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Mainframe Make-Over
I've given my trusty old DROP ENTR keyboard a fresh makeover with my brand new DROP+MATT30 3277 keycap set and coil cable! Now, I can really feel like I'm back at the mainframe console where I started my tech career!
First impressions:
* The plastic is high quality, and the injection moulds are clean and consistent across all keys. The larger space bar appears VERY slightly bowed, but not enough to be noticeable when typing.
* The keys are a few millimetres deeper than the original DROP ENTR keycap set. However, they still sit very nicely on the switches, and there is no wobble or play at all. In fact, the extra height, combined with the gentle slope emulating the old original 3277 keyboard, makes typing on this keyboard even more enjoyable than it was with the original keycap set!
* The tops of the keys are very nicely concave, which makes finger positioning much easier than the more flat surfaces of the original keycaps. The home keys are slightly more concave, making hand placement especially easy. Also, the sloping curve of keys as you move up toward the function keys makes reaching the distant keys MUCH easier than the original flat keycaps.
* The sound of the keyboard has changed, with the new keycaps. It doesn't sound like an actual 3277 (or 3278/9) console, but that's because IBM's original keyboards had buckling-spring switch mechanisms (similar to the PS/2 Model M keyboard), which produced a very distinctive clicking sound. Rather, now, I can hear a faint resonant plinking sound that seems to be an artefact of the plastic used in the keycaps. Whereas, the original DROP ENTR keycap sound was flat and toneless.
Overall, the typing experience of this keyboard with the new keycaps is very comfortable, and enjoyable as a nostalgic reminder of my early career. When I'm working on 370 Assembler, or Dartmouth BASIC, or COBOL, on my IBM MVS emulator (pictured in this post), I'll be about as close to the original as I can get, without buying an IBM System 370 of my own!
(Edited)
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