Comments on: [ Retro Scan of the Week ] Interact Home Computer

Comment on [ Retro Scan of the Week ] Interact Home Computer by: Steven

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:01:56 +0000

Very bad keyboards were the ones I learned to program on, the Oric 1, the ZX81 and the ZX Spectrum. Bad keyboards on small and cheap computers, but good for learning programming.
Still have fond memories of the Oric and the Spectrum.

Comment on [ Retro Scan of the Week ] Interact Home Computer by: SirPaul

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:56:13 +0000

The worst one I used was the Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer 1′s keyboard.. It just felt… wrong.

Comment on [ Retro Scan of the Week ] Interact Home Computer by: Jason L

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:04:38 +0000

I find the Mattel Aquarius keyboard to be the most comfortable for long writing sessions. The soft rubbery keys reduce stress and fatigue while providing a sure-touch, no-slip grip for accurate typing. I cranked out my Master's thesis using hunt and peck in a little under three months, thanks to the Aquarius. (that's without breaks) . I'd like to play with one of these Interact machines for a while. It looks really interesting.

Comment on [ Retro Scan of the Week ] Interact Home Computer by: Jim Ulrich

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:34:12 +0000

My guess is that the piano keyboard overlay wasn't that great for learning how to play the piano.

Comment on [ Retro Scan of the Week ] Interact Home Computer by: Pedro C.

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 04:01:21 +0000

I had one of these as a child (1980). I loved it! It was my first computer and of course my first game console. Star Trak was a Nettrek clone if I remembered correctly. I had about 8 programs for the system, all games except for the one BASIC cassette. I learned BASIC on it, but couldn't get too far because I didn't know how to save anything back onto another tape (and if you even could).

It finally died after 6 years of regular use. We tried getting it fixed, but nobody had any idea what the heck it was.

http://oldcomputers.net/interact.html

Comment on [ Retro Scan of the Week ] Interact Home Computer by: Geoff V.

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:04:55 +0000

I've used worse, but the Macbook Pro has one of the worst keyboards ever on a laptop… and that's saying something. The keys are small having almost no space or bevel between them, it's like typing on a flat piece of paper.

I was an IT monkey for years and have typed on a lot of laptop keyboards, but the Macbook is just awful, especially if you consider the price tag. $2.5K

I typed this on a Lenovo T61. My keys are full sized and not too close together. Key travel is moderately short, but the response is crisp. Unlike the Macbook's keys which are bunched together and key travel is short and mushy.