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you'll end up with something like this:

http://www.daskeyboard.com/

My first serious note is; Why hasn't Apple jumped on this like stink-on-poo. This seems like an item that would be right up their alley.

My thoughts exactly. I must admit I'm a bit frustrated that even geeks who like the idea of this keyboard doesn't seem to view it as more than a cute toy. I think it might revolutionize human-computer interaction (I explain this in more detail below). Imagine the new Mac Book Pro with a keyboard like this, and application support in every Apple application...

Scenario: Using `less`, the left and right keys are dimmed while the up arrow is red (indicating that you're at the top of the document) and the down arrow is flashing green with a number (indicating the number of rows remain in the document.) As you scroll down, the remaining lines decrease.

While this is cute (and I would love it), it's not good enough.

Scenario: When you point your mouse at a text-input area (such as the one I'm typing in right now), the keyboard is a regular keyboard with a few cool shortcuts. When you're done typing, and click at the browser area (in which you can't type), it all changes. Suddenly, keys are instead shortcuts to Reload, Back, Home, this type of stuff. The "/" key is a magnifying glass, and when you press it, you get your regular keyboard to indicate that you can enter text to search in the page.

While surfing, the Email-key on your keyboard starts pulsating with an envelope, indicating that new mail has arrived (Biff in your keyboard baby!). You switch focus to your MUA, and the keyboard buttons transform into icons for Reply, Forward, Write new, Next unread message... You reply to the new message, and voilà, there's your regular keys again.

When you're done, the IM key starts blinking... Well, you get my drift.

So, what does this change in your UI? Well, for starters, we can finally get rid of all these space hogging, most often ugly, shortcut tool-/buttonbars. All of this functionality will instead be available in the keyboard. Learning shortcuts in a new application will be a breeze - the first times you're using it, the keys show what they mean, and after a while, you have it in your fingers and can make all keys turn black, effectively cloning the Das Keyboard... ;)

The real action, of course, happens in applications with heavy use of shortcuts, such as Photoshop, Word, Eclipse and other IDEs, and the ruler of them all: Emacs! Imagine pressing Alt, then Meta, then Ctrl... While the keys are updated to reflect their current functionality!

Again, people view this as cute; I view it as a potential user interface revolution in the hands of someone like Apple (or preferably Gnome!).

Forgot to add: They also claim that their layout requires "no special hardware". This too is highly questionable, as most people would value having a keyboard that actually produces keypresses in accordance with what's printed on the keys. This is especially valuable when trying to learn a new keyboard layout, as (almost) anyone adopting Colemak would have to do.

However, since there are (at this time) no known vendors of Colemak-layout keyboards, anyone wanting to use such a keyboard with the proper key mappings would have to rearrange the keys by himself. Even then the result would not be perfect as the symbols combined on a number of keys (like the number keys, hah) have changed. In other words, not only does the Colemak layout require special hardware, there are possibly no keyboards that can even be (easily) modified to be fully Colemak-compliant.

Of course, you could always buy a Das Keyboard and write on the keys yourself. But I'd hardly consider that an easy mod.

Keytronic even sells them in black! Paint over the keys with nailpolish or something.

As near as I can tell the Das Keyboard is a 3600 series Keytronic keyboard. Just without any printing. Even their diagrams for the "Individually Weighted Keyswitches" look similar:

Das Keyboard
Keytronic

Seems very much to match Keytronic E03600QUSUSBB-C

Specs of the Keytronics Keyboard

Specs of the Das Keyboard

Complete with the following identical features , verbatum:
"High quality membrane switch"es
"Three Windows keys"
Key lifetime is "30 million keystrokes"
Operating shock of "10 G"
"Phantom key lockout"
A "Reset force" of ".5oz"
Input power of "+5 Vdc ±.25 V @ 100 mA max."
Agency approvals (in this order) "FCC Class B", " UL", and "CSA".
Total Travel of .150" ±.010" @100g
Travel to peak is ".050" ±.010""
Peak force is "2.0 oz +/- .4oz"

Also the keytronics has "Ergo Technology," which is a word-for-word ripoff, with "Ergo Technology" being replaced by "Das Keyboard". Second paragraph of the keytronic specs is the same as a paragraph off the front page of Das Keyboard.

And look at the image of the Ergo Technology!
Look familar?

Guess what? Its only $21.50 at keytronics.

Stop giving this rip off free advertising for an overpriced keyboard with its letters solvented off without even credit to keytronic.

Instead of the clacking, snapping action of buckling-spring keyboards, manufacturers have mostly moved to cheaper, less-complicated membrane keyboards...

And from the specifications of this keyboard they provide a reason:

Das Keyboard makes a quiet clicky and snazzy sound. It does not require the use of ear plugs

How to be http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide- display/-/RYNOFNADLYT1/104-6524065-8061536 cool!.

The ultimate keyboard! http://www.daskeyboard.com/ Well - Maybe we had this earlier.

Drool....

/sarcasm R.

According to the pictures I'd seen so far it doesn't seem to have any buttons, or any markings for buttons, or where they might be.

I've got my flame-retardant jumpsuit close to hand just in case, but... this does seem like more style at the expense of actual usability. You have learn where the buttons are in the same way as Das Keyboard, but with this mouse you first have to realise that there *are* buttons.

Very stylish. Nil point for usability.

http://daskeyboard.com/

For the cheapskates there's always Das Keyboard!!

Well, it isn't exactly cheap, but it is actually really nice. My keyboard at work had one too many coffees spilled on it, so I asked for Das Keyboard for the replacement. I was anticipating a little adjustment period, but there really wasn't any. It takes zero extra effort to type -- my fingers apparently know where all the keys are -- and the weighting and feel of the keys is excellent. The only problem I have is when I'm working on something else and want to reach over to hit a control key combination or something -- then I have to think.

(PS: you can get it directly from its own web site: http://www.daskeyboard.com/ for four cents cheaper than Thinkgeek, and with free shipping to North America.)

With this one you can imagine every layout you ever gonna need. http://www.daskeyboard.com/

-- ApYx --

Das Keyboard + Tippex + 30 minutes = Optimus Keyboard
Just scrape off as you change apps...

Das Keyboard

..and for those who aren't sure to switch from qwerty to Dvorak and back, i suggest this keyboard:

http://www.daskeyboard.com/

at least you can leave your screwdriver under the sink.

Even more fun. Imagine how silly people will feel when they sit down at your keyboard and try to type something.

Remember, there is no inscriptions on Das Keyboard keys. The letters are visible on this diagram for information purpose only.

UberGeeks don't need letters OR English classes.

If you're into "Das Keyboard" because you want to improve your typing skills, I'd recommend a typing keyboard skin (for more, google [w/o quotes] "keyboard skin typing"), which is what I used. Also, (and I say this in all seriousness), covering the screen while copying from a sheet will really help your typing speed. Also, if you take a look at the weights they use for the keys (which, incidentally, doesn't match up with the picture of "Das Keyboard" on the main page), the key weights seem arbitrarily chosen. Also, wouldn't they want to make various different versions of the keyboard, each key having different weights (for example, a developer version, an American/British English, German, French, Spanish, etc.)?

It looks like a $20 Keytronic keyboard to me. The variable key weighting is something Keytronic has done for years. Notice the similarity between these two images:

http://www.daskeyboard.com/images/keygrams.jpg
http://www.keytronic.com/home/products/specs/image s/ErgoColkeyv2.gif

See the link for the Keytronic E03600, notice the pictures, key placement/arrangement, are exactly the same.

They didn't even bother to update the layout image for the different key weights (they simply resized it and put a note that "...the letters are visible on this diagram for information purposes only." See Keytronic's version and Das Keyboard's Version. Though for some reason, Das Keyboard's image is better.

And you can buy Keytronic's for $21.50 directly from the manufacturer, or even less elsewhere. It's currently out of stock from Keytronic; maybe these people bought them all thinking they had a gold mine at 400% profit! :-b

Marketing! Marketing! Marketing!

The annoying thing is that the Keyboard image doesn't line up with the key map that they provide.

The annoying thing is that the Keyboard image doesn't line up with the key map that they provide.

Actually, it looks to me like Das Keyboard may have ripped off Keytronic's Ergoforce - or at least PC World's illustration of it.

Übergeek my foot. Check the picture - it has a Windows key. No geek worth his salt wold use that.
I'm still happy with my old metal IBM keyboard that goes CLICK CLICK CLICK when I type