The Model M: A timeless classic
<p>I just found an informative article about the origin, life, and astonishing persistence of <a href="http://plope.com/Members/chrism/25_years_of_the_model_m">my favorite keyboard</a>.  Nearly every article on this blog was hammered out on the same Unicomp Model M I&#8217;m typing on now.  The design is 25 years old and still going strong, a nearly unique longevity in computing devices.</p>
<p>I endorse every bit of snarkiness and ergonomic wisdom in that article.  I find the lack of tactile feeback and noise from modern &#8220;soft-touch&#8221; keyboards disconcerting and uncomfortable.  It does my heart good to know the model M is still being produced, now with USB interfaces even.  I expect I&#8217;ll be using these until I die or we get brain/computer interfaces, whichever comes first.</p>
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<p>I feel about the Model M the way I feel about the 1911-pattern .45 pistol and the core design of Unix.  All three of these are too frequently dismissed as dinosaurs, but stand out to the discerning as timeless classics of square-shouldered ruggedness and fitness-for-purpose whose virtues, it seems, need to be rediscovered anew in every generation.  They get the job done, outlasting transitory fads and fashions; they endure, with quiet excellence that is burnished rather than eroded by the passage of years.  They have what architect Christopher Alexander called the Quality Without A Name and embody as well as any engineering design can the human quality the ancient Greeks called <em>arete</em>.</p>
<p>I have been many things in my life, but I am first and last and always an engineer, a maker.  To me, designs that achieve the level of excellence of these examples are art to rival the Parthenon, fit to be counted among the great achievements of any civilization.  It&#8217;s no bar that they are humble and utilitarian; in fact, I think they speak on that account more truthfully about the virtues of their designers and their civilization than art objects made for display and to impress.</p>
<p>As such, the Model M (and all engineering designs at that level of excellence) are worth celebrating. If you have one, take a moment to think about your keyboard and appreciate it.  If you don&#8217;t, find out what you&#8217;re missing and buy one so Unicomp will keep making the lovely things for another 25 years, and many more after that.</p>
