The Upside of Planned Obsolescence

I have experienced many disgusting things in my time, but nothing could have prepared me for what lay under the keys of my IBM Model M keyboard. I try to keep it clean, but alas, there comes a time when it has to be given a serious scrubbing. Over time, spilled coffee, crumbs, and dust fuse to create a cement-like substance that could be used as a biological warfare agent if it weren’t so hard to remove from under they keys. It’s a horror in its own right, but magnified by the realization it’s been there all along, just out of sight. It must not be unlike finding a body in the walls of your house.

This kind of maintenance is not pleasant, but I prefer it to buying a twelve-dollar CHICOM keyboard every 18 months. My Model M was made in November 1993 and still works flawlessly. I bought it used in 1999 for $20.00 and have no reason to expect it not to last another decade.Very little of the electronic gear we buy today has any allowance to be fixed or even maintained, but this suits everyone just fine because it means certain chores just don’t have to be done. It’s easier to buy a new one than clean it.