Document: WM-080                                                 P. Webb
Category: Computing                                           2026-01-05

                     Using Old Tech in the New Age

Abstract

   Don’t call it a comeback

Body

   Keyboard

      Vintage tools tend to be on the expensive side so I’ve always
      looked at Apple’s Extended Keyboard (AEK) II as one such device.
      Imagine my surprise then when I found that I could order one from
      eBay for less than $100! In the original packaging!!

      

      If you look close you can see that it previously lived at
      "Computerland Corporation[1]," which was a Radio Shack-esque
      chain of stores. I looked it up out of curiousity and man, what a
      timeline…the drama!

      When I opened the box I was happy to see how great the keyboard
      looked. I know yellowing is to be expected but mine isn’t
      egregious. If I go through with restoring the original color, I’ll
      update this memo.

      

      This thing is a CHONKER and I love it. But why use this instead of
      the very pretty, customized Womier RD75 pictured here?

      

      For whatever reason, the system key would reset on my Womier and
      I’d waste time trying to get it to how it was before, using the
      VIA web app (which is only useable in Chromium browsers). I’d much
      rather not deal with that…although in hindsight, I could
      probably just use an app like Karabiner Elements[2] instead. In
      any event, I enjoy having a numpad as well. All the new fancy
      keyboards like to be minimal but I’ve come to realize I’m a
      maximalist, at least in this area.

      The quirk with the AEK II though, is that it comes with
      proprietary ports, Apple’s ADB. Of the adapters I found, only one
      appealed to me; a pre-assembled TMK ADB-USB converter I purchased
      from a person on a forum[3]. It felt sketch as hell but I figured,
      why not? My keyboard is also coming from a random person across
      the country, why not some doohickey from another country entirely?

      

      Something that befuddled me on first use was that the button next
      to the USB port needed to be pressed before the keyboard
      would work.

      

      The only downside to AEK II was media controls not working; the
      function keys not doing things that modern Mac keyboards do, like
      changing volume, pausing music, &c. Fret not, mhoye[4] reminded me
      that I could probably use Karabiner Elements to fix this and
      indeed it has! One thing KE has no idea about is the Power button
      on this keyboard, which makes sense because it’s not a key.

      

      There is a way to make the Power button do something but that
      involves flashing the chip[5] on this ADB adapter. I would want it
      to operate like the emoji or globe/fn key. I have no idea how to
      do that just yet…another future project, maybe.

  Watch

      I use used my Apple Watch daily, most often to set a 15-minute
      alarm between my kittens’ eating times (they lack self-control so
      we feed them half their meal and make them wait for the other
      half), and unlocking my computer and security/password prompts. My
      watch is a Series 7 (2021) and I need to charge it every day-ish.
      It’s fine but I feel meh about upgrading it.

      SegamanXero[6] told me about the round Pebble watch being made
      available for pre-order[7], which prompted me to look at Casio
      watches, LOL! I found two super dope ones and ordered them both.

      The Casio LF-20W-8A[8] ($30) and Casio LF-30W-8A[9] ($40).

      

      

      I’ve been wearing the former for a few days now and what I dislike
      the most is needing to type my password all the time. 😭 The
      convenience of a wrist-based authenticator is fantastic. Sure
      would be nice if Apple would sell a standalone Touch ID thingy!
      Something like that would increase "customer sat" so maybe someone
      could convince Tim Cook this is a great idea? "Services" seems to
      be the most important metric these days so maybe not…alas.

      Another plus of using an Apple Watch is not needing to have my
      phone on me when doing things around the house. At worst, my wife
      will be inconvenienced with waiting for me to get to my phone to
      answer her text about what food items we’re low on while she’s
      out shopping.

      Oh, and being able to raise my wrist to tell Siri is set a timer.

      The plus of using a Casio is having a cool fucking watch on
      my wrist. It costs 13x less than the cheapest Series 11 and is
      objectively rad.

  CD Player & Wired Headphones

      

      My wife got me a CD player for Christmas because I’ve been yapping
      about old tech for a hot minute (and I’ve never stopped buying CDs
      either, to rip FLACs to then play in Doppler[10]/IINA[11]).

      The Marshall Major V headphones[12] I purchased a few weeks prior,
      because I never had them in brown (and got a great deal)! I had a
      pair in black when Marshall first released these (oh god) nearly
      two decades ago…I’m not fact-checking this, I know I had hair
      then. Anyhoo, these headphones are wireless (Bluetooth) and
      support wired use.

      

      The same day my Marshalls arrived, so did several Samurai Champloo
      soundtracks. My 2006 self would not be surprised at my 2026 self.
      Once the rainy weather lets up, I’m gonna have to take some walks
      with my anti-skip CD player. My Nintendo GameBoy fanny pack is in
      disarray (ripped) but I do have other side bags I could use.

      I’m a dad, this is my life now, and I’m satisfied. 😎

  Phone

      I haven’t made the jump to a flip phone yet but I’m still
      considering it. At best, it’d be a second phone, not a replacement
      for my iPhone. The utility of a wireless supercomputer in my
      pocket in 2026 is simply too great.

  All in all, I really enjoy this keyboard. It’s a joy to type on and I
  am happy that I got media controls working on it. I would love if
  future computers had keyboards like this. In any event, I’m getting
  ideas for systemSOFT[13] hardware. 🕸️