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Old September 15th 20, 08:07 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-10
Ken Blake[_7_]
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Posts: 569
Default How to clean up a white keyboard?

On 9/15/2020 10:45 AM, Ken Blake wrote:
On 9/15/2020 10:23 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 10:17:33 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:

On 9/15/2020 8:14 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 07:09:31 -0400, Paul wrote:

T wrote:
Hi All,

I have a old off white keyboard that adore in
my shop. The keys are starting to look a bit
nasty.

I have tried rubbing alcohol and vinegar and
nothing seems to clean it up.

Any words of wisdom.

-T

Word of warning.

"Too much cleaning equals broken keyboard"

On my previous keyboard, I frequently took it apart
at the membrane level, and washed things off. And cleaned
the cover of stuff. Those kinds of operations seemed
pretty innocuous (I wasn't "grinding on stuff").

Then one day, I decided to remove the key caps. And
that caused enough damage that I had to bin it.

The keycaps on my IBM Model M keyboards look like they're meant to pop off
for cleaning. Mine have been off and on many times over the years.

Don't get so carried away cleaning it that you ruin it.

Remember the old advice to toss the keyboard into the automatic dishwasher?
I've never done that, but I know quite a few people who did. That was back
in the 80s/90s, so probably not good advice now.


I'm different in this respect from almost all the rest of you. If my
keyboard gets old and and dirty, I just toss it out and buy a new one.
They're inexpensive, unless you want a very fancy expensive one; I don't.


I have an $11 keyboard around here somewhere and I'd do as you do regarding
that one. However, I bought a dozen IBM Model M's for $1 each from a office
supply recycler about 20 years ago and those things are too good to throw
away.



If you say so. I remember IBM keyboards, but don't remember their model
numbers (if I ever knew them).

If they're better than $11 keyboards, that extra quality would be wasted
on me. Perhaps because I'm not a touch typist, I doubt if I could tell
the difference. Even if I could tell the difference, I doubt if I'd care
about it.

Not to mention that I see they're going for about $200 on Ebay now.



I would never consider spending $200 on a keyboard, not even $100. Not
even $50...




I just googled ibm m keyboard and found pictures of them. They basically
look the same as modern Windows keyboards, except that they don't have a
Windows key.

A Windows key isn't absolutely necessary, but it's a convenience, and I
wouldn't want a keyboard without one. So lower the price of the IBM to
$11, and I still wouldn't want it. I don't care if it's clickier.

Changing the subject slightly, Dell computers come with special Dell
keyboards. They are almost the same as standard Windows keyboards, but
for some reason they are missing the PrtSCrn, ScrLk, and Pause|Break
keys; why, I don't know. My wife has a Dell, and every now and the I
have to go to her computer to do something for her. I don't always need
to use one of those keys, but every now and then I do and I hate using
her keyboard. I've offered to buy her a better keyboard several times,
but she always turns me down and I've given up trying.

I use a fancy Microsoft keyboard. It costs only a little more than a
standard keyboard, and I spent the extra few dollars because of the
several extra keys it has. It was a waste. I use only the volume
adjustment extra keys and ignore the rest.

I also used one of the so-called "ergonomic" split keyboards for a
while. I hated it. Probably because I'm not a touch typist, I had
trouble finding the key I wanted and it slowed me down and increased the
number of errors I made. Never again.


--
Ken
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