with a choice of desktop GUIs.
It's a deeply idiosyncratic OS (never mind predating Windows, it predates the Apple Macintosh) and I have not yet learned to drive it, but I like the idea that my 21st century Spectrum is now also a rather capable full-16-bit machine with a multitasking OS.
The QL is largely forgotten now except by enthusiasts, but it was arguably the first multitasking home/small-business microcomputer, and there is new QL-compatible hardware still on sale: the Q68 machine, also based on an FPGA.
https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/16/ql_legacy_at_40/
Neither Aurora nor SMSQ/E is seeing much development now, sadly, but then I believe they're in hand-written 680x0 assembly language, and they only run on a handful of long-obsolete hardware, basically QL clones and the Atari ST.
It's an interesting OS and I wish it had been more successful. I also wish that SuperBASIC had been ported to other OSes, since the source is available. I think I'd quite like SuperBASIC for Linux.
Agreed, this is the first I've heard of it and I would love that set! I hope they do another printing some day.
What, no Zaurus?
I wish split keyboards were the norm
Number 17: The Atari 2600 keyboard... It came with a BASIC cartridge and the keyboard was to be plugged in the joystick port: that's how I wrote my first BASIC programs.
It was extremely limited (and needless to say my parents thankfully realized I needed something a bit more powerful so I then got an Atari 600 XL) but that's how it all started for me!
I don't know if there's anyone else on HN who actually used that Atari 2600 BASIC cartridge+keyboard as a kid?
P.S: I can't compete with such a collection... My rarest keyboard is a Cherry MX-5000 (it's a split keyboard) and second rarest is a venerable IBM Model M, but in "industrial" livery (olive grey instead of beige).