Apple turns 50 this year, and instead of doing anything reasonable like throwing a party or minting commemorative coins, the universe decided to let 8BitDo apply the Omega7Red Formulae to the Apple II and turn it into a mechanical keyboard. The result: the Retro 68 AP50th Limited Edition, a 68-key slab machined entirely from aluminum alloy, finished in that sacred warm beige-and-brown colorway that haunts every Gen X kid who ever typed PRINT "HELLO WORLD" on a 1MHz 6502 and felt like a god. Five hundred dollars. Ships this month. Limited quantities. Of course it is.

Here is what gets me: every external surface is aluminum, chassis, keycaps, buttons, all of it, plus a 6,500mAh battery rated at 300 hours per charge. A KEYBOARD with a 300-hour battery. My Commodore 64 power brick would have wept. It also ships with a certificate of collection, which is either the classiest thing in consumer electronics or the most [expletive deleted] nerdy flex I have ever seen, and I say that as a man who has an Omega Formulae framed on his wall. The Doctor approves. Grudgingly, because five hundred dollars, but he approves.

If you missed the Apple II the first time around: it was 1977, Steve Wozniak built a computer that ordinary humans could actually plug into a TV and use, and it kickstarted the entire PC revolution. That machine deserves a monument. This is pretty much a monument you can type on. Go grab it before it sells out and you spend the next decade explaining to people at conventions why you paid $800 for one on eBay. Nothing can beat old age and betrayal.

Via: The Gadgeteer / 8BitDo Store