Omnikey ultra keyboard6/3/2023 ![]() ![]() It's my nature to fixate on something obscure like this and research it to death for several weeks. It’s been joked that Northgate went out of business because when people bought one of their keyboards they were so solidly built people never needed to buy another one! I've disassembled it and cleaned out as much of the crud underneath as I've been able to get at with a Q-tip and compressed air, but I'd rather have someone who knows what he's doing look at it. ![]() I believe they both use the buckling spring system which give the characteristic clickety-clack keyboard sound. My Omnikey Ultra needs an overhaul it's been in continuous daily use for nearly 28 years and some of the keys aren't clicking anymore. The two series of keyboards most sought after seem to be the IBM Model M and the Northgate Omnikey. It seems with the commoditisation of personal computers, keyboards gradually became the victims of cost cutting measures which resulted in cheaper materials being used, membranes instead of dedicated mechanical components and generally crappier and flimsier designs. Looking into this further I’ve found out there’s an entire cottage industry online for the maintenance and reselling of second hand, early generation keyboards people literally swear by their timeless designs. Despite having numerous new machines over the years, he still uses his original Northgate Omnikey 102 he purchased in the 1980s because he claims it’s more solidly built and gives superior tactile and audible feedback compared to the cheap, disposable keyboards most of us now use. For better or worse (I’ve heard plenty of convincing arguments from both sides) I’ve resigned myself to the fact most of my thoughts in life will be expressed by being funnelled from my brain, through my nervous system to the muscles in my fingers where they’ll twitch and spasm in predictable ways with the resulting actions being directed at some form of computer keyboard.Īfter listening to some more recent episodes of Security Now where Steve Gibson has talked at great length about his coding practices I’ve been really interested to learn specifically about the keyboard he uses. For all of you missing your Northgate OmniKey (or OmniKey Ultra), this remake has gotten a lot of good press (one writeup said the mfr had contacted the OmniKey patentholder): A.Nonnie Mouse Monday, JanuNEC APC-H4100E, with an AT-style plug.
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