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Apple Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard (A9M0330) vs Apple Apple Extended Keyboard

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

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AppleApple Desktop Bus Keyboard (A9M0330)AppleApple Extended Keyboard
Overview
Released19861987
Typing
LayoutFull sizeFull size
SwitchesMechanicalMechanical
BacklightNoneNone
Keys labelled forMacMac
Touch ID–No
SwitchesApple's IIgs Technical Procedures documents Alps and SMK switch assemblies as variants of the original Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard. Alps has an orange square-cornered stem in the service illustration; SMK has a white stem with rounded upper corners. Deskthority also documents surviving Alps Salmon variants and a mechanically locking Caps Lock switch.Alps SKCM Orange or Salmon mechanical switches in M0115 variants, identified by Deskthority.
Key travelExact-model travel and actuation force were not recovered from the maker documents and remain unpublished here.–
KeycapsApple's service manual lists replaceable keycap and switch sets. Specialist inspections distinguish Alps and SMK legends and manufacturing variants; an exact universal keycap material specification is not established.–
LayoutsDetached keyboard with a numeric keypad and four arrow keys. Apple's IIgs Owner's Guide lists standard, Dvorak and eight international keyboard configurations. The photographed US layout has Control beside A, Caps Lock at the lower left and arrows in one row; international legends differ.Apple's July 1987 product sheet lists 105 keys, including a numeric pad, 15 function keys, six editing keys and inverted-T arrows.
Special keysEscape, Control, Shift, Caps Lock, Option and the open-Apple Command key, with a separate triangular Reset key. The IIgs Owner's Guide shows Reset used with other keys to restart; it is not the IIgs mains on/off switch. No function-key row.F1–F15; the case marks F1–F4 for undo, cut, copy and paste, though Apple says these actions were not assigned by default.
Connections and battery
Connects byCableCable
PowerCableCable
ReceiverDetachable four-pin mini-DIN Apple Desktop Bus cable and two ADB sockets. One connects to the host and the other can connect a compatible ADB mouse. ADB is not USB or the earlier Macintosh keyboard connection.Apple Desktop Bus cable; Apple's product sheet says another ADB input device can be chained through the keyboard.
Battery life detailPowered by the wired ADB connection; no battery is required. A keyboard-only electrical consumption figure was not recovered.–
Works withOriginally supplied for the Apple IIgs; compatible ADB Macintosh computers can also use it. Apple modifier legends are represented by the catalogue's Mac layout label, but the original host was an Apple II, not a Macintosh. Modern hosts need a suitable separate ADB converter.Any Apple personal computer with an ADB interface, according to Apple; the product sheet names the Macintosh SE and II.
SoftwareThe IIgs Control Panel adjusts the delay before a held key repeats and the repeat interval. Application software determines the numeric keypad and special-key functions.–
Design
Weight–1600 g
Width × depth × height–486 × 188 × 56.4 mm
SizeNo exact keyboard-only maker dimensions or mass were recovered. Third-party shipping-box dimensions and keyboard-plus-cable weights are not substituted for the bare product.–
MaterialsMoulded enclosure, separate keycaps and mechanical switch assembly; the service manual's exploded view distinguishes the upper and lower cases.Beige plastic enclosure with fixed slope.
ColoursOriginal light-coloured enclosure and contrasting keycaps, shown in Apple's IIgs owner-guide photographs. Surviving manufacturer and language variants can differ in keycap appearance.Beige.
In the boxApple's IIgs system packing list names the Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard as part 658-4081 and a separate keyboard cable. The later A9M0330 label denotes this original keyboard generation. Computer, monitor and mouse shown in system photographs are not included with a keyboard-only purchase. October 1986 Washington Apple Pi describes the current IIgs seller's market and buying process; year precision is retained because the keyboard's exact first-sale month or day has not been established.Apple's order list includes the keyboard and cable, referral card and limited warranty statement.

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