Slashdot Mirror
Flexiglow Illuminated Keyboard
BigMan writes "You probably have seen a few of these keyboards (illuminated) before but this one is from Flexiglow who are known for making very nice modd products. We will look closer into this and see
how bright it really is and if it's nice to type on and use."
How often do you look at your keyboard? I rarely look down at my keyboard when I am typing. I mean, it isn't that hard to learn to type.
Anything with the word Flexi in it must be good!
I wonder how much the guy had to pay Slashdot for the blatant ad?
but I have issues with articles which are sponsored by the item being reviewed. Oh, and if you need an illuminated keyboard, you should probably really start thinking about small flourescent investments.
-- the only good thing the French ever did was two chicks at one time
I would imagine that most computer users who read /. can type and not look at the keyboard at the same time. This would make random keyboard lights somewhat unwanted. There also seems to be a possibility of it reflecting from the monitor and just being annoying.
_____
Thank you.
The guy submitting this was "BigMan". The author of the review is "BigMan". The keyboard type looks exactly the same as the one that you can buy on thinkgeek (www.thinkgeek.com). "Plz click the images". Iono, I want my reviews to at least use real english. Otherwise the review was quite well written, seriously though...if you take the time to write a decent review why destroy it by going "plz click image" and coming off like a script kiddie?
Why go to the trouble and expense of producing an illuminated keyboard (really a specialised item) and not offer other useful features like, oh I don't know, USB connectivity (imagine firewire!), smooth light control (on/off only??), ambiant light auto-detection...
As far as reviews go I'd have to say I found that to be fairly good. It described the size, use, what comes in the package etc. However what was lacking is what the actual Slashdot Article heading describes as "how bright it is". They say "It is really bright!" So...is it distracting? Can you see the keys if you forget where % or ^ is?
"It has 18 multimedia keys squeezed into this tiny keyboard to make your surfing even easier." So are they hard to push? Is it easy to find the correct button and only push that one button? Another gripe I have is that they did not reference the size to something universal such as a quarter or pencil in their picture showing it's size. However I liked their description of how it felt to type on the keys, and that it was quiet instead of making that clicky noise. I think I'm going to invest in one of these sometime soon, but I can't say it will be soley based on this review.
"/"Reality
Excuse me, but what the fuck is the point with this story? Considering there are many illuminated keyboards around, how is this anything else but a free advertisement for this product?
Ok, obviously this is your first (does the Dr. Evil quotes thing) "review", so here's a tip or two.
I would suspect that the only reason this got posted was because ThinkGeek sells the same keyboard, or one very close to it- I know because they heavily advertise it here on slashdot. It is pathetic that this was considered front-page news.
Aside from that- god, these knock-offs suck compared to Apple's. I have a powerbook 17", and the backlit keyboard only glows around through letters/numbers/symbols(a teeny bit leaks from between the keys). From what I recall it's either one or two LEDs with fiber optics to distribute the light evenly. Works perfectly, and it even sets its own brightness level...none of these knock-offs even have a brightness adjustment.
Please help metamoderate.
News for Nerds. Stuff that matters. This article was a product review of a pointless device. Slow news day, editors?
I do need to see my keyboard on occasion to find some of the less ferquently used keys. Maybe someday I'll get around to installing a light or two under the desk above the keyboard drawer. Or I'll buy a well done lighted keyboard. But it will have to have the keys in a somewhat standard layout, not be this painfully awkward layout where the enter key isn't even the rightmost key in the third row up.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
I had an Eluminux keyboard for test one year ago. I you have your keyboard sitting in front of your screen you won't really find any advantages, and it makes it annoying when watching movies in the dark.
But when you have it in a setup where otherwise you are unable to see the keys, these keyboards are magic, LANparties spring to mind, although these keyboards are more compact (like a laptop keyboard) and if you use the arrow keys for gaming, you are out of luck.
How well does it stress test with multiple keys pressed?
I've found that every keyboard I've owned, (besides this CHERRY(tm) and an old giveaway) always keyblock me when I use the keypad. Since I heavily use the keypad in my gaming config I'd like to know if I can jump and fire (9 & 0) at the same time.
Does USB fix this?
Anyone remember starcon2 melee? It had a nice utility that reports the keys pressed so you can find the ones with conflicting scancodes.
my associative arrays can kick your hash - TCL
I donno about you guys but the glow is nothing more than another way to show off friends at lan parties or turn your room into some sick shrine. Sure it looks good but who even looks at the keyboard anymore? People playing solitaire all day long and wondering what those ads in their inbox are?
.02 (not worth much but it's somethin!)
I put myself a barrier. To buy anything useful which will always affect me or my computer's performance. A computer, I look at it as if it was a car. Here's my example.
You got those civic cars "ricers". people who modify a lot the exterior (body, mags, muffler playing the trumpet). Sure it might look "nice" but does it affect the way you drive if you don't even touch at the engine? Basically you're adding weight on the car and attracting more cops.
Same thing with a computer. You take a 3ghz cpu running all settings at stock. u decide to change intel hsf by a thermalright HS with a Vantec Tornado. HAVE YOU GONE MAD?! Waste of money, cpu doesn't need it and you're screwing up your ear's hearing capabilities.
In this case, we got a keyboard that GLOWS for "x" reason. Same thing with case neons. They glow, they take power, in the end, does it affect the way you play your games?
Indeed, what counts for me is performance but different people like different stuff and I respect that although I have to say that a computer case is not a mini discotech with hamsters getting jiggy with it.
my
From the article: "The keyboard came in a very nice box that has the picture of the keyboard on the front".
What the heck? There's no mention of key pitch in mm, stroke time, expected service life, cable lengths, or any relevant information. Instead, we read about a very nice box that the keyboard comes in.
This is not a product review. Or at least it's not a very competent product review.
While you may be legitimately trying to provide some help here, I am starting to get the impression that your account was made for karma whoring and/or trying to advertise your business, given that you've done this with every single front page story today as far as I can tell.
Mirroring people's content without their permission is probably not something they would take kindly to. I know that I would rather have the site I run go down than be sitting on a webserver I have no control over.
This is also a site which depends on advertising revenue. It may be a ghetto mod site whose writers have a poor grasp of spelling and grammar, but it is still unethical to deprive them of their ad fees by leeching away their viewers to your mirror.
Finally, the site is holding up just fine. I don't see any reason for a mirror to be necessary at all.
"...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman