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Re: Keyboard question

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On 2025-08-20 11:23:59 +0000, super70s said:
> On 2025-08-20 07:30:12 +0000, Your Name said:
> 
>> On 2025-08-20 06:48:42 +0000, super70s said:
>>> On 2025-08-20 05:32:36 +0000, Your Name said:
>>>> On 2025-08-19 22:53:17 +0000, super70s said:
>>>>> 
>>>>> I use an Apple A1242 keyboard on a couple of my newer iMacs 
>>>>> (hard-wired). I like them because they're about as compact as possible 
>>>>> and seem to be pretty reliable.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I also use an old PowerMac G4 MDD pretty often which I've always used 
>>>>> Apple M2452 keyboards with. Those keyboards don't have the best 
>>>>> reliability and they're dust/hair/grit collectors and I'm always having 
>>>>> to order (used, of course) replacements for them on eBay.
>>>> 
>>>> If it is only dirt under the keys, then you can pop the keys off fairly 
>>>> easily (the longer ones such as the spacebar, shift, etc. can be a bit 
>>>> of a pain to get back on, so perhaps leave those on).
>>>> 
>>>> If the dirt has gotten inside the casing itself, then it is more 
>>>> difficult to do because of the plastic clip that easily breaks.
>>>> <https://siber-sonic.com/mac/keyboards/M2452.html>.
>>> 
>>> The latest time this happened some of the keys just quit working, the 
>>> "e" for instance. I know how to pop the keys and clean under them but 
>>> it didn't make any difference.
>>> 
>>> I ordered a replacement (which the guy said was untested so it was 
>>> relatively cheap -- those things usually go for around $30 postage 
>>> paid) and all the keys worked OK except the spacebar was stubborn about 
>>> coming back up, even after I cleaned the hell out of it in every place. 
>>> So I used the old beanie and put a small piece of sponge under it so it 
>>> would, lol.
>>> 
>>> I have two systems that use the M2452 so I'll just use this one as a 
>>> backup. I try to have two working ones on hand in case the main one 
>>> suddenly goes bad.
>>> 
>>>>> My question is would an Apple A1242 keyboard work on the G3? I would at 
>>>>> least have to order a USB cord extension so it would reach all the way 
>>>>> to the G4 tower (on the floor). But if I did that would it work okay? 
>>>>> Never thought about doing this before but I'm sick of those old M2452 
>>>>> keyboards going bad.
>>>> 
>>>> The Apple A1242 wired keyboard specs say it works with MacOS X 10.5.6 
>>>> or newer. It may or may not work with older versions of the OS. The 
>>>> simplest option would be to just try it on the PowerMac. Plug the 
>>>> keyboard into the back and use it on the floor if necessary, to see if 
>>>> it will work.
>>> 
>>> Damn, I'm running 10.4.9 on those two machines (even though I split the 
>>> drive and do have 10.5.6 on them too but I never use that OS because it 
>>> can't run Classic apps). But I will try the A1242 on them, it could 
>>> work like you say. If it does all I'll need is the USB extension cord.
>> 
>> A USB hub with a long cable might be a better idea, since it would 
>> allow you to plug in the keyboard, mouse, and provide easy access for 
>> USB thumb drives.
> 
> I already have an old Belkin hub on the primary G4 for peripherals like 
> the printer, scanner and extra CD-ROM, I guess I could just plug the 
> keyboard directly into that. Although I never could get an external 
> floppy drive to work with it, it fussed it wasn't getting enough power 
> -- even when I gave the hub it's own power supply. I even plugged the 
> floppy drive directly into the G4 and it still argued about not enough 
> power.

You could try a double-USB plug so it gets power from two USB ports. 
That's what my external DVD-burner uses. My external USB floppy drive 
only needs one plug.

Neither likes working through the my USB hub, despite it being a 
supposedly powered hub. The external USB-powered hard drives don't work 
through the hub either, but the external wall-powered hard drive does.



>>>> Another option is any old cheap Windows keyboard which should work, 
>>>> although you usually have to remap the Command and Option keys since 
>>>> Windows has them the wrong way around.
>>> 
>>> Usually I'm Apple to the core, lol. But the Windows keyboards could 
>>> probably be bought for a song, that's a good idea.
>> 
>> I've been using an wired Logitech K120 Windows keyboard and mouse with 
>> this 2014 Mac Mini since I got it in 2018. Both are plugged into a USB 
>> hub because there simply aren't enough USB ports on the computer for 
>> everything. No problems and it cost me under US$20 for the set brand 
>> new. It's obviously not as aesthetically nice as all Apple, but nobody 
>> but me really ever sees or uses it anyway. (The screen is a Samsung TV 
>> too.)
> 
> "Logitech K120 Windows keyboard," thanks I'll look for that on eBay. I 
> was hoping for some direction in the Windows wilderness. I'm at the 
> point on this older system where I don't care about aesthetics and 
> branding, but since I have limited desk space I wouldn't want the 
> keyboard to have a bigger footprint than the M2452 (about 15" x 5 
> 1/2"). The A1242 keyboards are only 11" x 4 1/2".

The K120 is a fairly big keybaord with separate numberpad, curcos keys, 
and page up / down cluster, all full-travel keys. The mouse is fairly 
light with two-buttons and a scrollwheel. Apart from remapping the 
Command and Option keys, everything worked with the Mac Mini's original 
version of MacOS and with High Sierra (10.13) it runs now, without any 
extra software installed.

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Thread

Keyboard question super70s <super70s@super70s.invalid> - 2025-08-19 17:53 -0500
  Re: Keyboard question Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> - 2025-08-20 17:32 +1200
    Re: Keyboard question super70s <super70s@super70s.invalid> - 2025-08-20 01:48 -0500
      Re: Keyboard question Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> - 2025-08-20 19:30 +1200
        Re: Keyboard question super70s <super70s@super70s.invalid> - 2025-08-20 06:23 -0500
          Re: Keyboard question Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> - 2025-08-21 09:02 +1200
            Re: Keyboard question super70s <super70s@super70s.invalid> - 2025-08-20 16:27 -0500
              Re: Keyboard question Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> - 2025-08-21 13:19 +1200
                Re: Keyboard question super70s <super70s@super70s.invalid> - 2025-08-20 22:31 -0500
                Re: Keyboard question Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> - 2025-08-21 18:41 +1200

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