Marcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
To celebrate the Kickstarter for Shift Happens going well, I thought I would show you 50 keyboards from my collection of really strange/esoteric/meaningful keyboards that I gathered over the years. (It might be the world’s strangest keyboard collection!)
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023

This is technically a bit of a spoiler for the book, but a) a lot of them are not in the book, and b) the book comes out in half a year, and we’ll all forget by then!

Let’s start!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mwichary/shift-happens

Shift Happens: A book about keyboards

The history of keyboards – from early typewriters to modern mechanical marvels – told in two beautiful volumes.

Kickstarter
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
1.
I have a SafeType, thanks to a friend who noticed one about to be thrown away. This is among the most notable and interesting “ergonomic” keyboards, complete with mirrors that help you orient yourself when you’re starting out.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
2.
The Comfort System keyboard is another “ergonomic“ device that is honestly pretty frightening to look at (explaining the challenge of making keyboards like these). You can reposition and reorient each of the three parts independently.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
3.
I love these DataDesk Little Fingers keyboards with smaller keys because you can see exactly when iMac was introduced and how the company tried to “redesign” the keyboard to fit the new style.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
4.
This is another Mac “alternate universe“ keyboard - an Adesso ergonomic keyboard that feels like “what if Apple Adjustable still existed when iMac came around”?
Show threadMarcin Wichary
5.
This strange “medical” keyboard is more mechanical than you’d expect! I wrote more about it here: https://newsletter.shifthappens.site/archive/a-tale-of-three-skeuomorphs. Cleaning required when flashing!
A tale of three skeuomorphs

The 1983 Apple Lisa wastebasket – the first trashcan in GUI history You’ve always been a bit suspicious of the trashcan on your computer’s imaginary desk...

Shift Happens newsletter
Feb 12, 2023 at 9:47pmWeb
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
6.
Once you’re done with your shift (no pun intended) at the hospital, how about some Pizza? This is i-Opener, one of the many shortlived internet appliances, this one with a gimmick that keeps on gimmicking.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
7.
Speaking of spacebar-adjacent gimmicks, I am mildly obsessed with how beautiful is this first NeXT keyboard from 1987, with a bunch of cool subtle things including a Command *bar* underneath the spacebar. As a matter of fact, I just finished writing an essay on it today!
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
8.
This is Olivetti Praxis 48: perhaps one of the most beautiful among the most beautiful typewriters, and strangely similar in palette to the above NeXT keyboard. You could turn on this (electric) typewriter just by pressing any key. That’s pretty wild.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
9.
This Olympia Reporter typewriter is not beautiful, but it has a lot of POWER THIS and POWER THAT keys that celebrate its marriage with electricity? Why is X and some other keys red? Those are the ones that auto repeat!

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
10.
This is another typewriter, so proud of a functioning (erasing!) Backspace that it gives this a treatment I have never seen before or after.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
11.
This Turkish typewriter (another Olympia!) means so much to me – the small success of this article from 2015 was probably what was needed for me to start thinking about the book: https://mwichary.medium.com/what-i-learned-about-languages-just-by-looking-at-a-turkish-typewriter-fc840aab1b0a
What I learned about languages just by looking at a Turkish typewriter

I love typewriters. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. Every conference room here at Medium is named after a typewriter company. At some point, I requested we make sure to have one with Turkish…

Medium
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
12.
This keypad… is so bad.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
13.
This was meant to be mounted atop Commodore 64 (which I don’t have), an interesting reversal from the early typewriters being nothing more than repurposed music keyboards.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
14.
These two are taking this idea even further – mount these overlays on regular keyboards to turn them into new kinds of interfaces.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
15.
There’s also professional gaming. It was cheaper for me to buy QSENN keyboards and replicate what professional StarCraft gamers were doing in the 1990s, than to find a good existing photo of one of these keyboards.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
16.
And speaking of gaming – we’re all used to the thumb style of typing from the first photo that it was fun to discover the short moment where the gaming keyboards looked like the one in the second photo.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
17.
And a bit earlier, some game consoles tried to reinvent themselves as home computers with keyboard accessories. This is among the strangest of them: a “keyboard” to add BASIC to the Atari 2600.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
18.
I commissioned this “joystick” from @benjedwards and I am so happy with how it turned out. It’s technically a joystick without a stick, but software turned it into a one-key keyboard. It’s F11, currently mapped to muting/unmuting in Zoom. It’s *incredibly* rewarding to press.
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
19.
Speaking of strange keyboards, this is my “space cadet” keyboard – a mini keyboard that outputs only spaces, and instead of legends, each key *feels* different. Wrote about it more here: https://newsletter.shifthappens.site/archive/stop-me-if-youve-seen-this-one-before/
Stop me if you’ve seen this one before

That the tech industry is not particularly funny becomes cruelly obvious every April Fools’ Day, when perusing books like these — or, in my world, the day...

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
20.
And here is a keyboard I built and hid in my shoes, made for one very specific reason. Are you interested what it is? Check out the whole story here: https://newsletter.shifthappens.site/archive/to-walk-among-keyboard-magicians/
To walk among keyboard magicians

I recently gave a talk at a Berlin conference Beyond Tellerrand about keyboards used for fun and for art. I tried to breeze past the obvious stops (ASCII...

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
21.
This is one of the most rare keyboards I have – the strange abKey Evolution imported through a friend from Singapore – a keyboard that tried to reinvent perhaps one thing too many. Wrote more about it here: https://newsletter.shifthappens.site/archive/the-worst-keyboard-ever-made-3/
The worst keyboard ever made

I’m writing this newsletter under duress. The last issue, one I sent just a week ago, arrived in spam folders for most people owing to a glitch in Revue –...

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
22.

And this one from Commodore is not really that unique, except it has this fun property – it reverses the usual beige colour scheme making the keys inside darker. It’s kinda neat!
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
23.
This is a really cheap Bulgarian keyboard with such a poor build quality it cannot be unseen! I wrote more about it here: https://newsletter.shifthappens.site/archive/the-worst-keyboard-ever-made-3/
The worst keyboard ever made

I’m writing this newsletter under duress. The last issue, one I sent just a week ago, arrived in spam folders for most people owing to a glitch in Revue –...

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
24.
Oh, it gets worse. This calculator keyboard is so cheap it’s not a keyboard at all – just an exposed PCB with a pen to complete the circuit. More about it here: https://newsletter.shifthappens.site/archive/the-worst-keyboard-ever-made-2/
The worst keyboard ever made

During my research I encountered many keyboards that felt awful, looked bad, or were conceptually bankrupt. But it was only a few months ago that I found the...

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
25.
And this is the opposite, an incredibly well-built IBM Model F banking typewriter with an enclosure made out of zinc. Hefty enough to stop a bank robbery? Perhaps. More here: https://newsletter.shifthappens.site/archive/to-save-a-keyboard-pt-2/
To save a keyboard, pt. 2

What am I typing this on This is that rare story where a Twitter disagreement led to something amazing. In May last year, someone tweeted a photo of a rare,...

Show threadMark GardnerFeb 12, 2023

@mwichary Don’t knock the circuit stylus until you’ve tried a #Stylophone analog #synthesizer: https://stylophone.com

#synthodon #keyboard #MusicalInstrument #ElectronicMusic #Dubreq #DavidBowie #Bowie #JohnLennon #Kraftwerk #RolfHarris #SmallFaces #Orbital #Pulp #BabyDriver

Dubreq Stylophone | The original pocket synthesizer

Dubreq - Creators of Stylophone 1968. Analog Synths: Stylophone S1, BOWIE, PINK, BEAT, Gen X-1, THEREMIN, DS-2 | COMING SOON DF-8 and GEN X-2

Stylophone
Show threadone of a number of patricksFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary Fran on YouTube did an interesting repair on one of these https://youtu.be/YKYfVfnQC00
Look Ma - No Keys! 1972 Royal Calculator

YouTube
Show threadMark GardnerFeb 12, 2023

@mwichary The long dark tea-time of #Commodore clawing for relevance in a world where the popular market couldn’t see past the flood of #PC clones to their struggling #Amiga machines. Jack Tramiel knew how to fight a price war, but he was forced out and took over #Atari to seek revenge. Both companies ended up fighting over niches and scraps.

#retrocomputing

Show threadSamuelJohnsonFeb 13, 2023

@mwichary I think Doug would have enjoyed your *augmentation*. He believed in BOOTstrapping after all.

(I got to spent a few hours with him once in Menlo Park)

In case you never came across it, a nice ACM puzzle I read once:

Explain why a keyboard lets Doug* log in when sitting down but not when standing up.

*I've forgotten whom originally

Pause here.

Answer:

Keycaps moved (prank) + touch typing when seated & two fingers when standing, not looking & looking respectively.

Show threadadamriceFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary I am reminded of The Eudamonic Pie.
Show threadadamriceFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary Also, in case it has escaped your notice… https://microship.com/bicycle-mobile-packeteering/
Bicycle-Mobile Packeteering - Nomadic Research Labs

A playful and geeky article about the role of packet radio on the Winnebiko II, pedaling both coasts of the US while conversing via handlebar keyboard.

Nomadic Research Labs
Show threadjycFeb 12, 2023
@mwichary a mechanical pun!
Show threadsleepyFeb 13, 2023

@mwichary

I use one of these for some hot keys for myself. Can’t beat a good arcade button. https://store.djtechtools.com/products/midi-fighter-spectra

Midi Fighter Spectra

Show threadGeorge ChealFeb 12, 2023
@mwichary I wonder if anyone grew up with these and even crazier still, learned to code in basic on Atari 2600
Show threadjonny (good kind)Feb 13, 2023
@mwichary
ok that one rocks though
Show threadWayne SebbensFeb 14, 2023
@mwichary I was hoping to see this here. Late-teenage/early 20s me wanted one so bad, despite not actually having a use for it.
Show threadKenny ParkFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary I had this. Worked surprisingly well. (Not _very_ well, but better than you might think.)
Show threadxueFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary shits rare nowadays
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvDcwho2gbE
Ultimate Cynthcart Commodore 64

YouTube
Show threadDan LeehrFeb 12, 2023
@mwichary
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 12, 2023
@Leehro Hahaha! That meme kills every time.
Show threadJuniper 🦨 SkunktaurFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary
Show threadFrancois DionFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary it was mostly for navigation, you were supposed to play games with the glove itself. I had modified mine so i could interface it to my PC around 1990. Combined with 2 casio handheld tvs, i made a VR setup and used it to explore audio spectrum bands (with FFTs) in 3d. #synthdiy #vr #ar #ui
Show threadGareth PotterFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary Ah, the glorious Turkish layout. I have an Apple one and have occasionally used it to prank colleagues.
Show threadCEJohnsonFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary I have one of these in QWERTZ.
Show threadJuniper 🦨 SkunktaurFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary
Show threadMade in DNAFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Show threadHarriet Feb 13, 2023
@mwichary wow beautiful. I could become a writer with this.
Show threadAlex NguyenFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary oh wow, I distinctly remember this but can't remember from where. Maybe my parents owned one.
Show threadJyrgen NFeb 14, 2023
@mwichary I saw this one (or another Olivetti with the same keyboard) in the 80s. I cannot remember, though, if it was in the wild or in a museum. I also remember an Olivetti PC— they had *really* good-looking devices out there.
Show threadBodenseesimonFeb 17, 2023
@mwichary ich glaub auf dem Ding hab ich schreiben gelernt… schickes Teil, eckiges, robustes Design, schöner Anschlag und geiler Sound ;-)
Show threadSarah T. Roberts, Ph.D.Feb 12, 2023
@mwichary Had this one.
Show threadDave KleinFeb 12, 2023
@mwichary the best keyboard in my collection. love it.
Show threadSamuelJohnsonFeb 12, 2023
@mwichary About it or using it would be less ambiguous (for future reference 😋). Congrats on the Kickstarter success
Show threadBen 🏳️‍🌈Feb 13, 2023
@mwichary wonder if they charge an extra hundred bucks for it being "space gray" or was the "thunderous beige" the special edition.
Show threadmatsimpskFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary lovely - something about that gives me a whiff of the pure 1980s-ness of the Enterprise:
Show threadMichael EllisFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary I adored those NeXT keyboard. So beautiful. Control key in the right location, too.
Show threadmmalcFeb 13, 2023

@mwichary
That was actually the NeXT ADB keyboard, introduced IIRC about 1992. The original had a more conventional layout (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeXTcube).

The ADB keyboard certainly looked attractive, but for me at least the keys required far too much pressure to activate then had a very solid endpoint. The mouse similarly looked great but was an ergonomic disaster (presaging perhaps Apple’s later puck mouse). Together they gave me appalling RSI.

NeXTcube - Wikipedia

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 13, 2023
@mmalc Thanks! This is very helpful. I definitely got the dates all mixed up in there, and you helped me realize that.
Show threadmmalcFeb 13, 2023

@mwichary
I typeset this book on the NeXT using FrameMaker and @tjt’s excellent equation editor, and Tailor to edit various PostScript images

https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/Visual-Representations-Speech-Signals-Martin-Cooke/942768339/bd

Visual Representations of Speech Signals by Martin Cooke, Steve Beet and Malcolm Crawford (Editors): Fine Hardcover (1993) 1st Edition | The Bookshop at Beech Cottage

AbeBooks.com: Visual Representations of Speech Signals: 385pp + x prelims. Fine/no jacket. No inscriptions. Loose leaf 4pp list of contributors. Tiny crease to tip of tail of spine. Black lettering on green coloured spine. Appears unread.

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 13, 2023
@mmalc This is great. Did you type on the ADB keyboard? How did you feel about the Command bar?
Show threadmmalcFeb 13, 2023

@mwichary
Yes, I used that combination for perhaps a year.

Although a great innovation, the implementation of the Command Bar didn’t work well *for me*.

It was too narrow — my thumb joint used to regularly hit the *sharp* edge of the main body of the keyboard, and like the keys the actuation pressure was too great so the repetitive stress of having to press on it negated the value of using the thumb for the action. It also quickly became lopsided as I typically pressed on the right hand end.

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 13, 2023
@mmalc Thanks! That matches my observations, although I didn’t use it for very long. It felt “cheaper” than the rest of the keyboard.
Show threadmmalcFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary
I’m not sure if this is quite what you want to hear 🙂
And my experience may be different from that of the probably very few others who used it.
I certainly think it’s an idea worth pursing to try to improve upon, though really approaches like Kinesis putting a regular key under the thumb is more appealing.
And just arranging keys vertically to reduce lateral movement…
Show threadmmalcFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary
I eventually replaced NeXT’s keyboard and mouse with a Kinesis (original style, like the current Advantage https://kinesis-ergo.com/shop/advantage2/) with a Cirque Glidepoint positioned in the space between the thumb keys.
For me that’s the most ergonomic set-up I’ve ever had, and finally addressed the RSI problem.
Advantage2 ergonomic keyboard by Kinesis

Contoured design, mechanical switches, fully programmable

Kinesis
Show threadJesse VincentFeb 13, 2023
@mwichary I don’t think I knew about the command bar. It feels a lot like a Leap key.