Post 839205 by _emacsomancer@linuxrocks.online
 (DIR) More posts by _emacsomancer@linuxrocks.online
 (DIR) Post #839089 by thomasfuchs@mastodon.social
       2018-10-29T15:17:17Z
       
       0 likes, 2 repeats
       
       Weird dichotomy: many old keyboards are fucking amazing and way better than anything you can buy now, but all old computer mouses are shit
       
 (DIR) Post #839107 by thomasfuchs@mastodon.social
       2018-10-29T15:18:13Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       (This is a 122-key IBM Model M from 1992. The Model F, which is older, is even better, but extremely expensive these days.)
       
 (DIR) Post #839127 by Saxxon@yiff.life
       2018-10-29T15:19:55Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @thomasfuchs For real. I went through a few old mouses and just couldn't stand them.I went scouting for an optical PS/2 mouse for use on the retro box. They can be had amazingly cheap on auction sites, and are surprisingly good! (At least, if you look beyond the polling rate when compared to USB.)
       
 (DIR) Post #839205 by _emacsomancer@linuxrocks.online
       2018-10-29T15:24:56Z
       
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       @thomasfuchs And so the balance of the universe is maintained.
       
 (DIR) Post #839612 by bhtooefr@mastodon.social
       2018-10-29T15:55:39Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @thomasfuchs That's because computer keyboards were largely a mature technology by the mid 1970s or so, and much of the technological advancements since then were cost-optimization instead of improvement to the product. (Even the Model F was a cost-reduced attempt at the beam spring effect.)Computer mice, OTOH, had their maturation in the mid to late 1990s - the IntelliMouse in 1996 adding the scroll wheel, and the IntelliMouse Explorer in 1999 adding surface-independent optical sensing.
       
 (DIR) Post #839727 by thomasfuchs@mastodon.social
       2018-10-29T16:06:32Z
       
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       @Saxxon fwiw My favorite mouse for older PS/2 compatible systems is the Microsoft wheel mouse optical.
       
 (DIR) Post #839740 by MorningSong@witchcraft.cafe
       2018-10-29T16:08:08Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @thomasfuchs Thiiiiiiiis. I tried an original ps2 mouse around the time I switched back to using a model m and it was awful
       
 (DIR) Post #839852 by craigmaloney@octodon.social
       2018-10-29T16:22:06Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @thomasfuchs The only optical mice were on workstations, so they all either used the mouse ball (which was a weird mechanical / optical hybrid) or were the early stages of optical mice.
       
 (DIR) Post #839873 by thomasfuchs@mastodon.social
       2018-10-29T16:12:13Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @Saxxon that one also works ok with 80s/90s classic gray and off-white color scheme
       
 (DIR) Post #839874 by heurekus@mastodon.social
       2018-10-29T16:23:05Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @thomasfuchs never noticed, but I would agree! :)
       
 (DIR) Post #840005 by vfrmedia@social.tchncs.de
       2018-10-29T16:25:04Z
       
       0 likes, 1 repeats
       
       @craigmaloney @thomasfuchs I remember in early 1990s some optical mice which needed a grid pattern on the mousemat or they wouldn't work reliably (or at all)...
       
 (DIR) Post #840011 by pandora_parrot@beach.city
       2018-10-29T16:34:42Z
       
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       @thomasfuchs @troodon huh. True.
       
 (DIR) Post #840021 by veer66@toot.veer66.rocks
       2018-10-29T16:35:17.293509Z
       
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       @vfrmedia @thomasfuchs @craigmaloney I still used them until early 2000s. AFAIK they came with Sparc Stations.
       
 (DIR) Post #840040 by ky0ko@cybre.space
       2018-10-29T16:36:59Z
       
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       @thomasfuchs you can still get good keyboards nowadaysyou just gotta spend a lot of money, and/or make them yourself
       
 (DIR) Post #840135 by thomasfuchs@mastodon.social
       2018-10-29T16:44:32Z
       
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       @ky0ko Modern keyboard switches available don't have the quality of a beamspring or hall effect switch. Let alone the chassis and keycaps. (The IBM keyboard I use here weighs ~7 lbs and it's one of the lighter ones).
       
 (DIR) Post #840157 by thomasfuchs@mastodon.social
       2018-10-29T16:45:58Z
       
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       @ky0ko The only downside of older keyboards: they're incompatible with other people in the room because they're so loud. :)
       
 (DIR) Post #850014 by craigmaloney@octodon.social
       2018-10-29T16:41:22Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @veer66 @vfrmedia @thomasfuchs Yep. I have several versions of Sun Mouse (the MouseSystems one with the two holes for vertical / horizontal) and the one with just the reflective grid.