Apple Standard Keyboard (1987)
The "standard" keyboard that didn't come as standard: the basic companion to the Macintosh II and SE, with Alps switches and two ADB ports.
© baku13 · CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗ Resized, no crop or retouching.
Specs
| Connectivity | Apple Desktop Bus, two bidirectional ports, detachable cable |
| Switches | Alps SKCM tactile |
| Key feature | first keyboard sold separately from the Mac, per Wikipedia |
Launch
When Apple introduced the Macintosh II and Macintosh SE in 1987, neither came with a keyboard: buyers chose between this basic model (M0116) or the more complete Extended Keyboard, which cost $100 more according to Apple, a figure recorded by Wikipedia. It was the first keyboard Apple sold separately from the computer, inaugurating that choice between basic and advanced keyboards, per the same source. It was manufactured between 1987 and 1990, per Deskthority.
Marketing
It was a more solid version of the Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard, with a much thicker frame and more weight, a design Wikipedia describes as the visual embodiment of the new Macs' power. Its two bidirectional ADB ports allowed the detachable cable to plug into one side and the mouse into the other, equally comfortable for right- and left-handed users, per Deskthority. The keys combined Alps SKCM tactile switches with a physically locking Alps switch under Caps Lock, and the italic legends were dye-sublimated onto PBT plastic (except the ABS space bar), details documented by Deskthority.
Flaws and fixes
It kept two oddities inherited from the Apple II era: the backwards L-shaped Return key, the last on any Macintosh keyboard, and a Control key to the left of A, unique among Mac keyboards, per Deskthority. In 1990 it gave way to the Apple Keyboard II, lighter and cheaper to manufacture, per Deskthority and Wikipedia.