unicomp

Tuesday, April 7 2015

Unicomp != Model M
[12:53:06] matt [wronka.org]/Trip I would like to second the statement in this thread: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/do-not-buy-a-unicomp-keyboard.613424/

I bought a Unicomp keyboard because my wife wanted a standard shape (e.g. not like my preferred Kinesis Advantage) keyboard and I wanted a mechanicle keyboard that would plug into a USB-only (non-PS/2) NUC. Immediately there were issues with keybaord not being recognized at all. That's ok, every company has some defective units, I sent it back and got the keyboard back fairly quickly (it now has a "repaired by Unicomp" sticker labeled June 2013 next to it's manufactured-on April 2013 sticker).

Two years after it was manufactured it started behaving oddly. The return consists of two pressure triggers, if the left side is the one you happen to hit, it triggers both the slash/pipe ('/') key and then the return key. My initial thought was that there was something physically connecting the two adjacent keys, but after removing the keys and examining the board superficially, everything seems fine. Trying with a different computer resulted in the same issue. A few days later, a few keys stopped responding entirely.

A keyboard failing within two years is sad; I'm currently typing on the same Kinesis keyboard I've used five-days a week for over seven years and functions flawlessly. I've got PS/2 and AT keyboards that still work from the 1980s.. Unicomp charges between $30-$90 for repair of a keyboard outside warranty (plus shipping) which seems like more hassle than it's worth considering this thing's already been back to them, and even then has the annoying habbit of not being recognized if plugged-in during computer boot.