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All of this rage towards Apple's design language has made me wonder how long the things that *are* designed to last will do so? Take my and my mom's keyboards. Both of them are approaching 40 years old now. How long will I use mine? When will it break, and WHAT will break? https://twitter.com/WysWyg_Protogen/status/1379968016331460611
Thinking about what the eventual weak points in well-designed and durable things is a weird passtime that I enjoy a lot. Like sure, the keys will get shiny first, but that doesn't impact the function of the keyboard. The M will have rivet failure, but after that, what?
There's not really a lot of wear points in the switch assemblies. Other than the plastic becoming brittle and breaking, I don't see them ever being a problem, at least not within any type of reasonable time frame. Maybe some obscure electrical failure in the long run?
That's just chance though. Maybe it'll break tomorrow, or maybe it'll break in 80 years. I can't think of anything in the immediate future of my Mom's M (other than the rivets), and anything with my F period. Maybe the small rust spots will spread? The coating is still intact tho
This fascination is why this thread by @TubeTimeUS remains my all time favorite from him. I highly recommend reading it if you're as interested in design longevity as I am https://twitter.com/TubeTimeUS/status/1309173238967271426?s=20
Even when either of these keyboards breaks (particularly mine), I can just fix it and keep going. The model F has nothing riveted, clamped, or otherwise nonreplicable. It's a simple device, and I think it could go for hundreds of years with the right care https://twitter.com/WysWyg_Protogen/status/1364014381831512069
btw that linked post is the restoration thread I did on the F a while back. You can see just how well made and simple it is underneath. Truly a fantastic design
