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Admiral Shark

@sharktastica.co.uk

270 followers 290 following 370 posts

Hi, I share retro IBM keyboards, PCs & ThinkPads! - Welsh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿, he/him, software engineer, Debian user, lover of sharks, rock, metal, Star Trek & Stargate! #LLAP Website: https://sharktastica.co.uk Socials: https://linktr.ee/sharktastica Subreddit: /r/modelm

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · Nov 16

Hi, I'm Admiral Shark, and I've been on a mission to collect, research and document IBM, Lexmark, Unicomp, Lenovo & TGCS keyboards for 5 years for posterity! I also enjoy PCs, ThinkPads, terminals & POS equipment.
Site: sharktastica.co.uk
Socials: linktr.ee/sharktastica
Reddit: reddit.com/r/modelm

A photo of various 122-key Model M Converged Keyboards from IBM and Unicomp

A photo of an IBM PS/2 Travel Keyboard with UltraNav (SK-8840, top) and a Lenovo ThinkPad Compact USB Keyboard with TrackPoint (KU-1255, bottom)

A photo showing different "IBM" logos from various Model F and Model M keyboards of various ages

A photo of the sides of an IBM PS/2 Space Saving Keyboard (left) and a Unicomp Mini Model M (right)

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 3d

Happy 41st birthday to the #Wheelwriter and #IBMModelM keyboard family! On 16th October 1984, IBM announced the Wheelwriter 3, Wheelwriter 5 and Quietwriter 7 electronic typewriters. These typewriters featured a then-new take on the buckling spring keyboard design, the Model M!

A screenshot from my website's timeline feature showing the event that talks about the IBM Wheelwriter 3, Wheelwriter 5, Quietwriter 7 and Model M announcement.

Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 4d

Gm!

Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 5d

Oh my, an original IBM Model B!

XenXen 💾♠ @pocketunix.bsky.social · 9d

I dead ass forgot I got gifted this fucking behemoth

I got gifted this 1950s IBM typewriter awhile ago, it needs a ton of work and I need help from someone way smarter than me because I repair computers, not nearly 100 year old typewriters. This thing was made the same year my house was built lmfao

Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 5d

Oh my, an original IBM Model B!

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 6d

I miss Lower Decks so much. Thank you for creating such a wonderful series and entry to the franchise, my favourite modern Trek.

Mike McMahan @mikemcmahan.bsky.social · 6d

Feels weird to not have Solar or Lower Decks in production anymore. So proud of what we accomplished on both shows in very different ways. Thank you to everyone on both productions, and to all the fans who tuned in!!

Star Trek Lower Decks art, four ensigns panicking on a starfleet shuttle with a sparking control panel.

A cartoon alien family hugging and being nibbled on, from Solar Opposites.

Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 6d

To be clear, #Linux won't perform miracles on literally everything. But Windows 11 cuts off a lot of devices that could run it competently, including hardware that is up to *10* years newer than a Core 2 Duo #ThinkPad I can get quite a lot of my work and leisure done on...

A photo of my Lenovo ThinkPad R500 running Debian Linux

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 6d

Also, please tell and educate your friends and family about this.

Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 6d

RIP mainstream #Windows10. Remember that if 11 says your hardware is "too old", it's probably not true. There are alternatives to help negate the possible e-waste disaster incoming. 10 LTSC is one, but it won't last forever. In the meantime/as an alternative, please consider giving #Linux a shot.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 10d

Some photos from my manual for it!

A photo of the IBM PS/2 L40 SX TrackPoint User's Guide front cover.

A photo of a page from the IBM PS/2 L40 SX TrackPoint User's Guide showing "track ball mode".

A photo of a page from the IBM PS/2 L40 SX TrackPoint User's Guide showing "mouse mode".

A photo of a page from the IBM PS/2 L40 SX TrackPoint User's Guide showing how to convert the device to "track ball mode"

Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 10d

The original #IBM #TrackPoint design patent turns 35 today! It's not the #ThinkPad "nipple", "nub", etc. you may be expecting, but a mouse for the IBM PS/2 L40 SX laptop that can function as a trackball or a ball mouse depending on what side you use it!
sharktastica.co.uk/topics/paten...

U.S. Design Patent 5,063,289 (US5063289A) | Keyboard Patents

ASK Keyboard Patents database entry for U.S. Design Patent 5,063,289 (US5063289A)

sharktastica.co.uk

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 10d

Nice! The following logic helped me with the guess:
* 365X came with a floppy drive by default.
* 365Cx and 365Ex use a black inner cover (pictured via my 365ED) instead of the stylised one that 365Xx has.

A photo of my IBM ThinkPad 365ED notebook computer's inside showing the black inner cover I mentioned in my reply.

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 10d

365XD?

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 14d

The IBM 024/026 Card Punch design patent turns 76 years old today! sharktastica.co.uk/topics/paten...

U.S. Design Patent 160,720 (USD160720S) | Keyboard Patents

ASK Keyboard Patents database entry for U.S. Design Patent 160,720 (USD160720S)

sharktastica.co.uk

Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 14d

Thanks!

Reposted by Admiral Shark

Laptop Retrospective @laptopretrospective.com · 15d

A very late entry for #ThinkPadThursday, a short tour and discussion about the #ThinkPad R52. Neat machine that gave me an opportunity to talk about some stories I've collected over the years. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy98...

Examining the IBM ThinkPad R52

YouTube video by Laptop Retrospective

www.youtube.com

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 18d

The most obvious issue is that I currently use several actual Windows Vista/7 icons as placeholders to indicate what I expect of the design but I need to replace with my own icons before I publish. I don't plan to make this my website's default style, but it will soon be provided as an option.

Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 18d

I started by essentially emulating Windows 7's look, drawing heavy inspiration from khang-nd's 7.css to do so. I then began a continuous cycle of tweaking things here and there, steering design elements into something I'm happy with and keeping some relevance towards my website's existing style.

Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 18d

I may have caught the #FrutigerAero bug. I also think #WindowsVista and #Windows7 were the best-looking operating systems. Thus, I've been working on a new theme option for Admiral Shark's Keyboards that looks a lot like Aero! Some screenshots of what is to come... WIP, of course.

A screenshot of Admiral Shark's Keyboards' index page with the future Aero theme applied

A screenshot of Admiral Shark's Keyboards' timeline page with the future Aero theme applied

A screenshot of Admiral Shark's Keyboards' "navigate via image" feature with the future Aero theme applied

A screenshot of Admiral Shark's Keyboards' upcoming keyboard layouts page with the future Aero theme applied

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · 26d

Happy 55th birthday to two literal giants of the IBM keyboard world! sharktastica.co.uk/wiki?id=ibm3...

IBM 3210 & 3215 Console Printer-Keyboards

Information on the IBM 3210 and 3215 Printer-Keyboards for IBM System/370 mainframes

sharktastica.co.uk

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Admiral Shark @sharktastica.co.uk · Sep 12

My website and continuing mission for #IBM, #Lexmark, #Unicomp, #Lenovo and #TGCS #keyboard excellence has reached its sixth year! Like most past years, I have written this post to go over everything we achieved since September 2024 and to give my thanks! sharktastica.co.uk/announcement...