I mentioned this project in an article (german only) on this blog, it dates back from November 2012. Somehow I never showed it, I don’t really know why.

Those who read this blog for a while know that I have a deep faible for computer keyboards. You don’t get the full picture from my english language articles, but in german you can find many keyboard related articles on this site.

Amongst others, my collection contains two vintage Apple keyboards. There’s a — really not too shabby — Apple Extended Keyboard II, which was built between 1990 and 1994. Many enthusiasts claim that this is the best keyboard ever produced by Apple, partly of course because of it’s mechanical nature with the Alps switches.

Even more original — and in my eyes it’s a typical Apple product — is the Apple Adjustable Keyboard, 1993 vintage. Typical Apple? As I said, in my eyes: it was expensive for its time, and above all the visual appearance of the product is more important than functionality. Even though there are arrow-keys on the main keyboard, I personally wouldn’t want to miss function- and navigation-keys (Home, End, PgUp, PgDown). And if you connect the additional keypad, you really have to have long arms to reach your mouse… :-/

However, I wanted to give both a try. And since I don’t have access to a computer with ADB interface — Apple killed it in 1999 — I needed a converter. You can buy this stuff, but you don’t have to.

On geekhack.org, there’s a japanese developer called hasu, who is tmk on Github. He created and published the TMK Keyboard Firmware Collection. That’s a firmware that can be run on several AVR-based platforms, notably the Teensy 2.0 which is well known in keyboard communities. The firmware is able to ‘talk’ several different keyboard protocols. Of course, USB in one direction, to be connected to any modern computer. In the other direction there are protocols like PS/2, Sun or Apple Desktop Bus. The custom firmware is loaded with features even expensive modern high end boards fail to deliver. It’s possible to program macros, use media keys or control the mouse pointer with the keyboard.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a Teensy at home. But I had all the parts to build something compatible, and all the tools to etch a fitting PCB. So I fired up KiCad and designed a minimal circuit, from that it wasn’t too difficult to create a PCB layout:

(The KiCad files need a bit of a workover, so I won’t publish them here. But it should be easy to recreate the circuit following the two screenshots.)

ADB USB Converter

ADB USB Converter

The finished converter measures in at 2x5cm, that’s really tiny. But the important thing is: it works!

I could probably use the ADB mouse with an off-the-shelf converter. But honestly: even a hardcore fanboy would prefer a modern pointing device without the ball in it. That is: a while ago I had the opportunity to play a bit with System 7.5 (the Apple operating system from the same era as the two keyboards), and I have to confess that the Adjustable Keyboard did its part for the authentic user experience… :-D

In Star Trek TNG, Captain Picard is shown as the epitomy of wisdom. I just recognized that yesterday, watching the episode Devil’s Due:

Data, from your own experience of performing Ebenezer Scrooge, you’re aware how fear can be a very powerful motivator. […] And in the hands of a con artist, fear can be used to motivate obedience, capitulation, the exploitation of innocent people. And that is what I believe has happened here.

The episode is from 1991, and everybody can decide for themselves if this quote fits into our current reality. For me, TNG always has been the best part of the Star Trek franchise.

A look back

A look back

Just until a few hours ago, the Schatenseite — my main homepage — was running with the Typo3 content management system. I installed it about twelve years ago, and I’m still certain that people can build awesome sites with it. However, Typo3 maintenance takes more engagement than I’m willing to invest. And Typo3 as a CMS was too big for my little page, anyway — which was clear from the start… :-D

I’m running my blog since 2004, and I think most of my content fits better into a blog than into a classic ‘homepage’ format. So old projects are ‘fading out’, instead of me taking them offline. So I moved my blog to the main page. I preserved parts of my old homepage by ordering some articles into the blog. I kept chronoligical order with this, so what I wrote in 2006 will be found in 2006, even if I copied the content in 2015. I put a sticky article onto the front page, so it’s easy to find the main project pages.

Ages ago, I heard a very wise sentence. Unfortunately, I don’t remember who said that:

Important URLs never change.

I tried to honor that with my relaunch. So on one hand, the most important pages of the old Typo3-site should lead to the right articles in this blog. And on the other hand all old blog URLs should lead to the new location, too. So most links and feeds should continue working properly. People with links to my page, especially those who subscribed the feed, should check if they know about the new locations. For the time being, I’ll keep the rewrite rules intact. But who knows what’s coming…

There’s one more thing I introduced to the blog: parts of the old homepage were already translated into — my very broken — english. I want to expand the english part in the future, so from now on this is a bilingual blog. However, not for the whole content. I like how WordPress keeps the page with the Polylang plugin. I don’t have to translate every single article. But rest assured: the main parts will be available in english, too.

I’d really like to hear what you think about the relaunch. Especially of course, if there still are errors to fix. Does the page look OK? Do the feeds still work for you…?