It was a far cry from the modern age where just about any USB keyboard can be plugged into any computer. Today we enjoy ubiquity among not just keyboards, but mice, joysticks and other peripherals because of the HID specification. If you spill coffee on your keyboard at the office, chances are you can simply snag a new one from the supply closet, plug it in and expect it to just work. It's not just computers either – smartphones accept the standard, although they typically require a USB adapter to plug in a keyboard.