Interviewing the Vice President of Development at Unicomp! New Tenkeyless to come!

[vcx312]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6g19Q2teqk&t=534s


-- I just made an account here, so I'm new to the community, I hope you all enjoy this, as it's my first project of this caliber, thank you!

[vcx312]

Also, I just realized this might have served better under "News" idk if topic can be moved by mod, but apologize for posting in the wrong forum!

[sharktastica]

Great video and thanks for sharing - I thoroughly enjoyed listening!

I am kind of heartbroken that the original SSK tooling was so carelessly disgarded by Lexmark, and the fact the explosion of the mechanical keyboard in the last decade hasn't translated into more sales for Unicomp. I also wonder what happened to the tooling IBM continued to use for years after 1996 at their Greenock plant?

I am, however, very glad Unicomp finally has a SSK successor on the horizon and I preordered on the day they announced it! A lot of people have been coveting this for the entire time since 2007 with seemingly no slowing down, so it really was a no-brainer to invest in building a new TKL. Hopefully this will lead to new projects for the company as they gain more confidence in competing with the current MK giants. They just need to make sure they can pull it off without any major hitches and make sure they advertise well. I really stress the latter point, since whilst yourself and I know what to expect from a Model M keyboard, the lack of high resolution beauty shots (etc) might not convince the average person (likely a gamer) that is interested in a TKL to justify $105. Relying on current Model M lovers will not a recipe for business growth either. I think a combination of some good photos on a wider high-resolution gallery for all their products on their website, making apparent that customised options such as keycaps are available (and maybe make bundles?), stressing the fact that the people making it are guaranteed living wages because of the country it is made in, and detailing the legacy it is built on and how tough and long-lived a Model M is will sell it to MK/IBM lovers, gamers, and human conscience consumers alike. IBM legacy, built in the US, willl last a few decades and thus not a waste of materials. Sold.

[Scarpia]

I’m with Sharktastica on this. There’s a lot of hate thrown at Unicomp in MK forums, but I really really want them to succeed. IBM style buckling spring keyboards are easy to customize, they are more satisfyingly clicky than almost any other switch out there, and they are just plain cool.

Enthusiasts can debate build and dyesub quality all day long, but the only company that’s even trying, despite clearly not making tons of profit, is Unicomp.

[vcx312]

I'm also with you Sharktastica, I've even seen a lot of big-name videos get some things wrong about Unicomp because Unicomp doesn't really advertise some options, such as, like you said, the fact that they will do custom keycap designs, and even re-program the keyboard for you in house as I was told by Don himself. If people knew these things, Unicomp might do better.

[andrewjoy]

We just need a proper bottom row , none of this small space bar 4 keys on the right modern crap.

1.5x mods with 1x winkey

[t8c]

Great interview. Entertaining and interesting guest. Thanks for sharing!!

[ZedTheMan]

I quite liked that interview, it gave some more insight into Unicomp I didn't have before.

[Rrrrry123]

I think a big problem with adoption by the masses is the 2KRO. I've seen that pop up so many times in online forms when discussing the viability of gaming with a Model M. If they could somehow draw the PCB in a way that allows for more simultaneous keypresses on their TKL model, it would greatly help sales. I'm not sure if this is possible with how buckling springs work, but just offering a suggestion.

[zrrion]

It is less a problem with buckling spring work and more a problem with how membranes work. No room in the membrane for diodes.
With the other Ms I doubt they'd change the matrix to preserve compatibility with older Ms. I have a feeling that they will want to be compatible with old SSKs as well, but since they did make this tooling themselves there is a chance to deviate if they really wanted. I wouldn't hold your breath though