Best input device photo 2014

[webwit]

Please vote for your winner of the award for the Best input device photo in 2014.

By voting in this category you can win a keyboard cable from Pexon PCs!

This is the final round. See the first round and second round for reference.

The final round ends on Monday 8 December, 20:00hrs UTC. You can change your vote until the end of the round. The winner and full results will be released soon after the vote closes.

The official nominees are, as presented by webwit (the first nominee) and Muirium:

Photo 20 by Muirium - IBM 3276 beamspring, with bonus rust
Muirium's IBM 3276 beamspring keyboard is a great score all the way from Dresden. Clearly the arrow keys are pointing to all parts which need restoration.


Surely he has cleaned, restored and painted the rusty plate since this photo was taken!

Photo 11 by Phosphorglow - 6x IBM SSK colored plates
Six mungy, manky, downright rotten SSKs get a makeover from the master. Saved by none other than the SSK wizard himself: Phosphorglow. If you think this shot is magic, look at how they started.


From bum, to yum. Believe!

Photo 16 by Snoopy - Black Kishsaver with Clickclack
Every Kishsaver is special. (Have you tried to get your hands on one?) But Snoopy went the extra mile with his elegant, minimalist black restoration, topped off with a Clack.


What doesn't go with black?

Photo 22 by mr_a500 - IBM 3278 beam spring keyboard
IBM's prehistoric [wiki]Beam Spring[/wiki]s are making a comeback, thanks to Xwhatsit's work on hooking them up to USB. Mr_A500 flaunts his prize winning APL tripleshots in a moody composition, not out of place from the movies.


Pity IBM doesn't also make flat panel displays.

Photo 37 by HAL - Generations
Not a keyboard, but a moment in a restoration. HAL passes along the vital knowledge of what goes where inside a Model M to a convincing pupil.


Most toys forget all about the navigation block.

[scottc]

There are 5 options, and I can vote for up to 5 entries? Is that intentional?

[Muirium]

No. Accidental, and spotted. He's fixing it. These are 1 vote each. Hard choices, all of them!

[webwit]

Fixed. Please vote again if you already voted.

[scottc]

Great. Glad I held off! Thanks for fixing it, Webwit.

[webwit]

When this forum started in 2011, we IBM freaks were just a few, battling against the fast Cherry majority. I am so proud!

[Muirium]

Oh yeah, it's a total wipeout! Either the IBM boys have better photography chops, or DT's taken a deep swing into retro country. I can't tell. I'm too deep in Model Fs and lenses!

[Muirium]

Whoops! When I was writing the nominations for these, this picture by Madhias was ahead of my rusty 3276 macro. But in the end their places in the vote flipped around and I wound up nominated instead; but without a nomination text. For what it's worth, here's the one I did for Madhias and the SSK vortex:

Spoiler:

Photo 9 by madhias - IBM Model M keyboards
On a visit to HAL's place in Vienna, Madhias captured his trove of [wiki]Model M[/wiki]s in a memorable shot. Crazy paving, made of IBM.


What's better than an SSK? Moar SSKs!

I actually picked this thread for nomination writing specifically because I wasn't in contention. Feel free to imagine something unflattering for my dirty picture instead! It barely pipped in, and I cast my vote for the better photo by someone else!

[Halvar]

Great writing on these voting posts everyone!

Muirium's IBM 3276 beamspring keyboard is another great score from elecplus.

This particular piece of rust is from Dresden, not Texas. Cindy's beam springs didn't show this kind of corrosion.

[webwit]

Thanks, I fixed it.

[webwit]

Have to admit I voted HAL's. Father & son, and the expression of concentration on the faces and focus of the eyes on the keycap is what makes it for me. The others are great too, especially like Photo 22. Might have won my vote with the hp logo 'shopped out!

[Madhias]

I also voted for HAL's picture, it summarizes perfect what's going on here. The picture shows that this hobby influences more than only sitting in front of the PC, and is part of your normal life. I also do like that the keyboard is not the main part of the image, and only insiders know that they are cleaning a very rare IBM keyboard. When i saw the image postet from Muirium here in the photo contest i instantly thought we have a winner here!

[andrewjoy]

hey miriums beam spring is like mine only rusty

i had to vote for a500 however that lighting and the bare metal

[HzFaq]

Yeah, another +1 for HALs here. I'm getting sentimental in my old age. Plus, it reminds me of the time my little girl (aged 1 at the time I think) figured out how to use a keypuller and nearly pulled a switch out of my Poker .

[matt3o]

oh c'mon, this is so unfair

maybe only a kittens photo could win against HAL's close this poll, give him the award!

[7bit]

They only vote for it because it is the only one that is well-scaled!

[Muirium]

I agree with Webwit. HAL's is the best photo, narrative wise. And A_500's is the best, style wise.

Mine is the most grubby steampunk. Which is ironic, as I'm never usually about the "Pre Lived In" feel…

[matt3o]

it might not be the best technically, but Hal's photo tells a story. I find it quite moving.

as a bot I would vote for muirium's picture.

[mr_a500]

Of course I voted for HAL too. Even a kitten on top of a puppy with a baby duck and a piglet in the background couldn't compete for cuteness.

The others are great too, especially like Photo 22. Might have won my vote with the hp logo 'shopped out!

I was actually going to do that when I first took the photo, but I don't like faking photos. That HP case fell apart shortly after. If I had only taken the photo with the metal LCD frame... with a kitten, two baby ducks, a hedgehog and a baby porcupine...

[webwit]

My self-portrait would have won, but unfortunately I forgot the get a keyboard in the photo.

Spoiler:

[mr_a500]

What a coincidence. I too enjoy smoking a pipe while naked, with a pile of cash on my groin.

[7bit]

One day I must bring a mechanical keyboard to a lake and photograph ducks, typing on it ...

[mr_a500]

...while you're naked, wearing an Indian head-dress and smoking a pipe. Forget the pile of cash on your groin. It would blow away in the wind.

[webwit]

The vote closes on Monday 8 December at 20:00 UTC. Vote now!

The two nominees with currently the most votes are (in alphabetical order):

Spoiler:

Photo 22 by mr_a500 - IBM 3278 beam spring keyboard
Photo 37 by HAL - Generations

[Muirium]

Either of those would be a worthy winner indeed!

[Madhias]

One day I must bring a mechanical keyboard to a lake and photograph ducks, typing on it ...

I did that this summer when i got my SSK, but there were no ducks and only people looking at me.

Spoiler:

[Muirium]

You can tell if they were keyboard people. We'd be looking approvingly (and potentially thievingly!) at your SSK. Normals meanwhile would wonder what kind of a stunt you were up to bringing office equipment to the park.

[mr_a500]

Hey, that gives me an idea for an award category for next year: Most Outrageous Keyboard Location Shot.

[Muirium]

Kayvee ran one of those already, more or less…


http://deskthority.net/post171836.html#p171836

But we can do better!

[HaaTa]

Hey, that gives me an idea for an award category for next year: Most Outrageous Keyboard Location Shot.

That sounds like fun