Apple Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard (A9M0330) vs Apple Macintosh Plus Keyboard (M0110A)

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Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard (A9M0330) compared with Macintosh Plus Keyboard (M0110A)

	AppleApple Desktop Bus Keyboard (A9M0330)	AppleMacintosh Plus Keyboard (M0110A)
Overview
Released
Released	1986	January 1986
Typing
Layout
Layout	Full size	Full size
Switches
Switches	Mechanical	Mechanical
Backlight
Backlight	None	None
Keys labelled for
Keys labelled for	Mac	Mac
Switches
Switches	Apple'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.	Apple's Technical Procedures identifies Alps and Mitsumi mechanical switch versions of the Macintosh Plus keyboard, with their own boards and non-interchangeable replacement switches. Deskthority's exact M0110A inspection also documents a Taiwan-made SMK switch variant; this is a production variant, not a separate keyboard generation. Caps Lock uses a mechanically locking switch.
Key travel
Key travel	Exact-model travel and actuation force were not recovered from the maker documents and remain unpublished here.	Exact-model key travel and actuation force were not recovered from the maker's published sources and remain omitted; figures from the earlier M0110 keyboard engineering specification are not transferred.
Keycaps
Keycaps	Apple'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.	Individual keycaps and country-specific legends; Apple's service parts list distinguishes beige and smoke-coloured keycap sets. Legend production differs between switch variants, as documented by Deskthority; a single construction is not asserted for every M0110A.
Layouts
Layouts	Detached 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 original Macintosh Plus specification sheet lists 78 keys for the US layout, software-mapped keys and two-key rollover. International and Japanese layouts are production configurations; the illustrated primary photograph shows the US layout, with its large Return key and separate numeric keypad.
Special keys
Special keys	Escape, 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.	Built-in numeric keypad with Clear, arithmetic keys and Enter; four arrow keys, Command, Option and mechanically locking Caps Lock. No function row, Escape or Control keys. The keyboard's layout is distinct from later ADB models.
Connections and battery
Connects by
Connects by	Cable	Cable
Power
Power	Cable	Cable
Receiver
Receiver	Detachable 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.	Detachable four-wire cable with modular RJ-11-type connectors carrying ground, clock, data and +5 V. Apple's shared hardware reference describes a synchronous serial interface with the computer initiating communication. This is not ADB or USB, and an ordinary telephone cord is not a substitute for the correctly wired keyboard cable.
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Powered by the wired ADB connection; no battery is required. A keyboard-only electrical consumption figure was not recovered.	Powered through the +5 V keyboard cable; no battery is required. A keyboard-only maximum current is not established by the recovered sources.
Works with
Works with	Originally 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.	Apple's hardware reference explicitly states compatibility with the Macintosh Plus and the earlier Macintosh 128K, 512K and 512K enhanced keyboard ports. Modern computers need a separate suitable protocol converter. Application support for the added keys is distinct from electrical compatibility.
Software
Software	The 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
Weight	–	1200 g
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	–	395.4 × 146 × 65 mm
Size
Size	No 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.	Apple's original press specification sheet gives width 395.4 mm, depth 146 mm, height 65 mm and weight 1.2 kg for the keyboard. Its later shared hardware reference rounds the width to 395 mm; the more precise original maker value is retained here.
Materials
Materials	Moulded enclosure, separate keycaps and mechanical switch assembly; the service manual's exploded view distinguishes the upper and lower cases.	Separate plastic top and bottom housing with individual mechanical switches and keycaps. Apple's service guide documents different switch boards and replacement housing parts rather than one uniform internal construction.
Colours
Colours	Original 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 and later platinum housing options are documented in Apple's service parts list. They are cosmetic configurations; the original press photograph is monochrome and does not establish a colour for the pictured unit.
In the box
In the box	Apple'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.	Detachable keyboard and connection cable supplied with the Macintosh Plus. January 1986 availability follows Macworld's historical timeline stating Apple released the Macintosh Plus that month; 16 January's introduction is not asserted as an exact first-sale day. An exact separate keyboard retail date was not recovered.