Slashdot Mirror
New Keyboard Technology
An anonymous reader sent in linkage to a story running on a few places about a
new customizable keyboard. It's a bit beyond anything you've probably seen before. Also
tom's has more.
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That thing looks painful to use. I have enough trouble with a normal keyboard layout, but there's really no point to putting keys anywhere but directly under your fingertips where you don't have to move to reach them.... which is exactly what the CLAW has solved:
http://www.claw.com.au/
(It's been out for 5 years now too)
How exactly can they claim that this is ergonomic, when they leave the layout to users, who may know nothing about ergonomics, and thus, create joint-damaging layouts?
Seems obvious, really. If I want to switch to an APL or Dvorak keyboard (or in a multinational european environment, different people using the same computer have different national keyboard preferences), the glyphs on the keyboard should change!
Combined with repositionable keys like the subject of this story, that would be pretty interesting.
The Belkin Nostromo n52 (http://www.tomshardware.com/game/200403061/) is sort of the same concept, with a bit of a compomise between features and ergonomics. Not all of the buttons are directly beneath a finger tip, but the use of shift states increases the number of configurable buttons to 104. D-pad and scroll wheel are there, too.
Long signatures suck.
I find it rather amusing that the keyboard is called "Ergodex," but in the photo the guy who is using it has his wrist folded back on itself, which is supposedly one of the worst no-nos in input device ergonomics.
Mine has less and is fully functionnal
It's great when I am typing with one hand, the other one being busy.
Like now, yes.
It seems like this keyboard only gives you the power to make your situation worse.
On a normal keyboard, with the keys staggered, each finger can reach five keys easily - the one it's hovering over, and the two above and two below it.
On this fancy one, they have the keys arranged in a grid (which is the only other basic key pattern I can think of when you're working with a flat surface). In this situation, each finger can only reach three keys easily. And I fail to see what advantage straight up and down motion has over up and to the side a bit.
Other than that, I think the difference is just the angle of the keys with respect to your hand or body. I always figured it would be sufficient (and about $160 cheaper) to turn the keyboard. It's for gaming - you're only using one hand, anyway.
Now, if it were about 10 years ago and you wanted to make one of these with two or four separate pads on which you could arrange the keys so that several people could work from the same logical keyboard device for all those old multiple-players-on-the-same-screen games where you had to share the keyboard with your buddies, then we'd be talking.
When I heard about this a couple months ago it was of course a new and uniqe gadget and so I couldn't resist ordering one. Got the second set of keys and a spare plastic top panel so you can swap between a couple key layouts quickly.
The hardware is well made, the keys are high quality, and the software works fine (running under XP SP2 on a Dell gaming laptop).
I haven't done that much with it really yet. I think the problem with the device is that it basically does a good job of putting a lot of buttons within reach of your hand, but then a $10 keyboard also does an excellent job of doing this.
But the product does what it claims to, so if you want lots of customizable buttons I would have no reservations about recommending the Ergodex.
G.
That claw doesn't look to comfortable to me...
I have CTS (Carpal Tunnel) and my wrist bones have been fused in both hands since birth. I can't use any funky gadget like that one.
However.. having a keyboard where I could put the keys anywhere I want is a rediculously great trade up for me, and it'll help speed up my typing even more. One of the problems I have with English are the letters like Q and X. I'd much rather have a button like "Qu" and "Ch", or how about "Ea" and "ou", or any other super common letter combination. With the built in macro recorder, I could have my buttons exactly as I want them.
The only disappointment really is that this isn't a tap screen. I've been wanting a touchpad keyboard for some time that allowed for reconfigurable letter definitions.. Perhaps I'll get around to building it one of these days.
"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." G.W.Bush
You could build a keyboard out of these switches but at this point it'd be a little large (i don't think the switches are available in key-sizes), and they're expensive. Nifty idea though.
A keyboard with LCDs on each key seems like it would be needlessly expensive. You can get full LCD-touch screens where you can make a keyboard, but even this has a very niche appeal: it doesn't give the same feedback of a regular keyboard and, of course, the LCD is prone to getting dirty & misregistering strokes (especially in a multiuser environment).
It might be cool to hack one of those virtual keyboards. You know, the ones that project the keys via a laser. This would be cheaper & more maintainable than LCDs, but still no feed-back.
For personal use & for the money, I'd just get an old IBM Model-M & put the keycaps in whatever order I wanted.
i think they should make a keyboard with analog key setup for gaming (so i dont need a walk/run toggle button) that woudl kick ass.
is there such a thing out? and woudl any game make use of it right away?
Movies made by a crazy person
http://www.youtube.com/marginalpro
No, I tought so. I'm still clacking away at my old IBM Buckling Spring keyboard. This keyboard has lasted since 1987, and is the best one I've ever came by to write on. So it's such a pity that they can't make new keyboards, with all the fashionate hotkeys, and loose keys (yes, I know this keyboard has loose keycaps) and such, with proper Buckling Spring switches under each key.
Sure, it'd cost twice as much, but maybe I for once would get a new keyboard? Ok, I'm not the target group for this new keyboard, but still. If I found a new and attractive keyboard (which I find all the time, like logitech's wireless), but with real buckling spring, I'd buy it at once, even if it'd cost a few hundred dollars.
Those rubber-dome keyboards is just shitty to write on! So if anyone knows of a black keyboard, that ain't so deep as the Model M, has some hotkeys and has real Buckling Spring mechanism, I'll buy it at once.
Me wants a real keyboard!Assembling etherkillers for fun an profit
Take you original 10$ keyboard, might be even wired one. Pull out ANY KEYS and leave only the key combination you desire, there are practically countless combinations(!!!).
Now all you need is a software like Girder or any macro related application and fire your personal shooter away.
Here are some examples.
140$ saved!
My take on it is that I'd love to try it out... Maybe I could find a way to use it after playing with it in the store...perhaps if there was some type of demo set up to show the advantage of using the thing in word/excel and doom3.
But all I can see is a picture of a guys hand situated over a glossy black box with keys scatterd about.
Too bad, becasue the thing probably is cool...but probably doesn't get my $140.
wbs.
Huh?