Slashdot Mirror
Update on the Optimus Keyboard
paulius_g writes "It seems that Art Lebedev has reposnded to the Slashdotting that occured to their page about the ' Optimus Keyboard'. They have included a FAQ at the middle-right of the page stating some of the questions that Slashdotters were wondering. A few interestign ones were '
It will be real', 'We hope it will be released in 2006',
'It will cost less than a good mobile phone',
'It will be OS-independent',
and finally 'It will most likely use OLED technology (e-paper is sooo slow)'. They've also included some common answers abotu Russia and it seems that they are as well searching OEMs (From the FAQ:
OEM will be possible (why not?),
Contact us for hi-res images, or interview inquires). It will be very interesting to see how this technological marvel will be created. Sign me up! I'll be ordering one in 2006."
'It will cost less than a good mobile phone'
I have gotten a good one, and it was free. Then there are the phones that cost upwards of $250~$300
This keyboard will be great for mapping keys for games =)
"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection." -- Sigmund Freud
Optimus Prime.
Too bad it's not available in 'ergonomic' styles :\
I love my MS ergo keyboard.
The price is always right if someone else is paying.
Will it keep the classic G1 flat-nose 18-wheeler look?
Frequently Answered Answers about the Optimus keyboard
It's in initial stage of production
We hope it will be released in 2006
It will cost less than a good mobile phone
It will be real
It will be OS-independent (at least it can
work in some default state with any OS)
It will support any language or layout
Moscow is the capital of Russia
Each key could be programmed to produce any sequence
It will be an open-source keyboard, SDK will be available
Some day it will be split ('ergonomic')
It will most likely use OLED technology (e-paper is sooo slow)
Our studio is located two blocks from the Kremlin
It will feature a key-saver
Keys will use animation when needed
It has numeric keypad because we love it
There's no snow in Moscow during Summer
It will be available worldwide (why not?)
OEM will be possible (why not?)
Contact us for hi-res images, or interview inquires
We want to thank everyone for the support. Stay tuned for our next projects
Time is comparison of movement to other movement.
It looks very slick, and would make a good match with the aluminium case of the Mac G5. Now only they should make a split version as well.
We have things like:
/.
Moscow is the capital of Russia
There's no snow in Moscow during Summer
I'm afraid to find the comments that spawned those replies. But it does sound like
Don't get me wrong, I like the looks of this keyboard as much as anyone else, but...
If there's one thing I hate worse than vaporware, it's hype. Show me, don't tell me.
One question they haven't answered ... Whats the point of a keyboard where every key is a screen ?
Are they trying to force touch typists to look at the keyboard like everyone else has to?
That is one nice feature list and one nice looking keyboard. This could be seen everywhere one day as imagine every application you load programming the look of the keyboard to make that application extremely easy to use. Should be interesting to see what happens.
Yes, yes, I agree, it's very pretty, but how many times do you actually look at your keyboard? The whole point of keys is that they are under your fingers. This is a gimmic, with absolutely no use.
I don't speak Sweedish Chef so I wasn't able to RTFA.
What exactly is this keyboard good for? Are they thinking of making a non-querty version?
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
The idea that it costs as much as a good mobile phone is vague. Do they mean $300 models or $800 high tech top-of-the-line phones? A keyboard would have to be absolutely revolutionary, fantastic and wonderful for me to spend $300, let alone $800. Well, only time will tell.
Voice your opinion!
I think it would be incredibly badass if, when you press down on the shift key, the lowercase letters change to capital letters, and the numbers change to special characters, etc.
Also, when you hold control, the word 'copy' appears on the C-key, 'paste' on the V-key, etc.
That would rock.
Coral Cached copy from Primotechnology.com
"TK-421, why aren't you at your post?"
Let's open an "Ask Slashdot" topic named : best programmable keyboard. Any ideas (ergodex, POS keyboards, XKeys...) ?
I was thinking to myself "What could possibly be in a keyboard that would cost that much and why would Slashdotters care?" Then I rtfa and WOW! Can you imagine every possible idea you could do with this?
They took notice on the first slashdoting, wonder if they will notice this one!
I never liked any keyboard 'innovation'
i'm curently usin a microsoft wireless keyboard with all thos fancy and useless keys, and I hate it.
But that keyboard looks wonderfull. I cant wait to grab one!
This keyboard looks like a great way to easily explore the capabilities of powerful apps especially for beginner users. But the 10-key area on the left for application, while it looks pretty sharp, worries me.
Would this keyboard require you to switch modes manually? Power users might jump between apps a lot when putting together, say, a music video in Final Cut or a pamphlet in InDesign. Am I going to have to hit the appropriate key every time I switch apps? This could get drudgerous pretty quickly.
Then again, someone who has their workflow down likely doesn't need OLEDs to remind them of keyboard shortcuts, so my complaint might be mootwrong target market. It still seems that the board would be more of a "killer app" type of thing if it were context-sensitive and didn't require prompting from the user.
How much power would this thing draw (and can we even guess at that accurately)? Would it need to be plugged in to its own outlet, or would power over USB be enough?
It will be very interesting to see how this technological marvel will be created. Sign me up! I'll be ordering one in 2006.
Put the credit card down and step back from the keyboard. Let's see if they actually produce one before you start planning your hardware purchasing for next year. Or are you the type that stands by the mailbox every day with a wistful look on your face while clutching your DNF pre-order receipt?
Why are the keys still arranged like on a typewriter and not in nice vertical columns?
Analogies don't equal equalities, they are merely somewhat analogous.
They say: "Enter" key is big in size and nearly square in form.
I say: It had better be, since it is in a completely different zipcode from the home row keys. What's up with the extra 2 keys on the home row between JKL; and Enter? It's impossible to hit their Enter key without moving your right hand off the home row.
Industrial designers are like Architects: they design something idiotic, then let an Engineer figure out how to make it work in a useful way.
If all keys are visually remappable, then they really need fewer keys. I'm still disappointed at all the junk (arrow cluster, numeric pad) on the right side of the home row between me and my mouse.
If this came in a "Happy Hacker" footprint, then they may get my attention. Right now, it's too many colorful, expensive, redundant, unnecessary buttons.
What I've found pleasant in the meantime is a laptop-style keyboard with a marble-mouse beside it. From the mouse, I can reach the PgUp/PgDn keys on the small-footprint keyboard with my thumb, like getting two extra buttons for free.
Yes I can finally replace my ethereal keyboard.
Will they keyboard remain operational with the occasional spill? I can imgine these displays to be very sensitive to such a thing.
What about smoke, food, pubes, and other things that one might encounter in the average robust keyboard?
I think we can keep recursing like this until someone returns 1
This keyboard will be great for mapping keys for games =)
;)
Games? Forget games! It looks like it will be great for a KVM user. I switch between a Windows machine, a Linux machine, and a Mac machine. It would be great if the layout would change between computers.
I'm going to go back in my box and will think within the limits of my box: MS Sucks Linux Good I read too much Slashdot.
Domuarigato, spelling abotu!
** "It's not my job to stand between the people talking to me, and the ones listening to me." -- Pego the Jerk
'Cuz I never use the numeric keypad. It's a giant waste of space for me, and I'm forced to put my mouse very far to the right because of it. I curse the numeric keypad. *shakes fist* Curse you, numeric keypad!
And if you could put a keypad right on the main keyboard and have it display the numbers right there, then there is even less reason to have it! Mini! Mini!
Accountability on the heads of the powerful.
Power in the hands of the accountable.
It's about time -- I've always wanted a keyboard like this. What I didn't expect, though, was color; that's a nifty little bonus. Additionally, the fact that I see Macintosh keys is fairly encouraging. Hopefully that means that there will be out of the box support for the Mac OS. Yeah, I know they said universal compatibility, but they also said "on a basic level."
--Jim (me)
Just how slow is it? It's not like you'd be running animations on the keyboard, although that would increase the coolness factor.
Most of the time, though, you would have a single update in seconds instead of several updates per second.
Of course it runs NetBSD. BTC: 1NT7QvbetmANwaMzhpVL6
300$? Get real. I can't imagine myself spending 3 figures on a keyboard, let alone 300 - 800. I'd expect a price in the 150-200 range and as far as casual user is concerned buying it will be throwing money away on another cool gadget. There certainly will be some benfits for professionals dealing with complex and/or new applications each month(although I still have my doubts...), but the benefit of this keyboard is well below the actual cost, IMO.
1. No sig. 2. ???? 3. Profit!!!
The use is plain: many applications make keys do something other than the immutable icons stamped onto normal keyboards. Instead of looking up key function mapping in a separate manual or help file, the function is just right there on the keys.
... how much more so a zillion other applications which do things other than what's immutably marked on the keys.
Heck, most of the time the "A" key doesn't produce "A", it produces "a"
Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
not quite the way I envisioned a similar concept once, but better, definitely better.
Can anyone link to initial slashdot article about Optimus? Thx. P.S. I'm from Russia too.
How long before we see posts bragging about the FPS of their enter keys.
...because you think of all the awesome possibilities, then realize how excited you got over a keyboard...
Seriously, the more complex a system, the more likely a chance of failure. The 101 keyboard is just one switch under one key, fairly easy to deal with.
I like the idea though.
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination
- Douglas Adams
Not only power concerns, but the first thing I thought when I saw those keys is, "That's not going to clean up very well." And we thought grimy keys were noticible now, just wait until you actually have to see the lettering on them to be sure you're pressing the right thing...
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
Look at the size of the escape key! Yeah, baby.
Accountability on the heads of the powerful.
Power in the hands of the accountable.
My mouse (trackball) sits nicely next to my keyboard on the left and "balances" the number pad on the right. It leaves everything sitting dead center on my monitor(s).
Of course, I have to find a mouse/trackball that isn't handed. And a joystick that isn't handed. (which I'll set in the same position if it's a flightstick) And I have to remap the keys on every game because they expect you to use the left half of the keyboard, and with an ergonomic and a right hand to key with, that's not so useful.
Slashdot Patriotism: We Support our Dupes!
Well, when it is put into production, you can then complain that submission is a repeat of this submission.:)
Now I'll be shouting at folk not to leave their greasy fingerprints on my keyboard too!
"Don't lose your mind trying to set it free..."
Just RTFA! There is no need for different layouts, because the keys are _screens_ .
The first visual keyboard virus. Imagine the keys changing around every couple of seconds. Or the keys all showing pr0n icons
It's just a matter of time before somebody writes an applet that lets you use the keyboard as an extra screen. Do I hear: DS ported to PC?
^^^ ...will be all too sweet.
It's not quite advertising. It's showing new technology.
If OLED keyboards would be available everywhere, it wouldn't be on Slashdot.
The hip way to get your IP. No ads, ever.
I bet Apple will snap this up, at least as an option on some of their models. Hell, it already looks like Apple designed it, the style is the same.
Hopefully it will be wireless.
Personally, I'd want one of these just for the cool factor. And the opportunity to finally try Dvorak.
This space intentionally left blank.
...Microsoft "innovates" this concept into their keyboard line.
I think it's really smart of this company to make it platform independent. EVERYTHING should be that way to encourage competition.
-"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
Or rather, my wife will. She learned to type in the late 1970s on a manual typewriter, and she pounds the hell out of keyboards; she just never learned a lighter touch. It would be interesting to see how the OLEDs hold up to the punishment of several thousand words a day under her fingers.
Allow tech support and training to modify the keys at any time.
Imagine telling a person on the phone to press "these keys" and all the other keys go dark except those. You could get into some really neat applications like this.
you got your own Uber Optimaz keyboard!
Wouldn't this make each 'key' a monitor in it's own right?
The first hack to be made with the open source API will be Tetris, played on a single key (with the surrounding keys for control).
I imagine there are other interesting uses of these... like having a stock ticker running accross F1-F12 or having little instruments for a flight simulator on the keyboard itself. Or a console driver that uses the keyboard, no need for a monitor at all in such situations.
"Cheaper than a good mobile phone" doesn't mean much, as "good" phones can be had from $free to $lots.
Niche markets at over $100:
High-end mixed-language public kiosks/Internet cafes.
Artists, who use keyboard as part of a work of art.
High-end gamers who want to look cool.
Trade show vendors who want to look cool.
Rich people with too much money and no sense of frugality.
OEM with high-end gaming machines.
Market at $50-100:
Above, plus:
Yuppie families.
Teenagers who want to look cool.
Public kiosks who can't afford $101 keyboards but can spend $50.
OEM in $1000+ non-server machines, free-with-coupon with high-end multi-lingual and language-translating software.
Market at $20-$50:
Anyone who wants to look cool EXCEPT those who think that if it's under $50 it's no longer cool.
Almost every public kiosk that uses more than one keyboard layout will have at least one of these.
OEM in $500+ non-server machines, free-with-coupon with medium-end multi-lingual and language-translating software.
Market at under $20:
Anyone who wants one.
This assumes it can run over a standard USB or PS/2 cable without an extra power supply, either "as is" or with a continously-recharging rechargable battery or capacitor to provide the power to change the whole layout instantly several times a second in bursts, such as when users hold down SHIFT-CTRL then release CTRL then release SHIFT. If it requires extra connectors, that will negatively affect customer acceptance.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
..are nothing new. OLEDs are more appropriate for keyboard switches, since they don't need backlight and glass.
"Uh, IT support?"
"Yo."
"This is President Castor. You know, they guy who pays your check. We have a problem with these new keyboards."
"Yeah, one of the secretaries downloaded some game application and it was loaded with a viral worm. It's killed three servers and remapped all the keyboards. We'll get up there and clear your system in a minute."
"I was wondering why it was opening browser windows to tubgirl and goatse."
Oh yeah, lots of fun. Let's not forget the adware slimeballs putting Viagra logos on keys...
If my grammar and spelling are off, I am [distracted/tired/careless] (take your pick)
This will be a good thing to replace digitizers, for those still using them.
Time is comparison of movement to other movement.
asdfghjkl;'#[enter]
;)
Same as what i've got right now. Good old, standard UK keyboards. Maybe we've got bigger hands or something, but i seem to be able to type just fine without having my hands jump around my desk like a doped-up cricket.
On top of that, the extra keys on the right side of the keyboard (arrow cluster and such like) are used (by me at least) in gaming and suchlike. Trying to use regular WASD bindings annoys the hell outta me, largely because the columns there are slanted.
It's all good.
With a keyboard like this, you could have a layout that had buttons that modded posts or generated posts automatically. Imagine handy keys like "+1 Funny", "-1 Troll", "Dupe!", "In Soviet Russia...", "Imagine a Beowulf Cluster...", or "Mock spelling or grammatical errors of the editors".
No, they are showing us something that's an evolutionary step in keyboards. Remember this line: "News for nerds, Stuff that matters." This is most definetely "news for nerds," and for quite a few people this is "stuff that matters." There are numerous people who could use something like this, gamers, programmers, video/photo editors. This is more of a heads up. There are articles on here all the time about theoretical scientific stuff, or theorys on the apple/intel merger, or new changes in apps/hardware that MIGHT happen, or the MIGHT not. Don't like it? Tough.
... but the enter key not being in the predicted place will likely kill the deal. The extra doohickies on the right of the normal keyspace (numeric, etc.) I have no complaints with at all.
I've wanted a keyboard like this since I was about fourteen, so I'll probably grab one at launch anyway, though. I just wish they wouldn't screw with the basics of typing, I hit three to seven machines in a day and don't need anything else different beyond the normal del/backspace caps lock/ctrl and dvorak/qwerty differences.
I, too, wonder about just how good the animation of the key displays would be, as well as just how much you will be able to program the keyboard. While it has few--if any--practical uses, being able to coordinate the animations of the individual keys to create a larger picture would be pretty damn cool.
Someone will try to follow this and file a patent for a mouse with OLED buttons. Patents as dumb as they can get.
What does your Credit Report look like?
Curious to know what OLED technology is, i went over to Wikipedia and saw there where some disadvanteges with this technology:
Quoted from Wikipedia:
The biggest technical problem left to overcome now is lifetime. Red and green OLED elements already have life-times of well over 20,000 hours but blue OLED life-times lag significantly behind at 1,000 hours.
According to Kodak, which is developing small molecule OLED, lifetime problems are not so significant for that type of OLED, mainly as a result of doping the base material of the OLEDs, which, they claim, has led to much better device performance both electrically and optically. Universal Display for example have produced a blue OLED that has a lifetime of 10,000 hours.
There are still a number of problems to overcome though, and one of these is intrusion of water into displays which damages and destroys the organics, as well as outcoupling, which can result in the loss of much of the light in waveguided modes within the substrates.
In May 2005 Cambridge Display Technology announced a blue OLED with a lifetime of over 100,000 hours. Commercial development of the technology is also hampered by intellectual property issues since even the basics of OLED technology is heavily patented by Kodak and other firms, requiring outside research teams to acquire a license.
I think it'd be cool to have the keyboard draw ripples when typing like throwing peddles into a pond. Might make for some flashy coding sessions.
Just watch. It will happen. One day you'll be typing and look down at a viagra pill where your enter key used to be.
I really don't think that wireless would work with this keyboard. What technology would be used? Bluetooth? BT is already battery hungry, and that's WITHOUT 100+ OLED keys drawing power in addition to the BT.
As much as I'd love a wireless keyboard like this, I think you'd have to throw about 4 D batteries in there just to get any reasonable lifespan out of a set of batteries.
Just like driving a car:
(D) to go forward
(R) to go backward
Sweet! Now I can have a 256 color "ANY KEY"
So... does the keystroke logger that's surreptitiously built into the unit automatically send all the captured text to Russian spy agencies, US spy agencies, or both simultaneously?
When you give your credit card number to purchase the keyboard from the online vendor, how many times do you have to call your bank to have your credit card number change to get rid off all those pesky bogus $9.95 charges that you didn't make?
And lastly, I presume it'll come with all the game key mappings and icons for Duke Nukem Forever, since it'll probably actually be released about the same time.
I think I could justify $200+ for a good keyboard if I felt it made my work more productive, and if it was a long-term investment.
http://daskeyboard.com/
one bug, one crash
When putting the pointing device on the Left-side of the keyboard, you lose the easy utility of modifier keys (Ctrl/Alt) on some keyboards when doing modified mouse button chords. Think: Ctrl-Button2 in an xterm.
I realize that some (full-size) keboards have redundant Ctrl/Alt/Windows keys on the right side, but that's not a guarantee. It does improve posture, since you're not sitting with your arms bent to the left all day long, and your wrist in a strange position to compensate.
I blame the whole thing on IBM producing Typist/Secretarial keyboards instead of Engineer/Computer keyboards like on the PC/XT's original 83-key keyboard, when Ctrl was to the left ot he A key, where God intended it to be.
The only place for Caps Lock on a modern keyboard is on the underside, in my opinion, to keep it out of harm's way. The ONLY reason Caps Lock was implemented ABOVE the left shift was because historially on old mechanical typewriters, it was a mechanical latching key, and it was simplest to implement directly above (and tied to) one of the shift keys. My mother's old Smith Corona typewriter has a latching Shift Lock key, and that only got used when typing up card catalog entries, or when making a long line of underscores, since it took oomph to hold down the shift key, and your pinky got tired after a few seconds.
They actually listen to "their" people...
I want my OLED keyboard yesterday.Where's my free iPod!? Until then, I'll settle for a kiss...
Why would the speed of epaper matter? Unless the keys are going to be changing their image every few seconds, epaper should be plenty fast.
Too bad for you that the Transformers reference jokes were all done in the last /. article, so that post doesn't really deserve the "Funny" mod that it'll probably get anyway.
But I'm also the dude with a watercool AMDX2, laptop, stereo, garmin gps, two mp3 players, etc, etc.... ;-)
It would be fairly cool just to have it light up and all... though a horrible waste of power I'd say [though small by comparison].
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
no, they're showing us a commercial website hawking things they have yet. they don't even know how they're going to make it. all they have is a shiny, photoshoped picture.
great. wonderful. that's not news. it's hype.
wake me up when they have a prototype. in the mean time, wanna check out my website? i need the advertising money.
You know their would be some sort of software thats pretty easy to use and probably vunerable. And knowing that this keyboard is probably mainly based for the Windows OS. You can bet your bottom dollar ads will show up....imagine teaching your grandma how to use a computer and she is peck typing...she looks down only to see every key on the keyboard has turned into Goatse and Tubgirl. : Nice concept though :)
Cowboy Neal!
Hang on, guys. The idea of an OLED keyboard is really cool, but the truth of the matter is that the square and totally flat keys shown on their prototype would feel like typing on a supermarket cash register. Compare that to the concave and textured keys you're (probably) used to. Unless your primary computer is a Sinclair ZX-81. So, to make it useful, you'd need a sculpted and textured keycap, which will result in a fuzzy and clouded image. Come to think of it, nearly everyone I know touch-types. The keys could be printed in Lithuanian, for all I care.
Awesome soviet russia joke... and UNEXPECTED! :D
:) Two thumbs up!
My kind
Compare that to hardware, a physical item we can hold. Replicating a keyboard, GPU, car, etc is remarkably difficult. The assumption is that anyone can make changes to it if they want. While this works in the software realm, it doesn't carry over to hardware. I don't have a foundry in my basement (though I wouldn't put it past some /.ers) which I could use to pour my own engine. I don't have a chip fab in my garage to make my own chips, so even if I discovered problems, or wanted to make changes, I couldn't do it.
The closest thing to open-source in hardware that I can think of are standardized buses, where 'anybody' can make a PCI slot, for example. I still can't do it because I don't injection-molding machines and a supply of gold contacts, but it's still possible.
Unless Art Lebedev hands the schematics out to anybody who wants them (logitech, microsoft, belkin, etc), the keyboard isn't open-source.
antipaucity
I am in for the tetris stuff :)
The images are cool, but anyone who's worth their salt on a keyboard spends very little time looking at the individual keys. The idea that the keys can be transposed is much more important than using the fanciest display technology. (And then you wouldn't have to have a "key-saver"--what a foolish idea.)
I'd rather pay $100 for a monochrome keyboard of the same type than see them come out with a $500 pie-in-the-sky version.
Have fun: Join D.N.A. (National Dyslexics Association)
We'll have the ability to provide people with an "Any" key!
- Won't catch unless it is driven by the pr0n industry
- Just imagine a beowfulf cluster of these !
- In Soviet Russia, the keys strike you !
Don't thank me
\u262D = \u5350
Those who dont see the innovation behind this idea are not seeing the possiblities. Imagine the OS being able to set the keyboard to the detected language for you, or having all of an application's functions appear/launch from the keys. Not to mention some of the other things you could do with apps that are running on the machine, such as keyboard layouts/schemes for games. Using a keyboard is by far faster than a mouse. There's a ton of great things that could be done with this kind of technology once it matures, in my opinion this is the future of keyboards.
All of this is easily customizable from the contol panel for the Shuttle Pro. You can specify program level buttons or bind a global key command to any button you want.
I don't see why this would be any different with this keyboard. It's just a driver issue, right?
You know what?
"Yes, yes, I agree, it's very pretty, but how many times do you actually look at your keyboard? The whole point of keys is that they are under your fingers. This is a gimmic, with absolutely no use."
I disagree. I have some applications that I use occasionally, but not often enough to where I immediately know all of the functions that I need to use. For awhile I used a Gateway 2000 Any Key 124 key macro-programmable keyboard, but when I needed to go USB I was unable to continue to use that keyboard. This appears to offer some programmability, and with the ability to map icons or text across keys it should be really easy to customize the layout appearance for those important applications that I need to occasionally use well, but don't use enough to know everything. I could spend a couple of days preparing layouts for each of these programs and then not have to navigate menus for functions from then on out.
In addition to utility as mentioned above, it has a certain amount of cool factor as well as ease for typing in the darkness. It would be really cool to be able to use a blu-ish color like the blue LEDs in the case have, or to use different colors on the keyboard for different machines in a KVM. I could see this being really, really nice in many niche environments.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
a clicky keyboard. This sounds really cool. But my old ibm is still my favorite.
i have a cat named george. RAWR!
What about graphics design students? I know for those of us who use their keyboard to type and play games, it may seem somewhat useless. However, as a graphics design student, I find that most of my peers (myself included) never bother to learn all of the keyboard shortcuts/commands for such applications as photoshop/3dsmax/maya/flash/dreamweaver/lightwave/ XSI
yes, the list goes on and on and is quite daunting - so most people just skip over this all together and use the menu systems to switch from tool to tool or create a quick square to edit. So for the general public this doesnt seem to usefull...but for students who want to cut down production time in ten different applications, it has major uses.
just my $.02 - personally, if its out in 2006 I will be buying one (as long as its under $200 - over that will take serious consideration)
I remember one of my CS professors once said that if he was a king he would replace the MS Windows Key with a Lambda(the class was taught in Scheme). He also said that if he was a king a lot of people would die. I'm glad now he doesn't have to be a king to get his way.
"It will be real."
Thank goodness. I'm glad we cleared that up.
The people who've designed this want their product to be top-of-the-line.
They're making an expensive product because they're after the high end of the market.
That segment does exist. They're the people who buy technology when it first comes out at a ridiculous price.
When the price of their parts goes down, so will the price of the keyboard, and then they might increase their marketshare significantly. Perhaps major computer manufacturers would begin bundling their keyboard with their systems.
Until then, however, they're targetting people with a lot of money. If they didn't, insteading downgrading its sexiness as you suggested, their product would have no one who wants it. It wouldn't be good enough for the high end or cheap enough for the low end.
My personal unanswered technical question regards using with multiple OS's at once.
If the keyboard merely asks the OS for currently active windows and remaps accordingly, that's great, but what I would like to see is the keyboard *also* check to see which OS it is talking to as well.
As described, the keyboard is intended to be used with multiple apps within a single OS. However, my most likely use would be a single app, or a limited number of apps on a multiple set of OS's.
Having say the Windows key remap itself automatically to an Apple key when I flipped the KVM switch to control another box along with having all the other keys remap to the OS appropriate labels *without my having to hit a hotkey*.
Also good would be doing the same when controlling different OS's within VMware or IBM's LPAR. Based on the description, it sounds like the VMware option will already be covered, depends on how they implement it.
I need a wheelchair van for my son. Help me get the word out. https://www.gofundme.com/wheelchair-van-for-jj
I was always taught to not look at my hands when I type....so why would I need a light up keyboard?
But if it is real and available, and priced worth it, I'll talk someone else into buying it as a present.
You never expect irony, do you?
Want to be a professional wrestler? Visit www.iyfwrestling.com
@iyfwrestling
This keyboard looks very cool. Other than that, however, there's not much to it. I don't look at my keyboard, I type on it. I think this would be far more useful for a universal remote. It would be great to have physical keys that can display their current function and can be seen in the dark.
How many of you actually look at the keyboard while using it?
"It seems that Art Lebedev has reposnded..."
Poor guy. That sounds painful.
A keyboard that transforms into a tractor semitrailer? Cool!
Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
As cool as this is, I'd rather shell out the extra money for one of these. I rarely look at my keyboard.
Would be the ability to take it apart and place the keys in any position. Especially, I'd like to put a few on the back of my mouse.
Unfortunately, I can't think of a mechanism to make this work.
Q: What will the keyboard be called in the US when Radio Shack slaps you for using their "Optimus" trademark?
Is abotu a new word?
A prepaid plan offered a decent phone with 60 days/40 minutes of talk time for $20. Sure, it wasn't top of the line, but it did what most phones 2-3 years ago did, plus work on today's networks.
After reading up on this and being dazzle and amazed then I started thinking about it, who actually looks at their keys now, it would be nice for some niche stuff but the thing is...After researching the OLED technology the longest OLED life I've read about is 15000 hours....Thats just over a year...I dont want to buy a potentially 40-300 dollar keyboard for it to die on me in a year. Thats just not acceptable for any mainstream consumer...which is apparently where this thing is marketed. That and the cons of this device far outweigh its potential "application" Seriously what types of stuff can this thing be REALLY TRULY acceptable for. People say gaming...ok how so? It switches around your configs on what game you play? Guess what...I have something up my sleeve thats free and doesnt even require you to think about it...its called a autoexec.cfg or a config file....ohh wait...most games have GUI's in game now...This thing would really only be good for power users that truly are power users, Im talking video editors / CAD engineers and the like. Other than that this thing is a bunch of hype, cool hype yes...but profitable mainstream NO.
Who needs a keyboard you vi types are sooo week, touch typeing hey, i once had to use my blood drops to program a trs 80.
Come on, all of the posters saying that this keyboard is useles, are useless people. only a moron would not be able to see the extreem value of this keyboard. i cant tell you how many times i have found myself refrencing a book for the speacial function keys of lightwave, or motion, or final cut pro, and flash. and i cant tell you how many times i have wished for this exact thing. if you are a programmer that only works in vi i can see why you may not think this is a usefull thing, but anybody who has to use multiple complex applications will see this as a godsend.
Quake mode looks cool...but can it detect when you've entered the console / chat mode; and if so, revert the keys back to normal letters for touch-typers who want to see what they're writing?
Lots of variables like this can come into play...it looks like a cool keyboard, but unless there's a good software package that comes with it and allows you to customize the hell out of your mappings, it's not going to be that great.
Sup I own a 1996 keyboard. Most of today's programs for anything whether it be video editing or Flash offer keyboard shortcuts in their GUI. People that made such said programs didnt spend countless hours refining a nice GUI thats simple to use and easy to navigate just for you to go out and buy a hyped potentially 400 dollard keyboard. Raped by shortcuts.
Then there are the phones that cost upwards of $250~$300
These are NOT what is considered a 'good mobile
phone' in Russia. Try from $500 and up. Way up.
3.243F6A8885A308D313
While I hope everything they speak of makes it in to this package (i mean, damn, it's a sweet idea!), things here should be taken with a grain of salt.
:)
Why? Because their team so far only consists of concept designers, and has no engineers. So, it's very likely that what they say, and what is actually feasable in the end may differ greatly.
Here's to hoping that my words are just paranoid ramblings
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
This is a case where the little guy would want protection from the big guys.
because I have been enjoined by this Holy Office to abandon the false opinion which maintains that the Sun is the centre
If there's one thing I hate worse than vaporware, it's hype. Show me, don't tell me.
Quit your bitching. They didn't come to us, we linked to them, slashdotted their site, and posted tons of questions about them. They were cool enough to take the time to respond to them, and the answers were somewhat informative - in other words, not just marketing babble (not surprising, since they're inventors, not marketers).
I like to know what might be coming down the pipe, even if it never materializes. *Especially* if it never materializes, because then at least they contributed to the human idea pool, which might inspire others to build the same or related products.
Besides, its not like these guys don't have a track record of delivering.
: this can be done with the kinesis keyboard
:this is what the kinesis was build for
think of Your hands future not how cool it looks...
i have 2 of these and im not changing it for a flat one ever again http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/
- - - - - .
Although it's awesome, I can't see it becoming more than a niche product for quite some time. So except for high-end applications like Photoshop or Final Cut whose users rely on extensive keyboard shortcuts or multilingual apps that switch alphabets, most developers probably won't feel a lot of pressure to integrate support.
I dont like the idea of the back uni-leg rather then the normal fold down legs..depending on if I am typing in my lap or on my desk , having the keyboard tilted really does make a difference..I am sure this is where they store a lot of electronics, but that could be really annoying at times..
~~"Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong." ~~Dennis Miller
Drill baby drill - on Mars
I'm all for this awesome idea. However I probably won't be buying the first model.
:)
There has been an interview with the head of the design frim.
- 1.0 syndrom
- they want to use OLEDs. OLEDs are nice because they're luminous and small. I don't want my keyboard to be a christmas tree! More important, though, is the short life-span of OLEDs. Know what the 'O' means? Organic. And Organic deteriorates. Lifetimes right now is 2 years, IIRC
- They are thinking of USB2 or Firewire but no bluetooth. Plus power cord, potentially. I want less clutter on my desk now, not more.
- The large footprint. See above.
- This is going to be a luxury keyboard, thus focusing on aesthetics. I prefer practical rather than the aesthetical.
I'll meet the offspring of this keyboard in 2-3 years, when they shake the quirks out of it, and focus more on usability
Misleading titles? Inflammatory blurbs? Keep in mind that Slashdot is a tabloid.
please stick a few usb ports on it. i use a mac keyboard now because i wanted usb ports and didn't want a bunch of goofy function keys. i'd hate to have to go back to crawling under my desk to plug my usb memory stick into the back of my computer.
Can anyone say whack-a-mole!?!
1, 2, 3, 4, 5... That's the combination on my luggage!
With a name like Optimus, I was expecting a Transformer-type keyboard. ;-)
Looks inredible, though... will definitely have to add this to my future new computer.
-jls
Techno-pagan
#207373 +(8344)- [X]
:<
<anamexis> oh man
<anamexis> I was opening a coke, right
--> Beefpile (~mbeefpile@cloaked.wi.rr.com) has joined #themacmind
<anamexis> and it exploded
<anamexis> ALMOST all over my keyboard
<anamexis> but I got it away just in time
<-- Beefpile has quit (sick fuckers)
<anamexis>
By reading this, you have given me brief control of your mind.
...only on slashdot...
-tom
A Prime choice of product.
~The TwoTailedFox posts again....
For comparison, some other special keyboards have prices like, EZ-Reach $100, Kinesis Contour $240, DataHand (very original!) $500.
Maybe this only shows that people are conservative when it comes to keyboards, though the Optimus may easily become mainstream. Well, it's just great! (Though, I'm not buying, since I won't give up the alignment of rows on my current EZ-Reach.)
How does it FEEL? What kind of keyswitches does it have? Cheapo membrane, ALPS keyswitches? Buckling spring? Does it have nice, crisp key feel, with positive feedback on when you have actually pressed a key, or does it have squisy rubber domes under all of the keys? Do the keys travel a full distance, or are they short-throw scissor-switch keys like a laptop? Will the final version really be so... FLAT?
/usr/games/fortune
It's one thing to make typos in an IM, but it's another thing to make typos in a news article that thousands and thousands of people will be reading and even more, syndicating. Obviously things like correct facts and unbiased presentation of information is more important, and lack of them gives flamers more weight in their attacks than mere spelling mistakes, but incorrect spelling does hurt your rapport. Next time let your computer fix your mistakes for you; use the spell checker and have it learn words like "slashdotting" so future uses will be even more accurate.
emacs
But how would this work and would it work across platforms? The faq says it would be OS neutral with the qualifier "at least it can work in some default state with any OS". That 'default' might be 'regular qwerty keyboard'. My concern is that it would be great for photoshop, but just a very expensive regular keyboard for the gimp.
Loose lips lose spit.
Will the keyboard include easter egg animations of Anna Ponomaryova? ...I'd buy it, then!
For a prank, blank all the keys on the keyboard, then randomly display "Any" on a key. Move it to a different key about every second or so. The user must press the "Any" key to continue.
Does this mean we'll have to write a screen saver for the keyboard?
If you think adware is bad enough now, just wait until someone figures out how to reprogram your keyboard remotely.... Every key you press brings up a different ad....
Bob
You mean I'll be able to play Whac-a-Mole with/on my keyboard?? Awesome!
Does it work man? I've spent a pretty penny on devices such as this and if your product works, I'll buy a Dozen.
No but seriously, I'd totally outfit my entire house with all Optimus keyboards, even if they are the most expensive keyboards on the market... it's just too cool.
They've also included some common answers abotu Russia and...
I think it would be incredibly dumbass if, when you clicked on the slashdot summary, the lowermind twinks ignored the actual article, contextually significant comments and other important facts posted by other folks, etc.
Also, when you blow smoke, the word 'dumb' appears on the left-hand, 'ass' on the right-hand, etc.
I am looking forward to playing DNF on this keyboard.
Mind you, you'd either have to create your own icon sets or have games/etc that support it...
But how about games or programs which redefine keys. How about games that do it on-the-fly (for example, when you enter a chopper your keyboard changes to reflect the mapped helicopter keys).
Programs that use tons of bound key combos could make use of this too. For example when you hold ALT it could then change the keys to show what the ALT+key combos do, for the uncommonly-used ones that aren't easily memorized. I'm no touch-typist, but when it comes to special keymappings I don't really memorize them all.
While the idea and look of the Optimus keyboard seems pretty geek-o-riffic (and I'm guessing it looks pretty attractive while humming along), how often do people look at the keyboard while typing anyway? Do you seriously need to be reminded that the shift key makes the letters CAPS? Also, at least for me, frequently used application-dependent function keys and other special character keys etc. are usually looked up and memorized early on in the learning curve of an application anyway. Perhaps I'm alone here, but I might prefer the rather elegant "anti-Optimus" Das Keyboard instead.
i\hbar\dot{\psi}=\hat{H}\psi
My wrists hurt just from looking at that keyboard.
They should also make sure that:
- keys don't make annoying loud click noises
- keys are not too unsensitive or too soft so you won't break a finger to make it register a keypress.
(some keyboards are really horrible at this but most are ok)
- For gamers key rollover is important
- For gamers keysizes are important (The small cursor keys on MS split keyboard is a good example of what not to do)
- Split keyboard is desired.
- Detachable numpad is desired to reduce distance to mouse.
There are several kinds of keyboards . Sadly, very few companies make mechanical switch keyboards now. Too expensive? Fuck, no, those things are great for fast typing and work flawlessly for decades!
Since the Optimus will be rather expensive no matter what... and no one wants to waste teh big bucks in something that will be ruined in two or three years of serious use... whoever makes that keyboard better make it real good - that is, to hell with those damned mushy buttons! Otherwise, serious typists should stick to Matias and Unicomp .
Circumcision is child abuse.
My spacebar at home is used so much, it is actually dimpled where my thumb hits it. With this in my mind, I wonder how long it takes for the screens to get... ummm.... broken. Also, what would the pixel replacement policy be? I think the going rate of computers is like 5-10 or something like that.
I don't know specifically what that reason is, (IANAKM,) but I'd imagine something about hooking up around a hundred small screens that move independently and quite often at significant speeds with relatively little resistance yet remaining connected and running might have something to do with it.
Or maybe I'm just too pessimistic.
There's more than meets the eye with this optimus keyboard
The Maxxyz has led keys on it, but they are crummy fisher price style things. However, the idea of LEDs under keys has been done successfully before in a professional system.
What? Displaying a different icon on a key if you press another can be patented? I was drawing my own special keyboard (a hybrid oclave/ergonomic keyboard) which included this idea already. I noted that there were too many icons to be placed on one key, and making it display another solved this problem nicely, making it easier for first time users to get involved with the keyboard.
:)
And now some nitwit is patenting the rather obvious idea?
Seems that they do not understand that toggle keys are the way to go though. Why need a seperate numeric keypad if you can already reprogram the other keys...
Oh shit, now they'll be patenting that too. Well I WAS FIRST this time
Seriously though, this kind of patenting has got to stop. It should be difficult enough to create the keyboard, let them AND the other interested parties have a go at that instead of patenting every obvious idea.
It is most likely you would need to use USB for that... and other than a quite significant lag I would expect it to work.
oh... there...
I second the priority about investing in a good keyboard. After killing 2 Apple keyboards in 1 year (it was just a little beer! damn...), I recently requested an ice blue Deck keyboard for my birthday, and got it. (Yes, I am a Mac gamer. The few, the proud...) Pretty badass, and rugged as heck. Check the specs on the website. I don't believe it's a buckling-spring-type, but it feels right/smooth/solid to me, and that's enough.
;) /damn mac users
Only issue (from a Mac/OS X perspective) is that the command key is essentially the top-right key, unless you remap it to the control or alt key, but that's also problematic (because then the control or alt/option key will be at the top right...). No matter, because it glows blue, and I like pretty colors
That's my question---
Will I be able to use it with Linux? Will there be enough information to write an opensource driver for it?
Or will I be stuck with a Windows-only closed source driver?
WhiteWolf666 an exBush supporter. All you new-school,compassionate,save the children Republicans can rot in hell
In Communist Russia, keyboards type on YOU!
I'd only buy this if it was water(by which I mean spill-) proof. My keyboard tray at home is below my desk and I go through more keyboards than I'd like to admit. For a few hundred bucks they can engineer a gasket in there if they want me to buy it.
Wouldn't this be much easier to implement if the keys were backlit by more conventional methods, and the keys just contained normal black/white LCD elements in a "tight" (for LCDs) grid? The keys could be a frosted white plastic look, the lighting with white LEDs or CCFLs, and the keytops all controlled cheap LCDs... heck, the leads for each LCD could be sticking up off the back of the key part of the way, you could get decent density that way I think. Does this make sense to anyone other than me? I mean, the keyboard would still need a controller chip in it, to update the values of the LCD elements, or else this thing would have a bundle-o-cable (tm) coming out of the back, but, I really think this could be done for far less than $300+ and would provide a good functionality, even if less-cool and only monochrome. Comments?
I assert that my comment is only my opinion, not that of any employer, past, present or future.
Obligatory Monty Python quote...
I'm right handed, and notice that all these mice, trackballs, and other pointing devices are made more for righties. Why? Why take your dominate hand and use it to simply move a pointer, and leave your weaker hand on a complicated keyboard?
Since the beginning I've used mice and touchpads and other pointers with my left hand. Then my right hand can stay on the keyboard and use that as needed.
After mentioning that to people who inevitably ask if I'm left handed, they end up switching also.
J
I don't think it's worth the cost to have a few extra buttons on a keyboard. 200~300 dollars is WAY to much for a keyboard!
I don't think $200~300 is worth it for a keyboard with a few extra buttons!
Although beautiful and much desirable, I wonder about the longevity of this keyboard. I'd buy one in a heartbeat if I was not such a big coffee drinker...and didnt have the usual habit to spill 10% of it (roughly) on my keyboard.
I can't wait until it comes out. It can increase or decrease it's size based on how large your hands are.
From the site at http://www.artlebedev.com/portfolio/optimus/answer s/
;^)
"It will be OS-independent (at least it can work in some default state with any OS)"
and
"It will be an open-source keyboard, SDK will be available"
Next time you can just read the article and the site, assuming you can get to it.
I use some silly mixes of off-the-shelf and proprietary 2D and 3D graphics tools-- modal functionality is the name of the game. Maya and Houdini succeed because they can be modified to be the tool the artist needs at the time, complete with custom tool bars and keyboard and mouse mappings. Icon- and text-labeled buttons, whether real of virtual, just save time. This keyboard will easily be worth $500-$800 if the software interface is flexible enough to do what everybody's thinking.
What does the keyboard do to us in Soviet Russia?
Good luck to break the rule, Art Lebedev :)
17779 eligible voters in a district, 17779 'vote' as one. This is Russia.
One keyboard to rule them all!
"In Russia, the keyboards stroke YOU!" Just wondering.
MadOgre.com
I wonder if you'd end up having to license your downloaded customized keyboard layout. Then if you don't make your license payment your keyboard goes blank. Hope you remembered that key layout!
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
Now that you mention Macs, I can imagine Apple pulling an OEM coup de gras with something like this. Their keyboard is very similar to this one, and to have pictures on the keys? Ownage.
All it needs is Bluetooth and Apple can once again reap the benefits of premium, sexy hardware.
I was just thinking something the same and then I saw this.
I also get the feeling that Apple would go for some sexy sweeping colours on boot, maybe have the keyboard pulse gently to music playing in iTunes...
How many people can read hex if only you and dead people can read hex?
If you don't need the pretty pictures on the keys (ie, you know how to type ...), the Anykey keyboard has had remappable and macro-programmable keys for years (mine says made in November 1991 on the back). You even get 12 extra function keys down the left hand side (where these guy's also put a block of keys). Best part: they eBay for like $5.
"Because Science" is one step from "Because old book". Try "Because of my experiment testing my falsifiable assertion".
Does it use collapsing spring key click technology the like original IBM Model M? If not I'll keep my trusty old current keyboard. I like the tactile feedback and the knowledge that in case of terrorist attack I can beat them to death with it. Then again, I may be getting old; I have an ASR-33 teletype in my basement.
1) the F9-F12 buttons replaced with icon, _, [], and X (System icon, Minimize, max/restore, close). F9-F12 would be accessed by holding the "Windows" key. 2) I would like an eraserhead mouse in my keyboard, whether or not I already have a mouse. Head should be at the Enter-Shift-quote interface, while the left and right mouse click buttons should be below the spacebar/right-alt edge. 3) The "Context" and the right "Window" keys replaced with "Next-app" and "Prev-app" keys. With shift depressed, they should switch desktops (if available). Yes, I already know I can do all of this with any good macro program in windows, or by reconfiguring KDE/Gnome in linux. But I'm thinking of possibilities for the Optimus.
110100 1101000 1101000 1100110 0 1101111 1101000 1100011 1
I just thought of another use for this thing. Typing tutor or piano tutor, that lights the keys in sequence to teach you how to play. For the iTunes thing, I could see it running visualizations that are spanned across the keys (like Goom or Iris3d).
"OH SH*T! My keyboard just froze"
Okay, I may admittedly be biased in the debate about custom keyboard hardware but I feel that Optimus is suffering from immediate "don't announce it until you're shipping it"-itis.
..
As in, they shouldn't have jinxed the hardware by announcing something before they actually were able to sell to customers.
Sure, these things ramp up. Sure, there's a risk of not knowing if you've got customers. Sure, you don't yet have the volume numbers you need to negotiate bulk-LCD purchases in quantities larger than a few hundred, or thousand, or tens-of-thousand, or million..
But heck. Its a great idea we've all had: LCD's in the keycaps. If only it weren't so darned cost-prohibitive to actually deliver the promise.
Turfing for pre-customers == Computer Hardware Business No No, 101. you don't have to have been a 70's child to have noticed it in the 80's, either, I think
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
Yes the idea was patented in the days of the ZX, in that days a keyboard whith LCD display in the keys was sold, the only reference that I have to that keyboard is a scan of the publicity in a spanish magazine and is in spanish of course, and is this: http://microhobby.speccy.cz/zx/zx34/34-22.JPG
Seriously - if it's expensive enough to worry me and fragile enough not to survive that's a big no-no.
"Physics is to math as sex is to masturbation." -R. Feynman
How long will it last? Will it come with a 10 year warrantee? What if a key breaks? Can I buy replacement screen keys for an affordable price? How much does it weight? I want a light keyboard since it usually is on my lap. Is the key rebound right? Some keyboards just to ratatatta correctly. Are the F and J key bumped for touch typists? While it definetely has a WOW factor and will probably sell a good number on release... why would I want one of these over say... a sharpie and silver ink. Or one of the already existing program specific covers or keyboards. I have used an AVID keyboard before. All of the keys were color coded and labeled. Most importantly... Who ACTUALLY ever looks at their keyboard while it's in use? Are we still hunting and pecking in quake? Like I said it's cool, but why not release an econo version where the only addition is those fancy little Taskbar buttons on the left are added and the keys that will essentially always be QWERTY or AOEUI.
I thought it was "transformers... robots in the sky"..... or was it ... "transformers ... robots in disguise" ??
Some of us have gotten too used to keyboards that fit our hands instead of the other way around.
But I can see all the graphics art and video-agraphers going ga-ga for this thing.
I can also see versions of this released for cash registers where "pictures of food" are more desirable than letters and numbers. A cash register terminal could be made very dynamic and hence easier to train cashiers.
-------- -------- Support Wesley Clark for president!!!
Maybe if you make the letters disappear for 5 seconds after you press it, it will force people to try to rememeber where previously pressed keys are. This allows the learner to see the key for the first time. If they hunt and peck faster, the will start having to remember where the keys are.
The parent post is absolutely correct. It's called qwerty.
It's sort of like an inside-out touch screen. The key is the screen instead of the screen the key.
;)
I have to admit that when I saw this, I saw the next big thing since the color inkjet for computing.
We could sit here for hours and not come up with all the clever uses for this thing... Are they a public company, becuase I'd like to get some stock before they license this thing to Apple
Cool! Amazing Toys.
Nice, but since I don't look to type, this not a requirement for myself. Does look cool though.
I'll stay with my dated split keyboard.
-Why take life seriously?? You're not gonna get out alive anway! - Red Skelton
That is awesome! Give that man a prize!
Honi soit qui mal y pense.
I hope the folks behind Optimus patent this idea. This is the kind of thing patents were meant for.
I think, therefore I am. I think?
Seems the carpc crowd are also interested in this one. May be quite cool in your car, but not safe for driving lol http://www.carpcspecialist.com/2005/07/18/optimus- keyboard-the-best-keyboard-ever/
They'd better hurry up and patent that one before Apples steals it.... again...
-- Howto: Get +5 (1) Whine about M$ (2) Namedrop Gentoo (3) Casually Abuse Mods (4) Namedrop Early Computer Model
I would *love* to have one of these and would happily shell out up to $300 for it *if* it were to be reliable.
= maxxyz
p ushbutton-switch-with-mono-or-multi-colour-functio nality.html
There is prior *shipping* art:
http://www.martin.com/product/product.asp?product
Stage lighting control console with LCD legending in the buttons.
One manufacturer selling soft-legending buttons:
http://www.epn-online.com/page/14212/lcd-display-
Given that the Martin console is basically a custom control surface for a PC, the keyboard concept doesn't seem patent-worthy as a distinct idea.
- AC