While looking for a new keyboard, something along the lines of the Optimus Maximus, I recently found out about a gentleman who is making the best keyboard. Ever. Remember dreading going to typing class in High School? Remember the Home Row and all of the pain in your hands after class if your school didn’t have an IBM Selectric or something similar?
I don’t, which is one of the reasons Jack Zylkin’s newest commercial project has intrigued me. Do you have an old typewriter that has a basket of type bars? Perfect, you can set it up and enable it to act as a USB keyboard.
The project, and it is a project, comes in three flavors: a DIY Kit, a Custom order, and a completed unit. The first choice involves you working on your typewriter and setting it up with Mr. Zylkin’s interface board while the other options involve him doing the same and you receiving a completed unit.
The DIY version is just that. You receive the parts and it’s expected that you are proficient with a soldering iron and third hand. You will solder all of the parts, file the type bars and install the interface board on your typewriter. This kit is by far the cheapest at $75 and allows the modder complete control of how the build will be accomplished. Since you are in control, it also allows you tweak the hardware to your heart’s content while installing.
Next up we have the “Custom” order. This involves you sourcing your own typewriter, shipping it off to Mr. Zylkin’s lab and his merry band of elves (read: him) doing the conversion for you. Once he’s completed the conversion, it will be tested and shipped back to you for your use. This runs $200 for his services and somewhere around an arm and a leg to ship and insure the unit from your locality to Philly. If you’re attached to a particular typewriter (a Royal 10, for instance) and don’t want to do the install and tweaking, this is a great option for you.
Last up Mr. Zylkin offers a pre-converted typewriter. This one’s ready to rock and roll when you receive it from Philly, so if you just want the novelty of the unit with no labor involved, it’s a great option for you. The downside is that it will cost you $250 and up. He will entertain requests for a particular model, so this is a pretty viable option for everybody.
Visit USB Typewriter to see a video of the conversion in action as an interface to an iPad. Pretty slick, if you ask me. Mr. Zylkin’s Etsy shop has all of the options currently available.
We at Eyejabber will be following this one, as we have some Luddites on staff. They will be making a purchase of the unit and will keep readers posted, with pictures, of the progress made.