Slashdot Mirror
Keyless Keyboard
Nos. writes: "Keybowl has developed a keyless keyboard. Instead of using your fingers, as we're all used to, you use your hands and arms while reducing wrist motion. According to their research it suggests this is much better at reducing repetitive strain injuries as well as being easier to use for disabled persons. I'd be happy just knowing I couldn't drop any more crumbs between the keys!" As an official keyboard fanatic / inquisitor, I like to see unusual ideas like this. As it is, keyboards can mostly be pegged something from "horrible" to "terrible." Also, check out the comparison page at this site, which has a fairly non-judgmental rundown of many of the other ergonomic keyboards out there, from Kinesis to Bat.
Well it's a keyboard, no buttons. Since the site's been /.ed nobody knows what is looks like...
Visit my website xpenguin.com -- A linux penguin website
Too bad you can't /. google...
c om/products/products_main.htm+keybowl&hl =en
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:www.keybowl.
I submitted the word "while", which I can type in less than a second, and which I type fairly frequently when coding; I just don't believe you can get *anywhere* near the typing speed by co-ordinating these two domes. To get 'w' I've just got to make sure I hit the 'w' key on a normal keyboard, but on this thing I have to bring a time-element in too, I need to make two movements. I love gadgets, but I won't be ordering one of these.
Now, it would be very interesting if you could isolate the two domes' output at will. So, you'd have, say, the right dome for the arrow keys + tricks and the left dome for the various actions...
...then it just struck me... it'd be neat if the dome had (has?) the three mouse keys incorporated on *each* dome (both for the extra functionality *and* for accommodating left-handers like me). Then, we could happily forget about the "Claw" (/.ed this week, if you remember).
Now, that would be neat...!
Trian
I'm no longer fed up with MS Windows: I go rid of them
So if this thing becomes popular, and it creates a keystroke by combining one position from each hand, I'd have to assume you can only type one keystroke at a time... Now this almost instantly makes it worthless for Windows users, seeing as a certain three keys are required to be pressed at the same time quite often :)
how bout straight females? they dont want those boobies n'more..
:)
how bout a look and feel for male butts for female users?
sorry for my bad spelling..
This would be great for a book-sized portable computer. Position small versions of the "domes" where they will be under the user's thumbs when the computer is held with both hands.
I therefore suggest they call it a breast board, since that is what it most closely resembles.
Hmmm. And I can see that they may want to release different sizes for different hands. You know, sizes "A" through "DDD".
--
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
I must disagree. Try one of SGI's PS/2 keyboards and you will be an SGI keyboard person for life :). The Extended Keyboard II is definantly nice, I have used them myself, but I find the feel to impede my typing ability. As far as typing speed goes with me, I type very quickly on the new Apple keyboards, but the keys are a bit springy for me so I am slightly more prone to error.
Only those who dream can grasp reality.
Well, there would have to be some kind of safeguard...I'm sure that by the time we have things that can interface with the mind like that we'll also be able to isolate things like trauma in the brain, and possibly cut it off from the virtual world. As for falling in love with something you can't have...that happens in real life too ;)
My plan is to pimp before they realize I'm a jackass. Hit 'em hard and fast.
Every time a keyboard-related story comes up, someone has to bring up the old ibm mechanical keyswitch keyboards. I guess it's me this time.
I used to have one from an old ibm AT - you know, the type with f1-f10 on the side (missing f11 & f12 - annoying every once in awhile.) Some guy in the wealthy section of town tossed it out on the curb on "massive garbage pick-up day" and I swooped down on it. Beautiful device. It had a *metal* backing and must have massed 5 kilos. The grad students with whom I shared an office thought I was a crazy computer nut because of the incessant clicking. Well, that or a secret agent of invading alien locusts, grinding my mandibles in evil anticipation of succulent human flesh. Maybe that's why they never talked to me...
Eventually I picked up a couple of newer ibm keyboards (101 key model M's) at a surplus sale to replace it, since the lack of f11 & f12 caused problems. They don't have the metal backing, but they still have the "click" feel. Another plus is the fact that the keyboard cable plugs into the back and is therefore interchangeable with one of greater length. 9-foot keyboard cables are your friend. Put that server and its howling fans far, far away from your ears.
I even have a couple of ibm keyboards I rescued off a pair of terminals. They look almost exactly like the 101 key PC ones, but they have 24 function keys and a connector which most closely resembles the AT keyboard connector, but with the pins spaced a bit differently. I've been meaning to try and interface them to my PC. (Clicky keys + 12 extra function keys...I could map out half of my most frequently-used apps to function keys!)
Anybody know anything more about these keyboards?
Part# 1386887, model M, appear to date back to 1986.
As it is, I dream of having a ergonomic keyboard WITH mechanical keyswitches, but I don't know anyone who makes such.
zeke
Sorry to disagree, but the old Northgate keyboards were the best ever - at least from a clicky comfort point of view. They had heft - probably the only keyboard that you could kill someone with.
Of course, they're pretty much relics now, don't have PS/2 connectors (they still make adapters tho). The keyboard division lasted a lot longer than the parent company that once made computers, too.
I was talking with my brother recently about the social problems something like that would cause.
It would be really cool, I agree, but how far is too far, in terms of realism?
Eventually, we will make something like that, which can interface directly with the human conciousness. What happens to love, and sadness, and depression, and death then?
If you can die because of things in the virtual world and how they affect your brain, should we allow that to happen? How can we deal with concepts like, falling in love with something in the virtual world, or being so tramuatized by a virtual event, that one can no longer function normally.
Fascinating stuff...
Any mousepad is easily converted to be mouseless.
--
Google's cache.
Damn slashdot effect.
My plan is to pimp before they realize I'm a jackass. Hit 'em hard and fast.
For those that haven't seen it, this thing has a base shaped kinda like a Microsoft Natural Keyboard, but instead of keys, it's got a dome-looking articulation for each hand. The "domes" are moved in an x-y axis independently of each other. Moving the "domes" in combinations of positions correspond to the alpha-numeric key symbols as on a conventional keyboard.
It looks like a lot to have to re-learn to me.
I saw this on a site by the National Science Foundation. They were running a story on a new keyboard where ergonomics was the central design idea.
Guyote was here.....
--
Americans are bred for stupidity.
google has a nice cache....
Uh, just like any keyboard, I would guess it doesn't give a fuck about the OS being used...it just sends keycodes. Sortof like the fact that, you know, BIOSes and the like don't need special keyboard drivers depending on your keyboard.
My plan is to pimp before they realize I'm a jackass. Hit 'em hard and fast.
it only caches the HTML page, the images are still loaded from the original server, which is slash.ed
You can always try the poor man's cache. While it doesn't have the pictures (which is unfortunate), Google caches it.
Yeah they do. Read "Saw if on NSF a couple of days ago"
Guyote was here.....
Hmm, let's see...yeah, there are symbols in it.
K....e....y....b....o....w....l....yep, those look like symbols to me.
My plan is to pimp before they realize I'm a jackass. Hit 'em hard and fast.
There are basically three reasons that people get pains in their hands, wrists, and forearms from using computer keyboards:
1) They are using a non-split keyboard and have large hands, so their wrists must always be bent at a somewhat outward-cocked angle (with the wrists nearly touching) in order to type on a straight keyboard.
2) They are actually resting their wrists on the front edge of their desk or keyboard and all the motion that takes place during their keypresses is limited to the fingers. This places strain on the muscles and tendons in the wrist and forearm. The proper way to type (both more quickly/accurately and without inducing pain) is to keep your wrists floating/elevated above the keyboard, and to just let your fingertips sort of hang down and dance around on the keys as you type. The upward/downward motion of a keypress is supposed to come just as much from elbow movements and moving the entire forearm up-and-down as it is from moving your fingers.
3) People have the keyboard positioned incorrectly in relation to their body. The keyboard should be placed at a vertical height equal to or just below your elbows when your arms hang at your side, and the keyboard should be inclined forward or backward (or even level) to whatever position you need such that your wrists, when floating about an inch above the keyboard, are level (not cocked upward or downward at a weird angle).
So basically I'm advocating the use of split keyboards, and I'm advocating proper ergonomic technique while typing.
Personally, I used to hate split keyboards because I wasn't used to typing on them and always screwed up which keys I wanted to hit... but then I bought a split keyboard for use at home and got used to typing on it over a period of about 1 week, only to find that in the end it is far more comfortable because it keeps your wrists at a more natural angle.
Even so, I've been typing away on computers since I was 10 years old and I've never had any kind of serious wrist/hand/arm trouble. If I find that something I'm doing is uncomfortable or strenuous, then I stop immediately and change the way I'm doing things. The worst thing you can do is just keep repeating a strenuous activity over and over again.
As for this "KeyBowl" product, it sounds really lame. I don't care how much research they claim to have done with it--the mathematical combinations prove that it simply can't do everything a normal keyboard can accomplish, and there's obviously going to be a weird learning curve associated with it. Not only that, but the idea of an input device is that it should be standardized and/or intuitive enough that you can use any device that requires input. If you were to only learn to use one of these keybowl things, where would that leave you when you had to walk down to your co-worker's office and assist with a computer problem? How effective are DVORAK keyboard users when they have to assist with a computer that uses a QWERTY keyboard? The keybowl is a gimmicky product that plays off the fears of people who have pains but haven't thought to try proper ergonimic technique.
Oh, and one more thing: if you're ever in the market to buy your first split keyboard, be careful to buy one that has the split in the right place! Many generic-brand split keyboards place the split between the keys in a non-standard way, so if you get used to typing on that keyboard you'll be lost when you have to type on a standard split keyboard. Microsoft's keyboards put the split in the standard place (between the pairs F5/F6; 6/7; T/Y; G/H; B/N) so that's a good baseline to use for comparison even if you don't like their keyboards.
- "It's just a matter of opinion!" - PRIMUS
Today was just a day fading into another-Counting Crows
I loved the old heavy keyboards on the Indy machines, but not the newer ones on the o2's. Those old heavies were awesome - all the solid durability of the IBM clickity-clack keyboards, but with a smooth feel instead of the annoying sound. There's a couple of old Indy's at work that hardly get used anymore, and I can tell you the temptation to swipe those keyboards is really strong.
Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.
The problem with virtual glove keyboards is that you can't *feel* the keys, which means you can't type fast with tactile feedback. This is also why those touch-screen controls featured in Star Trek Next Generation will never replace keyboards either. You have to look at the screen to type.
Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.
This device is patented already.
-russ
Don't piss off The Angry Economist
http://www.keybowl.com/support/training.htm
Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.
...had a keyless keyboad too.. and that was almost 20 years ago.
'Course it was living hell to type on too. Membrane "keys" and all that...
DrLunch.com The site that tells you what's for lunch!
I can't really link to the original news story, but this is REALLY old news... and when I say old news, I mean more than 6 months AT LEAST.. please someone back up on me while I look @ my shit and find the original doc.. ok??
I'm sure someone out there has heard about this one before.
C ya.
So if it's a keyless keyboard, this means...
Ye Gods, they've invented the BOARD!
Can you imagine the lame jokes that are going to show up on this article?
-Denor
I wonder if anyone has considered using a miniaturized version of this for data entry on handhelds?
If you can use your hands to type with combinations of two 8-way keys, why not do the same things with just your thumbs? (besides RSI)
Something like this could make a lot more sense than current input methods... no stylus to lose, etc.
-------------------- the list is long. dirac angestung gesept
My keyboard's design takes off on the MS Natural Keyboard. This design is a quite comfortable one for me. Does anybody know how this keyboard is better/worse than the "broken keyboard" design I like so much?
It would be nice if the folks at say, guidescope would add a feature that sends you to the google site after oh, say, what, 10-15 seconds... It currently sends you to the google cache if you don't get a hit at all, but sooner would be better.
Perhaps some of you could help. F'rinstance, I may have that capability implicitly already... perhaps if I reduce the time out delay, then maybe guidescope will pick up on that and send me to the google site.
Of course, the google site often as not does not have the site cached...
SDMI: Finally! Music that won't rip or burn! Brought to you by the fine folks at RIAA.
Lets see. It has been about 2 mins since this news item was posted, and what do you know, it is /.ed
:wq
Since the site has been /. I'll copy/paste their description on how it works.
The Keybowl(TM) is made of two domes upon which the hands comfortably rest. One of the domes is called a "selector dome" and is used to activate the other dome, the "character dome."
It may be helpful to think of these dome movements in a compass arrangement: N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW. Each dome is capable of sliding into the same eight compass directions.
The Keybowl(TM) typist creates a keystroke by combining the positions of the two domes. He or she chooses a position on the "selector dome" and then types the letter with the "character dome" by sliding it in the direction of the letter or character he or she wishes to type.
It may sound a little complicated, but it's easy to use. With very little training, Keybowl(TM) typists achieve a speed very close to the one at which they used to type before their injuries.
Since the site is /.'ed (and google's cache isn't helpful with no pictures) I don't know what this looks like - but what I've been wanting is something small enough to walk around with and to use easily on wireless devices. We've got to be headed in that direction - conventional keyboards are just way to big for the next generation of computer interfaces - maybe a chorded keyboard of some sort coupled with a mouse pointing device all bundled into one small package makes most sense?
Energy: time to change the picture.
Take out the spaces.
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maybe this will be a good way for geeks to develop some sort of self defense. we can exercise our arms and use the computer at the same time. i see a user typing in a style similar to the martial arts; a combination of speed, agility, and accuracy. too bad i can't actually see this thing... it sounds cool.
I'm using a Data Hand keyboard. I would recommend it, because it really does exercise your fingers in various directions which gets rid of RSI. It's quite easy to learn, unlike chord keyboards, and the design overall is quite practical. Disadvantages are price, that it's fairly bulky and that the mouse is operated with the keys (which isn't that bad actually, but one does find oneself reaching for the mouse as well occasionally.) Would probably rate it best overall for practicality and anti-rsi ability, but not perfect.
I picked up a Focus FK-2001 a few months ago...it's nice and clicky. PC Club had a stack of 'em one day...don't know if they still do, but if not, Price Watch had a couple of vendors that were selling them for around $20. This keyboard model has been around nearly forever, and for good reason.
20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
http://cbc.ca/gfx/photos/keyboard_ergonom001108.jp g
The thing looks more like two giant selector dials connected together.
Cheers,
-j.
Why not provide a facility on /. to mirror the page? Could be automatic...
- Dale
homepage
Research
Products
Ergonomics
Their keyboard comparison comes from information taken from www.keyalt.com.
keyless keyboard...
This that anything like a bandwithless server?
AdFuel
From the descriptions it sounds as if one can't press multiple keys at once. How do I press [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [BackSpace]?
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I don't know about you, but I still prefer the feel of actual keys. It will take a LOT of adjustment to bound on a flat mat, which provides no feedback at all.
And that's the real problem, feedback. Suddenly, you can't type without looking at the screen, because you can't be certain if you hit the key. Now hunt-and-peck typers will double their time typing, since now they have to look at the screen after every peck.
The same thing happened when HP introduced the 49G graphic calculator, with rubberized keys that have no tactile feedback. While I think it's a great calculator, they really blew it by cheapening the keyboard. The old keyboards had substance--you knew when you hit the keys, even if you weren't paying attention. Now, when I use the 49G, I have to double-check everything I enter.
But not only the uncertainty of hitting keys, there's something deeper that comes along with getting no feedback. I can't pinpoint it, but things just feel wrong when you can't feel the keys going down.
I'm sure some people might like this. I can't actually see the keyboard, because of the Slashdot effect, but I would imagine it's flexible, and if not, it should be. If it isn't flexible, there's no point in using it. The flexibility might appeal to travelers--roll up a full-sized keyboard for your laptop, and jam it in a suitcase.
I really love my keyboard, a six-year-old job that came with a Compaq Presario CDS 526 (that's one of those all-in-one models). No Windows keys, it's not an "internet" keyboard (what the hell is that anyway?), nothing cheesed up. Just 101 keys, using capacitive (or inductive) key detection, and little rubber cups under the keys, to give them resistance that results in a little (barely detectable) "pop" when the key finally gives up all resistance and goes down. It just feels good. And you know it's a quality product (can we say that about Compaq anymore?), since it's spent 4+ years in service, and 2 years in a musty basement, and it still functions perfectly.
Sometimes I'd like a real tactile keyboard, the ones that click, but I don't know where to find those anymore. I actually have one in my basement, but many years ago I spilled a plastic bonding agent on the keys, and while the board still functions, the keys are all grimy.
Flat panel displays, DVD, gigabit ethernet--those are the real advances in computing. Contrary to the poster, I feel that keyboards are great--if they're older, when quality meant something. Making them keyless just estranges things even more.
Thank you.
I do not belong in the spam.redirect.de domain.
Interested parties wishing to save the resource-challenged people at Keybowl a hard time might try some of the following URLs:
s ets/228347/p86-mcalindon/p86-mcalindon.pdf
. jpg
A PDF File about the Keybowl
http://www.acm.org/pubs/articles/proceedings/as
A mirrored copy of an image of the thing
http://www.brandeis.edu/~ekendall/large_keybowl
...to grab some more info for you people... directly copy paste from their site.
"The Keyboard that will Change the World."
The Keybowl[tm] keyboard offers much greater flexibility in meeting the needs of its users. For
the first time, anyone who types has the ability to adjust a keyboard to suit their own requirements.
The Keybowl[tm] is . . . Your key to a higher quality of life and pain-free productivity!
o Totally eliminates finger movement
o Minimizes wrist movement
o Easy to learn
o A solution to carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) as it relates to typing.
o Allows people with upper extremity disabilities to effectively type, interact with, and navigate with little or no pain.
Because the Keybowl[tm] offers great flexibility in accommodating any user who wishes to type, some users type at much greater speeds than when they use a flat or traditional keyboard. The most researched keyboard. Visit our ergonomic research section to learn about the development of the Keybowl[tm].
Visit my website xpenguin.com -- A linux penguin website
gotta love fctn-=. I forgot about that style of keyboard untill I downloaded an emulator and wondered where the hell the quote marks were. regular keyboard does not translate very well.
----
Your mind is squeezed by a blast of pain!
Windows: the OS-less OS.
Instead of wasting all their time on 'the board' they should put all their efforts in creating a better voice-interface, the best keyless keyboard you can imagine.
I'm still waiting for the they when I can say to my computer:"Computer, moderate this lowsy reply DOWN"
Mark
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
- if you love something, set it free; if it doesn't come back, hunt it down and kill it
I have always liked the idea of (subtle) continuous audio feedback like this. The main problem with this is similar to the problem I had with dragondictate - it only really works well when you aren't switching apps a lot and jumping around. For focused-tasks, it's a lot better. Unfortunately, I don't get to focus on a single task for too long, in the office at least, and I suspect many other people suffer the same way.
Since I have no sense of smell, the stinky-keys wouldn't help me out at all. Have a thought for the anosmics.
"don't fall into the fallacy of believing that Perl can solve social problems. Maybe Perl 6 can, but that's a ways off"
i found some information about the keybowl. this is actually a very interesting device. the following pdf has lots of information about how it works, and also includes some sketches.
http://www.c-60.org/keybowl.pdf
their router vomited on itself
13 ats1.worldramp.net (207.30.147.2) 55.705 ms 47.382 ms 50.295 ms
14 * router.uneedus.com (205.161.235.1) 447.491 ms 264.871 ms
15 205.161.235.52 (205.161.235.52) 287.682 ms 433.657 ms 711.278 ms
-dk
-dk
Dream with the feathers of angels stuffed beneath your head.
"For years [things] had been operated by means of pressing buttons... then as the technology became more sophisticated the controls were made [hand] sensitive - you merely had to [move] the panels your [hands]; now all you had to do is merely wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope."
Modified from that grand ol' book,
The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
There'd be no way to fire, and just like using a joystick for Quake, you wouldn't be able to turn nearly as fast or as accurately as with a mouse...looking up and down would also be harder just like with a joystick.
My plan is to pimp before they realize I'm a jackass. Hit 'em hard and fast.
What if my arms and hands are.. busy.. when Im browsing the internet?
If they included two PEDALS, I could get all 256 ASCII characters! (8x8x2x2=256!)
Now all I need to do is CLONE myself, so I can type in UNICODE!
Oh, and I need to use the BUCKY-BITS too. Damn. Should I BLINK my EYES for that? In MORSE CODE?
With such keyboard layouts as "The Robot" and "The Running Man", this keyboard looks like fun for the whole family.
-cibrPLUR
You could have at least gone to the trouble of copying it somewhere else, rather than blatantly whoring the link from my post.. .
Honestly, the things people will do to try to get karma.
...non-judgmental rundown of many of the other ergonomic keyboards out there, from Kinesis to Bat
All the others have been made by microsoft =p
damn straight... any how many geeks are actually interested in consumer grade input devices?
To quote a cliche, HELLO??
What on /. is more predictable than the polls sucking? That at 8am every morning when I first load /. up I won't be able to follow at least half the links on the front page stories due to slashdotting. Especially if that link is about new hardware, doubly so if it has pretty pictures.
Is the problem legality? Send the website admin a form letter saying something to the effect of;
"There's a party," she said,
"We'll sing and we'll dance,
It's come as you are."
I'm really glad people are working on this type of stuff.
This means I don't have to cut back on my Tim Allen-like projects. :)
The perception of reality is more important than reality itself.
I'd be interested in hearing comments and personal experience stories about these three different input devices/methods:
1. Kinesis contoured keyboard ( www.kinesis-ergo.com)
2. BAT keyboard ( www.infogrip.com)
3. The DVORAK layout (info at www.thisistrue.com/dvorak.html)
Since the site's /.ed (The Slashdot Effect, the original DoS), and Google doesn't cache pictures, does anyone have any pictures of this thing? I doubt it, since it seemed to be slashdotted seconds after it was posted, but maybe someone got through...
This kind of setup would *rock* for Quake and FPS!
Can you imagine remapping it for gameplay?
Left hand controls direction movement; strafe left/right, move forward/backward
Right hand would be aiming; turn left/right, aim up/down
Or you could do the meta control, I guess;
If you could match this with a decent set of pedals; pedals would do forward/backward, left hand would be strafe left/right and 2 meta controls(weapon switching and jump/crouch?) while right hand would be freelook|weapon select/mode|jump/swim/crouch/duck/fly?
The nick is a joke! Really!
GPL Deconstructed
I originally read the story on CBC and a smaller picture can be found in their article
jrtrd s goc/ jp[r oy jr;[d@
I don't think (TM) is part of the name :)
Hammer of Truth
Just imagine, every time you push either of the hemispheres to one of the cardinal points, you get a different musical tone. After a few weeks of using this thing, you'd know immediately if you hit the wrong key because you would get a wrong beep-boop sound.
I like it.
- jon
Ganymede, a GPL'ed metadirectory for UNIX
Oh my God. You /.ed Google
You Bastard
I can't view the site for obvious reasons, but from the descriptions given it sounds
similar to the outrageously priced Datahand, which I have considered saving up for.
I am guessing (hope I am wrong) that this one has a high tag as well since the
ergonomic devices are purchased by businesses who are stupid and rich enough to
shell out the bucks. Then again, it could be more expensive because they are paying
royalties to the aliens who invented it, since it does appear after all to be based on
the model found in the Roswell UFO crash.
This must be up there in the rankings of quickest sites to cave to a /. onslaught.
Did anyone get a mirror of some pics to share?
LEXX
"Gold still represents the ultimate form of payment in the world." - Alan Greenspan, 1999
How can I use encryption then if I can't shift my home-row fingers over one key?
;sihj oyd s kplr
---
I wear pants.
Damn, you've got mad Ddos skills! Try /.ing /.!
That's why you should always post and then read the article.
-atrowe: Card-carrying Mensa member. I have no toleranse for stupidity.
Here.
Why not a mouseless mousepad, or a car that doesnt move? Technology is often annoying complex...
I am !amused.
Pretty soon we will get rid of mice too. And what about all those hard working americans that teach how to type faster? What about them? I personally like typeing on my keyboard and I would feel a little weird typeing on that. Maybe we are taking the technology a little tooooo far!
After successful physical therapy, much stretching, a couple of years, and a microsoft elite keyboard, i'm back on the typing wagon. Good luck all!
This reminds me of the input device used by the crew of the ship in Frank M. Robinson's The Dark Beyond the Stars. They place their hands on interactive pads that mould to their hands and then detect the slightest movements, allowing the users to interact with the system in complex ways. If I remember correctly, the crew would even stage competitions to see who could accomplish tasks the fastest.
Justin Miller
Associate Editor and Geek at Large,
MacSlash.com
Why can I imagine somebody just painting two nipples on this thing and selling it as an adult-oriented product? I'll stick to keyboards that look like keyboards, and not breasts!
The point of this keyboard is not to look or feel anything like a keyboard...in fact, not only is it keyless, you don't "type" on it.
;).
It has two domes which can move into any of 8 positions each. You move the domes in combinations in order to type a key.
So, if you had waited until you could read/see about the keybowl, you wouldn't even have posted this. And if the moderators had, it wouldn't be (Score: 3, Insightful).
Not saying you're not making valid points (I like keyboards too), they just don't have anything to do with the story at hand
My plan is to pimp before they realize I'm a jackass. Hit 'em hard and fast.
for people that really want to see an image of it, here it is.
Visit my website xpenguin.com -- A linux penguin website
"You put your right arm, you take your right arm out, you take your right arm in, and you shake it all about, you hit the ho-Key po-Key and you pipe to stdout, that's what it's all about"
There are a lot of very nice ergonomic keyboards out there right now. IMHO it is a much better interface than, say, the mouse (having just switched to larswm, I barely use my mouse at all now)
If you think you know what the hell is going on you're probably full of shit. -- Robert Anton Wilson
If you think you know what the hell is going on you're probably full of shit. -- Robert Anton Wilson
jdube is who
It's easy, just go to a local thrift store... i did the same thismorning before work and picked up two winter coats and... yep you've got it, i nice clickity clack keyboard, all three items for $17. The keyboard interested me though... it was the loud clicky key type, but it was small profile: the perimiter of the keyboard was no bigger than the layout of the keys (no boarders in otherwords). It also uses a PS/2 connector. I'll have to clean it up a bit before i can use it, it got grubby from laying around the thrift store.
Good luck!
Great - now I'll have to get one of these to play Robotron under MAME. Not that I'd be any better than I ever was in the arcade.
Two joysticks is just a nightmare for me.
I get a little, ahem, frustrated sometimes when the goddamn alien controlers kick my ass every single time.
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Your mind is squeezed by a blast of pain!
You'll pry my Sun type 5 from my cold dead hands (besides, it kinda goes with the Ultra).
with 16K!!
The Atari400 actually had:
- keyless keyboard
- quiet, lowpower, fanless CPU
- interchangable ROM Memory Cards
- TV OUT !!
- built in sound, and advanced sound processor
- A Universal Serial bus that could be daisy chained and connect devices like Floppy Drives Tape backup, Printers and Modems.
If a company puts up a web page to publicize a new product, they should be prepared for the possibility that they will actually succeed!
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Great, but will this BOARD support linux...? After all, it's just a BOARD, not a KEYBOARD.
Visit my website xpenguin.com -- A linux penguin website
My question is not whether it is right for slashdot to mirror websites, but whether it is right for them no to!
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In fact, the most "convenient", "natural" keyboard was proposed by a pilot some decades ago. The idea of it is a five keys keyboard (one per finger) which you just lay your hand upon. All symbols were entered as a combination of 1, 2 or 3 strokes by various fingers.
But it turned out that, though quite useful for a regular user that does not need to input the data intensively, the idea fails when one needs to type extremely fast, especially in stenography. I think the same will happen here.
-- "If you had fallen into a shit pit during a battle, lick yourself off and move on." - Jaroslav Hasek
Netcraft report says this: OS: NT4/Windows 98 Server: Microsoft-IIS/4.0 Last changed: 9 Nov 00 No wonder it's unable to handle enough request.
Mouseless mouse?
"I have not failed. I've simply found 10,000 ways that won't work." --Thomas Edison
This looks like the kind of thing you could put footstraps on and type with your feet! Yay, now I can drink beer AND eat pizza while I write.
The best goddamn keyboard in the world, ever, is the Apple Extended Keyboard II. If you've ever used one, you know. It has the perfect balance of heft, arrangement, tactile feedback and key size. If you're an accomplished touch typist who learned on a manual typewriter, or maybe you typeset for a living, that keyboard is pure heaven. Like a Louisville Slugger -- they can pry that one from my fingers the day they stop making ADB-to-whatever converters.
The best ungoddamn keyboard in the world, however, is the Commodore CBM 8032. That all-in-one (cum iMac, like a Model T is a sports coupe) was mostly hollow, but built like a tank, so if you got going around 80 wpm you could get a rhythm that sounded like a freight train.
[The added benefit that the 8032 was one of the few computers in history you really could physically damage just by typing on it -- certain video-related pokes come to mind -- just like in Star Trek! -- probably has something to do with my fondness for that keyboard, too, I suppose.]
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Anonymous cowards need a little nostalgia now and again just like everyone else.
George W. Bush: "Let me make sure I understand. You're calling me back to retract your concession?"
Al Gore: "You don't have to get snippy about this. Let me explain something. Your younger brother is not the ultimate authority on this."
- 1. Remove keyboard case
- 2. Remove keys
- 3. Touch the wires printed on the membrane where the keys used to touch
Simple. I have too many spare keyboards to screw with.Well, this would prevent the character in Gattaca from having to vacuum bits of his DNA out from the crevices of the keyboard. I will never use this because I crave the dramatic clickety-clack typewriter noise..
Goat sex free since 2001
mice wont have buttons too... oh wait Imac people already did that...
Visit my website xpenguin.com -- A linux penguin website
Ahh, for once, all the flailing arms seen around the office will not be from frustration...
great, just what we need... another product with symbols in the name. Will this be as bad as the Cue:Cat?