frontpage.
newsnewestaskshowjobs

Made with ♥ by @iamnishanth

Open Source @Github

fp.

OpenCiv3: Open-source, cross-platform reimagining of Civilization III

https://openciv3.org/
610•klaussilveira•12h ago•180 comments

The Waymo World Model

https://waymo.com/blog/2026/02/the-waymo-world-model-a-new-frontier-for-autonomous-driving-simula...
913•xnx•17h ago•545 comments

What Is Ruliology?

https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2026/01/what-is-ruliology/
28•helloplanets•4d ago•21 comments

How we made geo joins 400× faster with H3 indexes

https://floedb.ai/blog/how-we-made-geo-joins-400-faster-with-h3-indexes
102•matheusalmeida•1d ago•24 comments

Unseen Footage of Atari Battlezone Arcade Cabinet Production

https://arcadeblogger.com/2026/02/02/unseen-footage-of-atari-battlezone-cabinet-production/
31•videotopia•4d ago•1 comments

Show HN: Look Ma, No Linux: Shell, App Installer, Vi, Cc on ESP32-S3 / BreezyBox

https://github.com/valdanylchuk/breezydemo
210•isitcontent•12h ago•24 comments

Monty: A minimal, secure Python interpreter written in Rust for use by AI

https://github.com/pydantic/monty
206•dmpetrov•12h ago•99 comments

Show HN: I spent 4 years building a UI design tool with only the features I use

https://vecti.com
316•vecti•14h ago•139 comments

Microsoft open-sources LiteBox, a security-focused library OS

https://github.com/microsoft/litebox
355•aktau•18h ago•180 comments

Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Technical Info

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/
361•ostacke•18h ago•94 comments

Hackers (1995) Animated Experience

https://hackers-1995.vercel.app/
466•todsacerdoti•20h ago•232 comments

Jeffrey Snover: "Welcome to the Room"

https://www.jsnover.com/blog/2026/02/01/welcome-to-the-room/
4•kaonwarb•3d ago•1 comments

Delimited Continuations vs. Lwt for Threads

https://mirageos.org/blog/delimcc-vs-lwt
25•romes•4d ago•3 comments

Show HN: If you lose your memory, how to regain access to your computer?

https://eljojo.github.io/rememory/
263•eljojo•15h ago•156 comments

An Update on Heroku

https://www.heroku.com/blog/an-update-on-heroku/
398•lstoll•18h ago•271 comments

Dark Alley Mathematics

https://blog.szczepan.org/blog/three-points/
80•quibono•4d ago•20 comments

PC Floppy Copy Protection: Vault Prolok

https://martypc.blogspot.com/2024/09/pc-floppy-copy-protection-vault-prolok.html
54•kmm•4d ago•3 comments

Was Benoit Mandelbrot a hedgehog or a fox?

https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.01122
9•bikenaga•3d ago•2 comments

How to effectively write quality code with AI

https://heidenstedt.org/posts/2026/how-to-effectively-write-quality-code-with-ai/
239•i5heu•15h ago•182 comments

Introducing the Developer Knowledge API and MCP Server

https://developers.googleblog.com/introducing-the-developer-knowledge-api-and-mcp-server/
50•gfortaine•9h ago•15 comments

I spent 5 years in DevOps – Solutions engineering gave me what I was missing

https://infisical.com/blog/devops-to-solutions-engineering
138•vmatsiiako•17h ago•60 comments

Understanding Neural Network, Visually

https://visualrambling.space/neural-network/
274•surprisetalk•3d ago•37 comments

Show HN: R3forth, a ColorForth-inspired language with a tiny VM

https://github.com/phreda4/r3
68•phreda4•11h ago•13 comments

Why I Joined OpenAI

https://www.brendangregg.com/blog/2026-02-07/why-i-joined-openai.html
126•SerCe•8h ago•109 comments

Female Asian Elephant Calf Born at the Smithsonian National Zoo

https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/female-asian-elephant-calf-born-smithsonians-national-zoo-an...
28•gmays•7h ago•9 comments

I now assume that all ads on Apple news are scams

https://kirkville.com/i-now-assume-that-all-ads-on-apple-news-are-scams/
1051•cdrnsf•21h ago•432 comments

Vocal Guide – belt sing without killing yourself

https://jesperordrup.github.io/vocal-guide/
7•jesperordrup•2h ago•2 comments

Learning from context is harder than we thought

https://hy.tencent.com/research/100025?langVersion=en
172•limoce•3d ago•93 comments

FORTH? Really!?

https://rescrv.net/w/2026/02/06/associative
61•rescrv•20h ago•22 comments

Zlob.h 100% POSIX and glibc compatible globbing lib that is faste and better

https://github.com/dmtrKovalenko/zlob
15•neogoose•4h ago•9 comments
Open in hackernews

IBM Keyboard Patents

https://sharktastica.co.uk/topics/patents
84•tart-lemonade•6mo ago

Comments

pkdpic•6mo ago
I wish I had had this 5 years ago. The early laptops are worth scrolling down for. Really amazing resource.

Anybody aware of similar resources for other early computer patents for Apple, Commodore, Tandy etc? Or another IBM resource specifically covering more than just keyboards ie the 5150, PC Jr etc?

TacticalCoder•6mo ago
There's a company who's remaking the IBM Model F (even better feeling than a Model M).

https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/

Not cheap but I think he got the patent, tooling, and all.

Duanemclemore•6mo ago
Eliot Noyes Sighting!

One of the GOATS. Thanks for posting - there's so much awesome stuff here beyond his designs, but as an architect I gotta rep my man.

fuzzfactor•6mo ago
Take a look at 194,856 by Noyes.

Expired in 1977 and instantly recognizable as the unique architectural profile almost exactly copied by Exxon Office Systems for the Exxon Intelligent Typewriter which was out by 1979. Later known as Qyx machines they had a magnetically levitated interchangeable daisy-wheel instead of an IBM typeball for the different fonts & symbols. Available with up to two 5 1/4" floppy drives, this was before IBM PC's arrived.

terrisdotcom•6mo ago
Praise Kier!
tiltowait•6mo ago
> German Utility Patent 1,279,693

This one's pretty amazing to see, given how close it is in appearance to the Ergodox and other "glove keyboards" (rather, the other way around—they all resemble IBM's patent!).

> British Utility Patent 1,363,777 (GB1363777A)

While the buckling spring switches used in the Model M (or, for those with more rarified tastes, Model F) are rightly lauded, the beamspring is less well-known. The individual modules are absolutely massive as far as keyswitches go, but they feel wonderful to type on. They were designed to evoke the Selectric so as to be familiar to new users, and some models, such as the 3278, even included a solenoid that would click with each keypress. They also featured doubleshot keycaps and were absolute bricks that make the Model M seem a featherweight by comparison.

Asooka•6mo ago
Well, there are only so many ways to design a split mirrored keyboard that fits the shape of the human hand. The other "natural" keyboards that are a standard PC keyboard cut down the middle seem entirely pointless to me - you are already making people adapt to the split form factor, why not give them something a tad more ergonomic? Or are there other patents at play that prevented it before ErgoDox etc.?
bjoli•6mo ago
The solenoids in IBMs keyboard did not click. It was more of a bang. I have had 2 (one F and one of those beamspring ones. Can't remember exactly which B it was).

The F was loud, the model B was just spectacular. Amazing to type one after I fixed it, but with the solenoid plugged in it was unbearable.

nikanj•6mo ago
I'm surprised buckling spring keyboards are not widely available, despite being years out of patent
Asooka•6mo ago
They require higher manufacturing costs and aren't compatible with the standard Cherry keyswitch that every Chinese mechanical keyboard manufacturer uses. I know a while ago someone tried to produce a buckling spring keyswitch in a Cherry form factor, but I don't think anything came out of it. There is also very low demand. In any case, you can always buy a new one from Unicomp for a reasonable price.
tracker1•6mo ago
Love my Unicomp keyboards... but have had some minor issues... I've been mostly using brown-switch daskeyboard backlit models lately. My current desktop can't get into the bios via my unicomp 104-key, which is pretty annoying to say the least. I miss the bigger space bar and ctrl/win/alt positioning on the left side. There's really something to years of muscle memory that even years later a different keyboard can throw you off.

I also liked the buckling spring feel a bit more than MX browns. And definitely prefer Cherry MX Brown to any other brown-like knockoff switch I've tried.

I can hardly handle typing on an actual laptop keyboard... half the time, depending on my needs I'll stuff a full size keyboard in my bag. I'll also opt for either a BT mouse, or a magic pad.

2earth•6mo ago
Exceptional archive, thanks for your work!
merelysounds•6mo ago
Note that these are not just concepts but shipped projects. E.g. the description often says “An ornamental design depicting (name of the actual device)”.
II2II•6mo ago
Mostly. It was noted that the split/ergonomic keyboard was never shipped by IBM. (Though it mentioned that the patent is cited by Kinesis, presumably because the 1968 patent had expired and was being used as prior art?)
barelysapient•6mo ago
Ive been collecting Model M and Model F keyboards from IBM off from Ebay over the last few years. I've got quite a collection now. Only the IBM manufactured keyboards, no Lexmark or third-party.

I remember typing on a Model M as a kid. My fingers pushing the empty spaces between CTRL and ALT, where on newer keyboards, an OS meta now lives.

I remember writing Basic. Then Turbo Pascal. Full of curiosity and wonder.

The IBM authentic keyboards have a badge on the back with the year and month of manufacture. Most of these keyboards are older than my co-workers. Many still function correctly.

They're a joy to use.