Progress: Welcome to my first blog post! Today I would like to introduce all of your to the history of mechanical keyboards in respect to the very thing that defines them: their switches. Now as many of you may know, computer keyboards were originally derived from the typewriter, which was first made in 1867 by Christopher Sholes. With the typewriter, whenever somebody presses a key, a lever goes down to hit another lever which marks the letter in ink onto the paper. As revolutionary as this technology was for the time, one of the major complaints of the early typewriter was the issue with jamming in the levers when two keys interlock. To fix this problem, IBM developed a new typewriter that used type balls that rolled around to each letter when a key was pressed. It was not until 1984 when IBM released the first mechanical keyboard, the IBM Model M. As a complement to their first desktop computer, the keyboard featured the first keyboard switch known as the buckling spring, which to this day is one of the community’s most beloved switch due to its signature tactile feel and distinct audible click. As time went on, developers created the membrane rubber dome keyboard, which were cheap to build and practical to install in the new laptop computer of the time. However, the lackluster typing experience of a rubber dome keyboard was not able to satisfy the tastes of keyboard enthusiasts. In response to the rise of the membrane keyboard, other manufacturers build new keyboards with modern switches that are still used today. Reflection: Well that was a lot of information to take in. It was definitely interesting to look into the past regarding my favorite technology. Before all of the research, I only knew about the existence of the first typewriter. I would have never imagined that some of them would use balls with imprinted font. Actually, I would be very willing to purchase one of the classic typewriters or a modern version of one just to see how it feels. I was impressed to see how far mechanical switches have gone to reach this far from the early double lever system to modern switch today. Technology never ceases to grow and evolve which new innovators bringing their ideas from their minds to the commercial market.
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AuthorHello, everybody! All you really need to know about me is that I am a man of culture who also happens to enjoy typing on keyboards Archives
May 2018
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