Slashdot Mirror
DIY Ambient Light Keyboard Kit
An anonymous reader writes "
Do you envy new Apple 17" PowerBook keyboard?
Here's keyboard light
kits for all most any keyboard no matter which OS you are using. There's
NINE choice of colors (Light Blue, Deep Blue, Hot Pink, Yellow, White, Purple,
Neon Green, Lime Green, and Red) available but unfortunately not coming with
light sensor.
"
Now when people ask you if you've got a light, you can say yes!
There's NINE choice of colors (Light Blue, Deep Blue, Hot Pink, Yellow, White, Purple, Neon Green, Lime Green, and Red) That's crazy!
Cool! can we combine colors? and do neat little effects with them? This could be so much fun in the computer lab late at night.
I'd really like to see a keyboard with a few programmable LEDs, or even better, a LCD screen. It'd be cool to have the memory/CPU use or something like that there.
But all I see instead is keyboards with annoying power buttons I tend to press in the least inconvenient moment. I just don't get it, what's the point of having it there? As if I needed to turn the computer on and off every 5 minutes.
Bloody hell. The product looks good... but the overall design of that web site is horrid. And they have you send your credit card number unencrypted. Christ, they should use Pay Pal if they don't want to get a secure server of their own.
Are there any keyboards you can buy that already have the lights installed? I don't like doing stuff myself, cuz I always screw it up somehow.
Thanks.
How long before we can have multicoloured ones? And then, how long before someone comes up with a cool hack to make the lights flash!
Lucky its not microsoft made, or you'd see patches coming out from day one to prevent script kiddies from taking over the control of the lights and annoying you senseless.
this kit would work best with apple keyboards - they are translucent plastic and would let you discern the key legend in the dark. on a regular keyboard it just lights the gutters between the keys.
Well, I sure hope their keyboard lights work better than their server, because my browser ain't seeing the light of it... Sheesh, after just ONE /. comment!
Cheers,
max
-- It's always darker before it goes pitch black.
But the PB keyboard backlighting illuminates each letter on the surface of the key, not just the space between/around the keys.... in a low-light situation, _that's_ the real benefit... seeing which key you're about ot press, not just seeing a field of silhouetted key blanks.
Don't hit me with that chain again.
Well, their servers are slashdotted already.
I hope they can sell some kits to help pay for their troubles.
Huh?
http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:fzTelghCGyoC: www.neontrim.com/keyboard.html+Computer+Keyboard+L ight+Kits!&hl=nl&ie=UTF-8
both the cache and the link in the article appear to be extremely slow
Does it use the same technology (I think they said it uses fiber optics of some sort) as the 17" powerbook does? or is just little LEDs behind the keys? Because I've seen the backlight of those, and it looks amazing.
I wonder how much /. gets paid for these endorsements.
Uh... you're new here, aren't you.
slashdot!=valid HTML
When they make a backlit, programmable, Dvorak, IBM Model M keyboard I'll bite.
A pony with wings. But you know what? I'm not gonna find out, and neither are you. So, we better both get to work creating what we want. I've got the pony, now I just need some bigger wings. How about you?
I refuse to buy anything from someone who doesn't respect my browser. Take a look at the obnoxious javascript he uses. Disabling right-click with javascript, indeed!
"Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
There are 5 comments up as I post this, and the site is already being slashdotted -- it's horridly slow. Last night I noticed on the Guerilla News Network story that the poster had gone out and asked the site admins if he/she could link to them prior to submitting it to the editors.
It is relatively well-understood that /. cannot mirror sites, for a large number of reasons. Moreover, the admins here are taxed (well, maybe...) as is, and aren't willing to fire off emails asking permission to post a link to someone's site every time they get a story that ends up on the frontpage. Nor should they have to.
Perhaps, though, we as posters could be mature and responsible? Asking for permission before DOS'ing someone's site via a link here would at the least be polite.
We who were living are now dying
With a little patience
The server seems dead, but here is a mirror, be nice to it. http://www.moderngeek.com/keyboardlights/ This does not compare the the powerbook lighting at ALL, it looks cheap :p The powerbook lights up the lettes on the keys, and this just lights up behind the keys.
Close up
Neon
Keyboard
I fought the corporate America, and the corporate America bought the law.
Ok, take it easy on me here...
pic1
pic2
"Quoting famous computer scientists out of context is the root of all evil (or at least most of it) in programming." - K
Even that got /.'ed! Great going guys!
No.. I think you get "-1, Nice Try Asshole" :|
If you were using the lights, the screen would be bad for your eyes because of the contrast.
fully illuminated keyboard, $99
Auravision EluminX Illuminated Keyboard
There are places where the networks are not touching,and there are places where they are-Boeing's Lori Gunter
OK. Excuse my if I wrong, but wouldnt ambient light be well, ambient light?
This is NOT ambient light. This is backlighting. Hell, my keyboard is being lit by ambient light right now, and it has been since I bought it. And so has every keyboard I've ever owned.
In fact, everything in my house is lit by ambient light. Well, you get the idea.
For a website that touts itself as "News for nerds", maybe a little lexical verification would be in order, since fact-checking is apparently out of the question.
arrrgghhh...[struggles with demon hand]....must....change....urls....argggghhh
"A terrorist is someone who has a bomb but doesn't have an air force." -William Blum
another one bites the dust :D
My other sig is an import.
Scare any stoner friends of yours with this.
Light goes off- keyboard starts to glow and your tripping pal will be like "AAAAHHHH!!! The aliens have landed dude!"
DIY Ambient Light Keyboard Kit!!! more like celda
I think that the real rwason to envy anything that apple sells is the graphics support. If you look at ANY other laptops on the market, do they have decent graphics? NO. The powerbook has a slightly dulled GeForce 4 w/ 64MB VRAM. That's better than the card on any desktop from a major PC retailer for under $1000. Also, if you ever look at the specs for a cheap ($700 or less) brand name PC, they have their graphics built into the motherboard. Yet they still claim that their P4 will make games dreamy and your downloads go faster. It's disgusting.
Help I'm a rock.
~~~
Anyone remember Apricots from the 80's ? They had an alphanumeric lcd with programmable function keys under it, neat idea, no idea why it didn't catch on.
How 'bout this?
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
My roommate has had one of these for the longest time and let me tell you, it looks pretty lame. There's really no need for this light behind keys, especially since it's on all the time and doesn't go through the keys. That's what's great about the PowerBook. It senses low light and actually illuminates the symbol on the key, not just the space between. Now that, my friends, is hot.
[sig]www.masterslate.org[/sig]
...or has nearly every interesting link to anything been instantly /.'ed within minutes of the article getting posted?
Jesus, people, get some real servers for crying out loud.
First, the site is already slashdotted...
However, there were a few convenient mirror images and a similar product from thinkgeek.
Honestly though, isn't this just something to take to a LAN party or something; that is, just another way to mod your PC. The light from the monitor (at least CRTs) is enought to illuminate the keys for the most part. And if you are spending enough time with the computer that you are typing in the dark, you shouldn't have to look at the keyboard much anyway, right? This is cool-looking, but useless aside from wow-factor. Especially if you don't already have translucent keys, in which case only the between-keys area is lit anyway.
Real Geeks can type in the dark anyway, this is just another add on for your thirty one thousand one hundred and thirty seven machine.
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/photos/act_apr icot-pc_1.jpg
I switch to iMac because I couldn't stand my old poorly etched keyboard.
I was planning a similar, modulo the ambiant light sensor, inspried by this article. But instead of using an EL cable powered by battery, I want to use a few LED powered by tapping the keyboard controller. The PS/2 specification call for 300 mW on the port. Depending on how much is unused by the KB controller, somebody could probably wire 4 or 5 more LED and place them strategically for the best effect.
:wq
From the article:
> Light Up Your Keyboard!
>
> This is how the finished product looks!
>
> [Big Black Square (y'know, graphic that didn't
> load) that looks like someone snapped a photo in
> the dark.]
>
> This one done by Wolfman at Virtual-Hideout.net
> with one of our Kits, with our 5V inverter chip
> that ties right into the keyboard and just 4' of
> Neon Trim. Check out his review!
>
> [Another Big Black Square that looks like
> someone snapped a photo in the dark.]
>
> This Dell was done with one of our Kits, with
> our 5V inverter chip that ties right into the
> keyboard and just 4' of Neon Trim.
> (Courtesy of Eric Smith, Carrollton, Texas)
Hmm, first page I've seen that shows you how their product *doesn't* work!
Solomon
"Twice half-assed makes an ass whole." --Solomon K. Chang
How is the light powered? In the photos of the modded keyboards i dont see an extra cable running out of the unit for electricity. Is the power comming off the actual keyboard? Does a keyboard have enough power running down its ps2/usb line for that much power? Any ideas?
adventure-today.com
Pretty soon we'll have a story about some guy who put a VTEC sticker on his keyboard and replaced the cable with a thicker one, and claims it increased his typing speed by 30 wpm...
...wearing a skin-tight topless leather jumpsuit, with cutaway buttocks and transparent crotch panel.
I love the bottom of TUMS next to the monitor!
This guys is too stressed!
I believe he passes the price of the item in the URL (i cant believe someone still does this).
Change the URL and get your products for free!
I've put the illuminated keyboard on my wishlist on amazon.com. I'll probably buy one for my desktop as I'm revamping the video card and monitor already later this year, so why not get a new keyboard, too, while I'm at it?
But I have a Powerbook G4 already, and I've been waiting for backlighting for a LONG time. And when they finally come out with it, it won't fit my computer!
So where, I say, are the upgrade kits? I've been looking for a long time. Seems like something like this should be a shoo-in for an upgrade product...
i am a soviet space shuttle
There are so many new Slashdot stories featuring case mod kits and the like. These are filed under the 'hardware' subject which sometimes contains actual legitimate, interesting stories about hardware, as opposed to stories about glowing things which crack babies attach to their hardware in order to make it glow.
Apple introduces a somewhat practical keyboard which illuminates when dark, so that the symbols on the keys are readily visible. This is nice, and seems like a useful feature.
The case mod subject/response here is a type of glow strands to be routed between the keyboard keys so that the spaces between them light up, which is useful if you have no tactile sensation of touch in your fingers and therefore don't know where the keys are. If you do know where the keys are, but are just looking for the key symbols, you're out of luck because PC keyboard keys are opague and don't benefit in any practical, functional manner from this mode of illumination.
Therefore, IT IS A WASTE OF TIME, equivalent in absurdity to cargo cults fabricating mock stick and canvas airplanes. "Almost like a Macintosh!" - when you were a kid, did you also fasten cardboard cards with clothespins to the spokes of your bicycle in order to make it sound like a moped?
Couldn't there be a separate subject for case mods? That way I could filter this stuff right out. I propose the icon representing the subject should be a baboon's bright red arse, the color of which also serves no functional purpose but nevertheless appears to attract other baboons.
I wonder how many guys will end up in eye clinic using this gadget with their CRT monitors.
While working with a CRT monitor at least (and TFT too!), it is *strongly* recommended to work in a suitably lighted workplace to reduce eye strain.
My eyes are already taxed with fast paced games, long coding sessions and reading tons of docs on-screen. Last thing I want is an illuminated keyboard that'd tempt me to use computer in the dark.
- mritunjai
I realize that you want rainbow colored lights because you are a flaming homosexual and the rainbow is your logo, you fucking cumguzzler. But not all of us are fucking queers and this means that some of us just want standard one-color faggoty ass keyboard lighting but ultra-super faggoty ass keyboard lighting. Maybe you should stop eating shit because I think it's starting to affect how you think, you fucking douchebag. In the future, please don't post on Slashdot. I've taken a look at your past comments and what it appears we have is just another asshole who thinks they know a lot about computers, programming, architecture, and theory simply because you can read Slashdot on Mozilla. You're a fucking idiot without any real knowledge and you lack the ability to think. Get back to flipping those burgers you worthless asshole.
Yeah, that's right. I'm calling you out. You don't have any fucking kung-fu. All you have is AIDS. AIDS FAG!!! I bet when someone asks you what languages you know, you say HTML and English. God, what a pathetic shit-face you are. Your mother has big fat floppy donkey titties. She's a whore and loves to nibble on cock.
Hey, did you see the new Lord of the Rings film yet? I didn't. Do you know why? Because I'm not a fucking loser like you are you fucking shitfaggot. You love taking man-cock in the anus. It is what you absolutely live for. You wake up thinking about man-cock in the butt and you go to sleep dreaming about man-cock in the butt. When you have lunch, you think to yourself, "I wonder how this turkey sandwich will affect my ability to take man-cock in the butt." In case you haven't picked up on it, I hate you. I really do. And this isn't just a casual hatred of you. I really do hate you. You're fairly fucking typical of the assholes on Slashdot that thinks he/she knows shit just because they read Slashdot. Yes, you download illegal mp3s that violate copyright law and you know how to install software. You are not a "network guru" or a "software engineer." In fact, if you ever do move out of your parent's basement, your career will have nothing to do with any real technology. Perhaps you can become the secretary at Big Black Cock, the magazine.
Oh, in response to the next dribble of shit that came out of you - I'd like to see the days when your mother was pressure sensitive. I mean, these days so many dicks have been in so many different holes that she doesn't even notice when the homeless guy from down the street is chest fucking her in an open sore. Puss is dribbling out along with the ejaculate from the bum but she doesn't notice, now does she? But, like the gay fucktard of a son you are, you're there to catch it in your mouth as it drips off of her. Christ, I bet your father is Muslim.
Is this the first implementation of this "Rainbow Computer"?y /06KINE.html?ex=1043038800&en=a7160b3485b5affa&ei= 5062&partner=GOOGLE">NYTimes</A> so you dont have to go through that reg process.
Story taken from <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/06/technolog
---
Apple Computer is known for its splashy computer designs, and there has been a notable buzz among the Macintosh faithful since the the Patent and Trademark Office's Web site published an Apple patent application several weeks ago.
The company's United States patent application, No. 20030002246, entitled "active enclosure for a computing device," describes a machine that contains an array of rainbow-hued light-emitting diodes. It seems that the quirky computer maker is considering the manufacture of a machine that acts something like a mood ring -- a computer whose shells change colors at the owner's whim.
Perhaps most surprised by the Apple patent application were the engineers at Color Kinetics, a start-up company in Boston that specializes in light-emitting- diode technology. It turns out that Color Kinetics had filed an application for Patent 20020113555, for a "lighting entertainment system," on Dec. 20, 2000. It is intended to cover self-illuminated consumer devices that might include "a television, a computer, a compact disc player, a stereo, a radio, a videocassette player, a DVD player, a toy, a CD-ROM drive, a film projector, a surround sound system, a Dolby sound system, a THX sound system and a tape player."
Apple's application, like that from Color Kinetics, may be viewed on the Patent and Trademark Office's Web site (www.uspto. gov). It became the subject of comment on sites frequented by Macintosh fans.
Neither Apple nor Color Kinetics executives would comment on the seemingly dueling patent applications. But several people close to the companies said that in 2001, Color Kinetics had worked extensively with Apple on the concept, only to have Apple back out of a deal at the last moment. The true illumination of the matter may need to await action by the patent Office.
yeesh, why would I want to backlight all the gunk that gets trapped in my keybord over all the years? Why don't we just make it a blacklight so any mystery stains (like, you know, coffee) can glow?
And why manufacture a mod kit, why not just build a keyboard?
SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
does someone have a mirror or something ? it got slashdotted...
... when there are tiny lcd displays on every key, so the computer can change the kayboard layout into different languages, or display the hotkeys for programms (like photoshop) on the key itself !
first off these look the best on a black keyboard..
BUT, if you are the type to leave your computer on all the time I would paas on it.. these "light wires" have a very VERY short lifespan. they will start to get dark-spots and even lose sections of the "wire" to darkness..
I have used lots of this stuff, and seen even more of it in poser cars that after only 100 hours of on time they start looking like crap. In this use as indirect lighting I would gather that the darkspots and other "failure" modes of the wire will not be as bothersome.. but when a customer comes back 3 weeks later with their trick case bitching that the light wires you routed a nice slot around the edges for and looked Schweet when they pickked it up look like hell.... you stop reccomending a product..
I personally reccomend staying away from this light wires based products until someone starts manufacturing something that has a much better lifespan.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
...but all the crap, gook, bread grumps, cat hairs, and all the other assorted nastiness that tends to collect there. Eww, thanks but no thanks.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
Oh, hooray! Now that I can illuminate the gutters between my keys, I (as well as my friends and family) can see with perfect clarity all the dust and hair that builds up in there. How delightful!
How much does one of the frontpage /. ads cost? I would like to purchase one.
Of course you realize that it's true. Check CNN.
There are several notebook computers on the market that use the exact same graphics chips as the Powerbooks. Some have been specifically mentioned in the MacWorld coverage linked from Slashdot in the past week, usually in the part of that coverage that points out that the non-Apple alternatives are cheaper than the Powerbooks and available immediately.
There's absolutely nothing special about the Powerbooks' graphics abilities in a notebook; in fact, they're behind the curve, timewise.
Why would anyone want to look at their keyboard?
... (for beginning typists) ... an Eastern scale would be nice ...
The stuff typed is on the screen.
The keys don't move around.
There's never anything new to read there?
Now this would be a trick.
Change the letters corresponding to each key,
at random, and try to type fast enough to keep up.
Kind of like that video game the kids dance to.
Has anyone hacked a musical scale to go with the
keys? Each key plays a note. If the wrong key is
hit
Ah ha! morse code. Improve typing and learn morse
at the same time...
Another project to add to the list...
Although I admit the extra five words probably came from the Pepsi can I glued to my tower's exhaust port.
When I finally save up enough box tops to get a "Type-R" monitor sticker and a genuine copy of a fake Recaro executive chair I'll be the fastest damned typist in the world.
You'll probably waste your time doing shit like *practicing.*
Hoser.
KFG
Yes the backlighting is cool and all but don't forget these quotes about the lighting from apple's site: ... a unique fiber optic backlit keyboard with laser-etched keys... ...A light sensor automatically adjusts the keyboard and screen brightness based on the available ambient light. In low light, for example, the PowerBook G4 automatically lowers its display backlight and turns on the backlit keyboard. Then light-emitting fiber optic strands located under the keyboard come to life and illuminate the backlit keyboard so you can continue to work, unaffected by the change in ambient light....
http://www.apple.com/powerbook/index17.html
...this one I'm typing on right now is a fakey MII, not as good as a true Model M, but it's way better than most keyboards you can buy. Me and my buds call them "bludgeons" because they are heavy and built tough.
I would LOVE a mod where the keys were replaced with clear keys and backlit from the inside, but I would rather have a keyboard that feels good than one that looks good, and I'd be afraid the mod might interfere with that great click-click-click.
Like the guy who runs http://www.modelm.org/ says, TYPE HARD OR GO HOME!
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
If you really want to improve your typing speed, spend a lot of time in IRC. I used to think IRC was a timesink. Wrong. It improved my typing speed to the point where I now have my first decent job since the end of the Dot-Bomb era.
Now, if I could just fit that spoiler on my Model MII I might just crack the 60wpm barrier. Oh yeah...gotta paint it bright yellow and put those Kanji stickers all over them. Heh heh heh...
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
no, honestly, I don't need to look at the keys.
:) )
On the rare time that I mistype when I'm trying to find the square bracket "[", I can just backspace.
It's strange when you realize that you haven't looked at the keyboard in days, but I think most typists eventually get that skill, or they type very very slowly.
(I still think a foot pedal for the shift key would be really cool
More seriously, though, another reason to put the power button on the keyboard is so you can put the computer under the desk or somewhere else that's not very accessible, and you only need to access the machine when you're feeding it CDs (or not even then, if you've got a USB CD drive.) This also lets you make the room quieter by hiding the PC in an accoustic-shielding box, or in a closet or in the next room with long cables.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
--been thinking about this. You know how some places when they are under a drought water restriction, they have odd/even days for watering? People with odd numbered addresses on one day, even the next, and so on. Keeps the water supply from getting slashdotted.
What would be nice is an honor system "when to click over to a hot new link" regimen.
Something like this, open for review and tweaking. You look at when the story was posted, note the time. Wait to the next full quarter hour before the onslaught begins. That's your start point. Here's how it gets divvied up. Now you take your real name-you only have to do this once, then remember the number-you do a normal letter/number substitution, first letter of first name, first letter of last name, transpose to the correct numbers, add them together, add again if double digits, until you have a single digit. Just a normal numerology deal there with the alphabet, 1 -26 numbers. That final added together digit is your permanent static name number, that you use with the "time" number to click over. Every 5 minute increment from the article post time start point full quarter hour, counts as a digit starting with 1, etc. When your static name number matches your honor system time-digit number for the article, then it's cool for you to click over.
This way it gets spread out better, instead of all at once when the article is posted. Voluntary non-anarchy, being polite to the server, and maybe everyone can actually get to the link without it crashing the server.
I think Jimi actually used lighter fluid to do that, but don't try this at home...
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
I don't envy Mac users at all. I couldn't use their keyboards, because they are still ADB (as far as I can tell), and they still suffer from the flaw that you can't reprogram the CapsLock key.
I am a long-time Unix user. That means I need to have the Ctrl key to the left of the A key. This is a genuine need, not merely a want; it is based upon ergonomics. The Ctrl key is heavily used in unix, and it must be easily accessable. It cannot be off in the lower left corner of the keyboard where it is difficult to get at, and where it distorts the position of your left hand such that you can't easily type other keys while holding the Ctrl key down.
Apple desktop keyboards are now all USB. They are all OK. The CapsLock key can be re-mapped into a Ctrl key.
Unfortunately, even in this modern age, all Apple laptops have built-in ADB keyboards. The ADB keyboard is broken-by-design. It is, in general, not possible to remap the CapsLock key into a Ctrl key.
There are some exceptions, but they are horrible kludges. They are horrible kludges because the original design of the ADB keyboard was a horrible kludge. The correct solution would be for Apple to re-design their laptop motherboards to use built-in USB keyboards. This hasn't happened yet. If you run Linux, use Debian's solution. For Mac OS X users, uControl works. There are no solutions (that I know of) for either NetBSD or OpenBSD. Please note once again that the "solutions" above are in fact kludges, because of the original bad design of the ADB keyboard.
Apple provides a technical note on how to remap the keyboard, but provides no solution to the hardware problems caused by the design of the ADB keyboard. This tech note helps foreign language users, but does nothing for the CapsLock/Ctrl problem.
Apple is (currently) ignoring Unix users! This is not merely speculation on my part. In an on-going email exchange I am having with an Apple employee (whom I won't name) in their marketing department, the Apple marketing person directly stated to me that Apple was catering to their historic Mac customers, and is purposely ignoring the Unix market. He also claimed that Apple would soon start paying more attention to the Unix market. I won't hold my breath. Apple has been ignoring Unix users for more than 12 years. I expect that trend to continue. (Also note that my Apple contact indicated that Macs would never ship with a 3-button mouse, even though Apple intended to port almost all X-window software and deliver it either on a CD/DVD or installed directly on each Mac's hard drive. How Unix friendly is a 1-button mouse with X programs that often require 3 buttons?)
Apple has now lost two opportunities to sell me hardware. I really wanted an Apple laptop for their superior battery life, and for the PowerPC with Altivec CPU. (The Altivec is vastly superior to the x86 line for DSP.) Because I can't live with the broken-by-design built-in ADB keyboard in all Apple laptops, Sony and IBM sold me laptops instead. If Apple fixes this problem, they will sell me a PowerBook next year; if they don't, I'll still be running OpenBSD on x86 hardware, and wishing I could use a Mac.
Give it up.
Even if it was a good idea, I'll never implement
your request because you're so damn annoying.
S. Jobs
Apple Computer
they even had them in commercials, apple innovates almost as much as microsoft, at least microsoft buys innovative companies
Casemodder adds lights to self, makes self cool.
I've seen some pretty slick mods before, but this bullshit about just adding lights to every fucking thing has got to stop. Apple's thing is cool because it's unobtrusive, seamless, and actually useful. This is crap.
You know, for all Apple likes to talk about the speed of their PC's, or their ease of use or whatever, they really are way more style than substance. Their Powerbook keyboards are a perfect example of this.
Have any of you actually used one of these keyboards? Or more to the point, have any of you used one of these keyboards who have also used a real keyboard? I'm talking one of IBM's Thinkpad keyboards or even better, one of their old Model M keyboards with the tactile feel. Obviously it's a bit difficult to get that same feel into a laptop keyboard but Powerbook keyboards have a cheap, chiclet-style feel that I have a hard time dealing with as someone who's used to using "real keyboards".
And why is it so small? With all that space, you'd think they could do one of the following: a) make the keys bigger, or b) make the layout a bit less constricting. These keyboards are not ergonomic at all (and I'm not talking split - there's a lot more to keyboard ergonomics than just wrist position). They are intended to be nice to look at over anything else - a perfectly rectangular layout rather than true usefulness. They're probably also intended to save money; rather than creating a custom keyboard to take advantage of the notebooks extra size, simply slap in the same keyboard as the 14" Powerbooks have. I expect more in a top-of-the-line system, frankly.
I'll stick with my Thinkpads, thank you. I love the Mac OS but quite honestly, in day to day use the keyboard and screen are the two most important parts of any PC as they are the two components you will be interacting with the most. And the Powerbook keyboard really leaves a lot to be desired.
No, you're an asshole. I am just a Karma Whore. Oh damn! I posted anonymously.
translucent keys that light up, like the cool keyboards used in cop cars. Now that would make gaming in the dark far easier. Too bad all the lit keyboards like that are in the $$ range.
Setting his threshold to 5, Sparky eliminated most of the trolls on /.
Remember that Apple's is done right with nice ambient light, not glaring light right in your eyes so that you *still* can't see the key you are typing.
-- DuckWing
I hate mac keyboards (at least the bog standard one I always see) ... not big enough, keys feeling too cramped.. etc.. however.. I do love their power button. It's a power-button .. not a keyboard-key that pretends to be a delete key until you press it. You can't mistake what it is, and it is located in a 'look at me, I'm not one of your regular keys' location to make it even less likely to press it accidently. I'd llike to see some sort of marriage between nicer keyboard.. but mac-style power-button-on-keyboard thingumyjig.
See? They're handing out -1, Offtopic like it's nobody's business. Hey, mister moderator man! Moderate UP, not DOWN! I'm sure people who read at 0 don't need to be told that this is off-topic.
If mac had more than one button on the mouse...I just might leave my wife for something this good lookin.
Who is this that even the wind and the waves obey Him? Surely this computer must submit also!
Sorry to troll, but the subject says it all. What functional purpose could this product possibly serve?
Damn !
I'd easily pay $200.00 to get my Dell Inspiron 8200 LAPTOP to have a light-up keyboard !!. Anybody have or seen any solutions for this ?
It confounds me that they don't/arent backlit anyways.
Meatplow.
I'm wondering it using phosphorescent paint (the same as there is on old watches) to draw the letters on the keys wouldn't be better. In case of a laptop, phosphorence would be kept by the light provided by the screen. ;)
As a side-effect it wouldn't suck battery down
blah
... why not just go out and frickin' buy one?! There are a million better justifications for the purchase than the light-up keyboard, but let's face it the Apple 17" Powerbook is the Apex of Cool in laptops today. Did anybody mention it's also a hell of a good computer, running 4.5 hours on a battery, running OS X and X11 and several flavours of Linux and (via VirtualPC) any Intel-based OS you would like to run? Do yourself a favour and step up. Stop lamely imitating Apple and actually get one. You'll thank me later.
Kensington FlyLight Platinum USB Notebook Light
I thought neons on cars was bad enough...
Seriously, you have to question someone's priorities if they're willing to go so far with pointless PC bits like that - just think of the manufacturing waste and damage to the environment involved for the sake of some fucking keyboard neons...
A computer is a *tool* ... nothing more, nothing less.
You don't see people sticking neons on chainsaws do you?
smash.
I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
I agree.
:)
I have an ancient AT&T keyboard (For all practical purposes an IBM Model M - Heck, it might even be a rebranded M. It definately has click-clack-action keys. No power buttons on this keyboard. And my machine's front is aimed back towards the wall, making the power button quite difficult to reach.
Is this a problem?
Nope. BIOS for shutdown, Wake-On-Keyboard for turning back on. If I want my machine to boot, I just mash on the keyboard with my palm.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
Don't know about their networking equipment, but I've heard lots of good things about MS joysticks, and MS makes great mice.
The scroll wheel - Microsoft's single true innovation that I can think of. I originally dismissed it as an M$ gimmick, now I go crazy with any mouse that doesn't have a scrollwheel.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
Dell Inspiron 8200.
Came with a GeForce4 Go (The "slightly dulled" GeForce 4) back in August. The GF4 Go has been available in Inspiron 8x00 series laptops for quite some time before that.
In fact, the upgradablity of 8000 and 8100 units to the GF4 Go made Slashdot in early summer.
And as another poster mentioned, the Inspirons have a Radeon 9000 available, for those who are into the V8-in-a-Yugo thing. (Referring to ATi's great hardware accompanied by crap drivers, not to the rest of the system.)
Also, your oh-so-wonderful 17" PowerBook only has a 1440x900something screen. The Inspiron 8000 had a 1600x1200 display available at least a year and a half ago - Probably two or more years. While the wide screen of the PBs is nice for watching movies, that 900 pixels vertical resolution is crap for anything else. (Viewing PDFs, web pages, word processing. Most games aren't catered to widescreen either.)
BTW, the GF4 Go, which is just a 4MX, cannot be considered a true GeForce 4. All it really is is a GeForce 2 running at much higher clockrates.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
Adding light under the keys in a low-light situation will actually make it harder to read the letters on the surface of the key.
I have.
The light is powered by our exclusive tiny 5V inverters that you wire right into your keyboard's power supply! No batteries and no tying it into your computer's 12V power supply with wires all over the place! They're small enough to fit into almost any keyboard!
A sad spectacle. If they be inhabited, what a scope for misery and folly.
If they be not inhabited, what a waste of space.
-- Thomas Carlyle, looking at the stars
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