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Optimus OLED Keyboard Pre-Orders Start Dec. 12

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the every-key-a-function-key dept.

Jupix writes, "After almost a year and a half of public development, the Optimus OLED keyboard is nearing completion. According to the project blog, pre-orders for the Optimus-103 will start on December 12. The price is unspecified at this time, but Art Lebedev has said the keyboard will cost 'less than a good mobile phone' (probably about $400). Don't expect to see those 10 programmable function keys on the left on this first version, though, as they will not make their debut until the Optimus-113, released later."

12 of 289 comments (clear)

  1. What key switching tech does it use? by vistic · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Does anyone know what kind of switches it uses?

    At that price I'd expect buckling spring switches (like the old IBM Model M) or mechanical Alps switches (like the old Apple Extended Keyboard II). Although I think only Unicomp makes buckling spring keyboards anymore.

    I'd be disappointed if keys that look so nice, just have a squishy feel to them like a cheap rubber-dome membrane Dell keyboard.

    1. Re:What key switching tech does it use? by imbaczek · · Score: 4, Funny

      HERETIC!

  2. Functionality Display by RetroGeek · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Overall changes are one thing (ala Quake), but what I want is to have the display change when I press the CTRL or ALT key.

    So that CTRL changes the C key display to COPY and so on. Including the function and specialty keys (arrows, PrtSc).

    And an editor that allows me to customize what the keys show, so when I am programming I can set up the display to match my key mapping preferences. With smart focus management to whatever program is in the foreground.

    --

    - - - - - - - - - - -
    I am a programmer. I am paid to produce syntax not grammar. Deal with it.
    1. Re:Functionality Display by hanssprudel · · Score: 4, Interesting

      And an editor that allows me to customize what the keys show, so when I am programming I can set up the display to match my key mapping preferences. With smart focus management to whatever program is in the foreground.

      You shouldn't need an editor for this. Rather they should release a good API, so that is it is easy for every program to tell the keyboard what to display when that program is in focus. Since your IDE already knows your keymaps, you shouldn't have to tell the keyboard again (imagine what a mess).

      This is beautiful technology, but as with so many other things, the difficulty will be in getting programs to support it.

    2. Re:Functionality Display by Enselic · · Score: 5, Interesting

      As a hobbyist game programmer, I immediately began to think about what games you could write for the keyboard itself. My general idea is that you could make all the keys act as one big (low-res) screen.

      You could have a Whack-a-Mole type game, where a mole would display on the keys and you'd have to whack him by pressing one of the keys the mole occupies.

      Or you could make a Snake clone where you would maneuver the snake by tapping on the direction the snake would go.

      Or some kind of piano game, á la Guitar Hero.

  3. NB: This keyboard does not use OLED. by onemorehour · · Score: 5, Informative

    Read the blog for details. They scrapped the OLED idea in favor of LCD screens to save cost.

  4. Re:Forced tilt? by daeg · · Score: 4, Insightful

    One would hope after dropping a few C-notes on a keyboard you wouldn't have to shim anything.

  5. Optimus Prime? by Majik+Sheff · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Did anyone else notice that the model numbers are primes?

    --
    Women are like electronics: you don't know how damaged they are until you try to turn them on.
  6. I've never really understood the obsession by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 5, Interesting

    With the old IBM keyboards. There seems to be this kind of reverence for them on /. and I don't understand why. I used to have one (had an IBM desktop). It was noisy and hard to press the keys. I much prefer my current MS keyboard which has easy, quiet keys. The only potential argument I've heard for the old keyboards is durability. Ok, maybe so, but what kind of stress do you subject them to that makes them break? I have, thus far, never managed to wear out a key on a keyboard. I use the hell out of my computer too, it's pretty much all I do with my time.

    So what's the deal with the old IBM keyboards? Is it just some kind of geek-tough guy thing? "Back in my day our keyboards could cause hearing damage and by god we liked it!" I just don't understand what the problem with modern, soft, quiet keyboards is. They don't seem to have problems with breaking even under heavy use, so what's up?

  7. Re:Forced tilt? by Captain+Splendid · · Score: 5, Funny

    A real hacker always shims something!

    --
    Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
  8. dozens of lines? by rduke15 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Programmers need to type in dozens of lines of code to express a single idea sometimes

    Yes, that happened to me once, when I really needed to use VBA instead of Perl...

  9. Reminds me of an old joke... by BigBuckHunter · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hey, You're using an international layout keyboard, aren't you?

    zes, how did zou know?

    BBH