Apple Extended Keyboard [AEK Numero Uno] - Great Keyboard? Or *Greatest* Keyboard?
- Thread starter trs
- Start date
I personally prefer the ADK, feels like a modern keyboard, as it isn't too clunky
What! It's one of my favourite pairings. It's amusingly silly.
An AEK parked in front of an SE/30 is a beautiful sight indeed. Like a Mini Cooper body on a GMC Jimmy frame, there’s no kill like overkill.
I love pairing my AEK with my desktop-bound MBP via a drakware ADB dongle - deliciously anachronistic
-PAGE BREAK-
AEK PROS & CONS
PROS:
- Just the right shade of silver-beige
- Key switches go “clicky-slap” in a satisfying way when you’re really cookin’
- Fixed at a most agreeable angle for my middle-aged wrists
- ADB ports are clocked properly (imho) so that the square part faces away from the user (comports favorably with my particular flavor of OCD)
- “undo cut copy paste” markings under the F1-F4 keys is a soothing reminder of simpler times, like a comfort blanket or a faded window sticker on a vintage car
- Apple logo in bottom-left corner just looks right
- The original AEK, so extra street cred
- Caps Lock key is too sensitive
- You know what I mean - sometimes the key cap doesn’t stay down when you hit Caps Lock and so it’ll be in Caps Lock with the Caps Lock light on but the key will still be “up” and so you gotta tap it super quick to get it right or else your aforementioned OCD will eat you from the inside out
- Barely a CON but I had to put something here
AEK II PROS & CONS
PROS:
- Adjustable height, if you’re into that sort of thing
- Two of the three versions have really nice key switches
- I like the shape of the AEK II’s Power key more than the AEK’s
- Bunko height-adjustment mechanism loves to collapse at random intervals
- ADB ports face the wrong way (according to me)
- Apple logo placed way up at the tippy top in an awkward spot that fees like an after thought
- Fails to “tie” the proverbial “room” metaphorically “together”
- Feels ~10% flimsier than the AEK
ADK PROS & CONS
NEITHER PRO NOR CON:
- Permanently attached ADB cord
- Sorta goes hand in hand with having only one ADB port but really doesn’t matter
- Feet up or feet down, doesn’t matter, angle is the textbook example of MID
- Look up “mid” in the dictionary and you’ll see a halftone illustration of an ADK in both positions
- Right below that, by definition #2, you’ll see a halftone illustration of an ADK key switch, followed by “see also: mushy, flavorless, dead”
- Apple logo is embossed and not a sweet li’l enamel six color Apple LIKE GOD INTENDED but not a total deal breaker
-AEK UNO is the CLEAR WINNER
Last edited:
ErnestBorgnineNavalCapDoff.jpg
Isn’t the AEKII the exact width of a Mac II… and the AEK a shade wider?
M0115 does look slightly wider than a big box II. Personally, I prefer the M0116 "shorty" keyboard. Have one that I use with the Q650. That said, if I do get one of the ADB to USB converters, I may get a M0115 to use with the Mac Pro. The M7803 and A1048 "dirt collector" keyboards don't feel very good. Even the old M2980 ADK feels better. Used an ADK with my old B&W G3. Surprisingly, the M2452 shown above felt like a M2980, so not too bad.
I have an AEK and two seemingly-same versions of the AEKII. I only use the AEK if that says something.
Also, a person of culture. Love my C30 although it's getting pretty long in the tooth.
Also, a person of culture. Love my C30 although it's getting pretty long in the tooth.
I used both Nimitz Class Apple KBDs at the NYMUG office, not all that impressed. Much prefer the sleeker VT-100 styled ALPS keyswitch enclosing look and feel of the DataDesk 101 upgrade I did for the MacSignMaker SE/Radius16 workstation. Wore one or two out over a 17 year span. Now I've got them in ADB and Plus versions.
More discussion!
More discussion!
Last edited:
Same, the ADK is best. It may be membrane unlike the AEKs, but at least it fits on a normal desk
Same here, but probably my favorite it the Radius branded ADK style version that came with the Radius 81/110. Dunno how, but somehow it feels just right to me in the Sleeping Beauty Wars over AEK size in one theater and feel of the IBM ClackMonseter in the other.
I don’t much like the ADK, but it was the first one we owned back in ‘98 so there is some nostalgia for it.
What I’ve noticed is that there is massive variation in quality between different batches, some having awful ‘spongy’ keyswitches and others being quite nice and responsive.
What I’ve noticed is that there is massive variation in quality between different batches, some having awful ‘spongy’ keyswitches and others being quite nice and responsive.
Here's an ADK stacked on top of an AEK. It's, like, barely smaller. A quarter inch on each side, tops. "Comically huge," my butt... no WAIT
I did just think of a PRO to put in the ADK's column: the ADB port is tucked up under in the middle there, which narrows the effective width. If you're into trackballs like I am, this is definitely a point in the ADK's favor.
Attachments
Nice pics, but that adds up to 1/2" larger in each dimension, not to mention max height.
IMO, it's the AEK's Snow White design stripes and angularity that give it that Nimitz Class look-n-feel. Rolling deck but love mechanical switch feel.
Espresso Design Language curvature in the ADK with its edges falling away on all sides rather than trying to smack you in the forehead if you lean too far forward makes for a look-if not-feel improvement to many eyes, especially in front of the machines appropriate to its era.
. . . and the DataDesk Mac-101 rules them all!
IMO, it's the AEK's Snow White design stripes and angularity that give it that Nimitz Class look-n-feel. Rolling deck but love mechanical switch feel.
Espresso Design Language curvature in the ADK with its edges falling away on all sides rather than trying to smack you in the forehead if you lean too far forward makes for a look-if not-feel improvement to many eyes, especially in front of the machines appropriate to its era.
. . . and the DataDesk Mac-101 rules them all!
