I was answering this question:

>From James Fraiser:
"Can someone please tell me what kind of keyswitch mechanism the Wallstreet
has?  I imagine it's a scissor-switch-type mechanism, but from what I can
gather, it is *somehow* different from the keyswitch mechanism used on the
Pismo and the PB 1400 (two other noteworth keyboards).

Does the feel of the keyboard differ substantially from a Pismo or a 1400?"


On Mon, Sep 14, 2009 at 9:33 PM, jjv <[email protected]> wrote:

> I don't know what Wallstreet and Clams have to do with one another, but I
> believe that 1400 is thestreet # for the WH.
>
> --- On *Mon, 9/14/09, Britt Dodd <[email protected]>* wrote:
>
>
> From: Britt Dodd <[email protected]>
> Subject: Re: Wallstreet
> To: [email protected]
> Date: Monday, September 14, 2009, 4:14 PM
>
>
> The 1400 is different from both the Pismo and the Wallstreet. Wallstreet
> and the Pismo have "alike-ish" keyboards, while the 1400 has the best
> keyboard I have ever used on a laptop -- I own 14 laptops now, and have used
> many more in the past.
>
> On Mon, Sep 14, 2009 at 6:27 PM, James Fraser <
> [email protected]<http://us.mc651.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]>
> > wrote:
>
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>> --- On Mon, 9/14/09, Susan Platter 
>> <[email protected]<http://us.mc651.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]>>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > I do have a quarrel with the right-hand Shift key on this
>> > two-year-old Intel iMac, as it sticks sometimes; it's the
>> > length of the key which does not seem properly supported underneath.
>>
>> So as an old-school typist, do you prefer keyboards with a long key
>> travel?
>>
>> One of the beauties of the old manual typewriter keyboard was the long key
>> travel.  As someone who is familiar with those, and with Apple's trusty old
>> ADB keyboards, it's exasperating how short the key travel on Apple's
>> keyboards has gotten as the keyswitch mechanisms have gotten cheaper and
>> cheaper. :/
>>
>> I'm not convinced that Apple's newer keyboards are good for your hands
>> long-term, as, between the short key travel and lack of tactile feedback,
>> you end up really mashing down on the keys.  With the comparatively long key
>> travel and tactile feedback offered by the Alps keyswitch mechanism on the
>> old ADB keyboards, you didn't have to mash down on the keys.
>>
>> > Yes, I've looked at ergonomic ones generally but, as you say, they are
>> > very expensive.
>>
>> Are you familiar with the IBM Model M keyboard?  It's about as close as
>> you can hope to get to an old-school typing experience that's kind to your
>> hands.
>>
>> My Pismo supposedly has one of the better laptop keyboards, but all my
>> typing is done on it using a Model M coupled with a PS/2 to USB adapter.
>>  The catch is that the Model M's key mechanism is not quiet, and touch
>> typists can make quite a bit of racket as their hands dance across the keys.
>> :)
>>
>> But I mention this because the buckling-spring mechanism that's exclusive
>> to the Model M has found favor among old-school typists.  People who type
>> for a living like professional secretaries and medical transcriptionists
>> strongly prefer it.  And while I have plenty of ADB Apple keyboards, and
>> love them all, I have to say that they are *almost,* but not quite, as good
>> as my Model M.
>>
>> However, if you don't happen to have the luxury of an enclosed office
>> and/or a tolerant significant other, you may want to look into the
>> possibility of picking up, say, an old Apple Extended keyboard and use that
>> in conjunction with an iMate ADB-USB adapter.  The Apple Extended offers
>> better feedback than modern keyboards and, because it uses an Alps rather
>> than a buckling-spring mechansim, is much quieter.  I believe the iMate will
>> work through 10.4, but support seems to have ended with 10.5. :(
>>
>> Anyway, just an idea. [shrugs]
>>
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> James Fraser
>>
>>
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>
>
> >
>

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