Slashdot Mirror
A Waterproof Rollable Keyboard
was writes
"Inpace limited has released a keyboard that is
waterproof, and can "withstand most detergents, disinfectants and sterilisers"
and can be rolled up for ultra portability!"
I'll avoid assorted obvious dirty jokes about water proof
keyboards and let you guys roll your own.
Maybe there should be a /. poll about how fast
people expect this gadget to increase one-handed
browsing.
OK, perhaps not; but it would be handy at work,
our stuff is constantly dropped in the mud, but
we all know that freeways are dirty.
Water, detergents, space amoebas, whatever. If it could withstand the standard office coffee machine mix THAT would be impressive. My stomach can't and its trained on whisky.
They should make a radio that you can fit into a 3.5 slot so people could listen to it while on the pc if they dont already have a radio in that room. And yes I know about RealAudio etc, but most of my local stations don't broadcast over the net etc. Anyways I think that would be cool IMHO.
Not to mention there are already radio cards.
www.happauge.com. Lets you watch TV too.
there are left and right handed dvorak keyboard setups. you could remap your keyboard and try one of those.
If you don't get it, i'm not about to explain.
Take off, eh?
The backpack computer is interesting. Designing it to withstand pressures at depth would be interesting. It would have to be pretty small, and have a solid case.
Yes, the mirror should now be up. A little warning would have been nice...
Beleaguered Server Admin
They do make ISA bus radio cards. I have a Zoltrix Radio Plus (Note: There is some nice Linux support for this card). They aren't bad, but due to very bad high-frequency RF interference inside modern computers, you'll find that you won't get anything but local stations (that's why my card hasn't been used for a while....).
Now with a roll-up keyboard, you can avoid touching other people's keyboards. You take your keyboard with you, and when you need to "drive" on someone else's PC, you plug your keyboard in.
This might actually be a good idea. Keyboards are likely a vector for the common cold and other viruses--mucus membranes to fingers to keyboard and back again. If you only use your own keyboards, you've probably saved yourself a few colds in the long run. This would be especially useful if you want to use a "kiosk" keyboard--who knows what sort of stuff is on those. All they have to do is provide a second keyboard port, and there you go!
surround with an army. I like that.
Beleaguer \Be*lea"guer\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beleaguered; p. pr. & vb. n. Beleaguering.] [D. belegeren (akin to G. belagern, Sw. bel["a]gra, Dan. beleire); pref. be- = E. be- + leger bed, camp, army, akin to E. lair. See Lair.] To surround with an army so as to preclude escape; to besiege; to blockade.
The wail of famine in beleaguered towns. --Longfellow.
Syn: To block up; environ; invest; encompass.
I use them under X to pop up menus for common programs, window manipulation, and a task list. Amusingly, I use them under X more often than I used to use them under windows.
I spilled a coke in my keyboard. So I put it in the shower and washed it out. after a day of drying it was working fine. and it still is
and only use your keyboard in your portable bubble.
"Beware the evil microbes!" P&G
Beauty! :)
Yay Tim Horton's! Yay Canada! Yay for inside jokes!
Mmm... I think I'm going to go get some sour cream timbits now. drool drool drool.
Heh...had a phone call earlier from a worried
woman desperately needing an account on a web server with a _lot_ more bandwidth. Now I know why.
Then your hands are closer to your thingy
FLEXI-KEYBOARD 2 1-5 UNITS $110.00 PER UNIT
FLEXI-KEYBOARD 1 1-5 UNITS $254.00 PER UNIT
SHIPPING CHARGED AT COST
FOR FURTHER INFO:
ben.w@inpace.com / mike.m@inpace.demon.co.uk
Thanks
Ben Woodruff
iNPACE LTD
Something that we shouldn't talk about.
I could really see how this would be cool for hospitals, especially emergency rooms. I once heard a story about some college kids who experimented with shooting adrenalin. First (and last) time I heard the phrase "projectile bleeding"
They now have a simple first page with an apology and a link to another site with more bandwidth.
Now if only other companies could respond this quickly when the slashdot spotlight unleashes a flash crowd on their previously ignored site.
Actually, there are two ways to solve this problem, one considerably easier than the other from a structural point of view:
1) Build a presssure vessel to withstand the depths and seal your computer inside it. This means the big, strong, heavy box you were talking about.
2) Build a much lighter well-sealed container with a pressure compensator (a bellows device to allow compression and/or expansion of the fluid inside). This can be done with air if you want to work a little harder at the seal, or you could even fill the inside in a suitably inert liquid (Mineral oil, Freon TF, maybe even distilled water would be OK - try this at you own risk.) Personally, I think I'd use a gas system slightly overpressurized with air.
This second design eliminates the need for the case to have a high degree of structural rigidity. The important thing is just to eliminate the pressure differential that would force water into the case. If the pressure is the same inside and out, the problem vanishes.
Dub Dublin
dub@psw.com
Spammers are worse than ACs.
...aha!...I have a solution for you...
how about running it through a laminating machine? one of those oversize laminating roll. but not too hot or too high vacum. or your keyboard will be cooked crisp.
or maybe you can highjack a kitchen vacuum packager and put that keyboard in a vacum pack.
voila....
uhhh uhh...how about adding vibrate feature...*laugh*
work for male or female....definitely a larger market.
Is that a keyboard in your pants,
or are you just happy to see me?
Saliva does a really nice job dissolving those drops you didn't get last night.
Plain water won't touch 'em.
Note- I recommend spitting on a wad of tissue, rather than just sucking.
hanzie@hotbot.com
Thanks for putting our Flexible keyboard on site, it has created many enquiries. How about telling your freinds about the GLOVE- a keyboard protective cover!! Thin, flexible and stays on the keyboard at all times.- www.inpace.com
Cheers
Visit www.inpace.com for your Keyboard Glove- the ultimate keyboard protection!
There are now a number of different chording keyboards on the market, but as someone else pointed out they can be pricy. Anywhere from $150-400 on average.
What's interesting is that the chord keyset has been around for 30 years. It was invented in the late 60s by Doug Engelbart as a counterpart to the mouse. It had only 5 keys (like piano keys, not typewriter keys), but by using a 3-button mouse (as Engelbart originally designed it), one could get up to 256 different "keystrokes". As I recall, the original chord set only used 128. At first, people balked because they claimed that they would never be able to learn all the chording, but Engelbart said the average person could become proficient in about 8-10 hours of use (citing his two daughters as examples).
Just goes to show how strange technology adoption is. The mouse (or some derivative) is now on almost every computer running in the world. But the poor chord key set is living in obscurity.
FLEXI-KEYBOARD 2 Qty:1-5 UNITS $110.00 PER UNIT
FLEXI-KEYBOARD 1 Qty:1-5 UNITS $254.00 PER UNIT
SHIPPING CHARGED AT COST
FOR FURTHER INFO:
ben.w@inpace.com / mike.m@inpace.demon.co.uk
Thanks
Ben Woodruff
iNPACE LTD
I have lost 4 keyboards to beer in the past year.... Most recentlyu my nice ligitech internet keyboard. I like lots of programmable buttons.. .but alas.. im back to a $4 keyboard until i can muster up the courage to go buy anotherone to spill beer in... ( it seems my keyboards get as thirsty as i do)
CLuster
HAHAHAA! It got /.'ed too! Congratulations /.ers we just scored a double play.
Actually its kind of a bummer 'cuz I havn't been able to get a look at this thing. I know I've ruthlessly murdered a few keyboards with an onslaught of tasty beverages.
VENI! VIDI! VICI!
Posted by jeremycrabtree:
/usr/lib/kbd/keytables for the .map file that is apporpriate for your locale. (us.map for me)
:)
Okay, Here are the steps...
For the console:
1) look in
2) Add something like the following:
keycode 125 = Decr_Console
keycode 126 = Incr_Console
keycode 127 = F21
string F21 = "exit\n"
125 is the lefthand logo key, 126 is the righthand logo key and 127 is the menu key.
(Coincidentally, this is a handy setup, uses the left key to go back one screen, and the right key to go right one screen, and uses the menu key for a logout button)
For X11:
1) Open or create ~/.xmodmaprc
2) Add the following:
keycode 115 = F20
keycode 116 = F21
keycode 117 = F22
115 is the lefthand logo key, 116 is the righthand logo key, and 117 is the menu key
3) Then add the following to ~/.Xclients, ~/.xsession, or ~/.xinitrc ; depending on which one you use
xmodmap ~/.xmodmaprc
4) Assign F20, F21, and F22 to whatever you want.
Side note: Is there any way to attach an ADB keyboard to a PC? Maybe an ADB to PS/2 convertor, if such exists?
(I have an Apple IIgs and LOVE the keyboard, and thought it might be cool to try it with my PC
Posted by Pushkin:
Seriously, the keyboard is definitly spill proff; but by no means is this input device 'jerk-able'. Sure it obiliterates stuff getting between the keys, where the most damaging stuff occurs, but thats all it does. And this is mainly the reason why this keyboard is non-jerkable. No one in their right mind 'tuggs' directly over one's keyboard. Sooo, if a company were to make _THE_ jerk masters keyboard it would have to be truly a one handed design. It would have to be in the shape of a hand or something ergonomic, and the number of keys would have to be cut in half or quaters, and any extra keys would have to be accessable via multiple shift keys (i.e for numbers hit x-shift, for letters hit y-shift). Hell just for overkill include a touchpoint (think pad pointer device) on the keyboard! Something like this would be rather awkward, but it dosent hurt to dream i guess...
Use something like xkeycaps: that way you can have both a META and ALT key for emacs, as well as a "Compose" or "Multi-key" to get all those nice Latin-1 symbols.
First attempt at loading the mirror got nasty errors, but it's coming up now. They have some neat toys. And yes, the keyboard would be pretty cool... but I wonder if it's a pain to type on?
-Obelisk
Try: `/usr/games/fortune -s`
They do... There's this thing Sony and many other companies came up with. It's called a Walkman. :)
I seem to remember an article on slashdot previous about flexible displays. Anyone want to take the time to look it up?
-- perl -e'print pack"H*","6e656d6f406d38792e6f7267"'
Try clicking on up one and down one at the top of any comments page. It was a way developed to try and filter Anonymous Cowards and bad posts (which some people had been complaining about) while still permitting them to be seen. It allows forum moderation without censorship. Anonymous Cowards get a default score of zero, registered users, one. Other scores given by forum moderators as comment value indicates. Very useful for filtering several hundred comments. I think there are negative scores as well...
-- perl -e'print pack"H*","6e656d6f406d38792e6f7267"'
You could remap your keyboard (so you don't have to pay $60391 for a chording keyboard) to use one-handed Dvorak. Comes in left-handed and right-handed. It still uses a normal keyboard, but the most commonly used keys are smushed to one side of the keyboard so you really only need to move your hand if you're typing a lot of words like zqzxl'zql'z;qzxkq
X can remap them, probably Linux itself can with loadkeys. Doesn't interest me, though, I'd rather have fewer keys than more keys.
I've cleaned a stainless steel sink with our office coffee. Works great! :-)
didn't they have that in star trek? Picard and a woman playing a duet in a Jeffery's tube somewhere, Picard playing his little flute, and that woman playing a rollup keyboard...
)O(
the Gods have a sense of humor,
Never underestimate the power of stupidity
To err is human, to moo bovine
my keyboard got flooded with 2 cans of beer, first time i have open it and clean it and it worked well, second time it was broken... why do i drink beer when i'm on the net the evening? :)
--
"Science will win because it works." - Stephen Hawking
The windows and menu keys are a godsend. I use mine for meta and compose. Actually, I only use the left windows key for meta, so that leaves one free. What should I do with that one?
--
Fuck the system? Nah, you might catch something.
Try running it through the dishwasher.
---- "If we have to go on with these damned quantum jumps, then I'm sorry that I ever got involved" - Erwin Schrodinger
>:^D
**>>BELCH
...Kernel Hacking in the Tub!
**>>BELCH
I think slashdot needs a "killed" page, a similar idea but with a full list of all the servers to date that have been slain by the slashdot effect. Something to brag about, at the very least.
I think it would be cool.
Oh, and the rollable keyboard page was cool, too. Gotta get me one of those.
what i would like to get is a keyboard that is made to be used with one hand only, cause i think it is more efficient if you are working in an environment where you have to use the mouse and keyboard at the same time. Cause i hate having to puttake my hands off of the mouse to typ, and then put my hands back on the mouse, it just gets tiresome after a while. If i could get a real simple keyboard with just the basics on it, and small enough to use, i would be happy, and i am sure alot of people would too. It won't be for those who do lots of typing, but for those of us who switch back and forth alot during the day.
Its spelt "L-I-N-U-X", but pronunced as "Free Beer"
Then again, this is probably not for touch typists or developers. :-) Underwater developers, maybe.
Get off my lawn.
heh - Zappa
Producing satire is kind of hopeless because of the literacy rate of the American public. - Frank Zappa
BFHD, I can waterproof a keyboard with tear-off plastic wrap. But a keyboard you can roll up and stick in your bag...now THAT'S pretty darn cool. When we get to where you can have a rollup 21" flat screen monitor too, that'll be about perfect.
"How many light bulbs does it take to change a person?" --BMcC-->
there's no price anywhere on there site. :) :)
darn it! i wanta know how much it is
maybe its free?
-- Wembly
This sucks! I was working on something simular! Anyone have an Old Tandy Keyboard? Take it apart, there's 3 plastic sheets that actually make up the keyboard. Tape them together, label the keys, and make a case for the small PCB that's left over. Mine can be rolled up, stuck in a pocket, disconnected from the Circuit Board, but isn't water-proof as far as I know. Their model does look nicer than mine though. Guess I should have spent more $$$ on design instead of printing key labels out on my printer.
If you have to ask...........
-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon? :P)
(If you can't figure out how to E-Mail me, Don't.
So NOW, your Pet goldfish can surf the net, and Breathe at the SAME TIME!!! (See Figure 1)
-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon? :P)
(If you can't figure out how to E-Mail me, Don't.
FLEXI-KEYBOARD 2 1-5 UNITS $110.00 PER UNIT FLEXI-KEYBOARD 1 1-5 UNITS $254.00 PER UNIT 'nuff said.
-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon? :P)
(If you can't figure out how to E-Mail me, Don't.
This is kewl, now to compliment my Flexible Wearable PC from ViA Inc. I can get a flexible keyboard. Now if only it came in designer colors. Or maybe it does and I missed it.
There was an article awhile back that spotlighted a company that had developed such technology. Now all we need is rollup hard drives.
I think anyways.. I was getting a WHOLE 12 BYTES a second!!! Woo hoo! That's worse than 300 baud, desu ne?
--
Does anyone know if there is a way to actually make those windows keys useful under linux?
for anyone who has a decent amount of coordination
:)
among the fingers, I have seen a chording keyboard
for one hand that produces every keystrokes by
using a combination of 11 keys (I think?).
I believe it was two key possibilities per finger
and three for the thumb (any math majors care to
calculate and see if this would cover 104 keys using a max chord of 3 simultaneous keys??? )
at any rate, a scuba diver was the first to use this that i know of so that he could record his results into a waterproof backpack computer while diving and still have one hand free.
now which is more interesting, the backpack underwater computer? or the one hand chording keyboard?? *grin*
"All that glitters is not gold"
This is the same thing that was in the Fetish section of this month's WiReD [7.04, p.58], and they at least list the price (£69.95, US$117) At least this isn't another reference to the car MP3 player that we see every month or so :-)
I imagine a jerk-offable keyboard would be pretty cool, but seeing as the bloody page won't load....
They put up a mirror!
http://www2.inpace.com
Pardon my lameness, but what does the Score:1 mean?
Oh, you know you love the attention :
How about a *musical* keyboard that rolls up?
Would be nice if it had a good feel, and was
touch-responsive.
Legacy hardware/software addict. Midnight hacker, 1960. Codepage 819 in DOS: Total Latin-1 compatibility (no boxes/lines
How about a *musical* keyboard that rolls up?
Would be nice if it had a good feel, and was
touch-responsive. I thought about that, back around
1965 or so, back in the days of analog synths.
Legacy hardware/software addict. Midnight hacker, 1960. Codepage 819 in DOS: Total Latin-1 compatibility (no boxes/lines
Slashdot. Yum. Make problems. Hehehehehe.
--jwriney
John Riney
jwriney@awod.com
Dang, you beat me!
Here's the keyboard:
http://www2.inpace.com/flexi.html
karamouse
If we eliminate crud on keyboards by washing them, we eliminate Crud Puppy as well. And I can't let that happen.
--
Beef
"Raging Moderate" of the
(now if someone would make replacement keycaps with penguins or something :)
"...Is this world not a call I can screen out" --
Rollin Rollin Rollin
Keep that ASCI rollin
Though the beer is flowin
Don't Spill!!!!!
Beer, Coffee and Grappa
Remember who's your Papa
Just keep that old mouse there by your side
Don't you fear a spillin
Even if yournot quite willin
the thought can be quite chillin
Slow Down
The mess can be wiped up now
without the keyboard goin down
and sticky fingers will not gum you up
Roll It Up
Wipe It Down
Stroke it Up
Stroke it down
Clean it up
Don't you Frown
Good Times
Oh my God
Here's the boss
I better clear,
best to degauss
Clean it up
Back to work
in Time!!!!!!!!
-- Life: Hate the Game... Love the cereal
Now I can take a shower and work on my computer!!!! Shower cam..hahahahhaa.. Just kidding.. I think I would give people heart attacks.. Hmm.. Wait.. Hmm. That sounds like a good idea.. Muhahahahahhahaha..
I ate my tag line.
-=Ellis (D)25=-
the Adesso TruForm (or something to that effect) has a pointer or trackpad that goes in between the two halves of the kbd (it's ergonomic, don't you know). It's really nice, and you don't have to move your hands too much. Of course, if you want to do precision mousework, it's not very useful.
Why don't they put a price list up!
The above is not worth reading.
Guess I'll have to wait a few days to see.
I have a hard time touching some ppl's keyboards now, do we have to encourage them ? On the other hand... I might finally be able to consume beverages and not ruin everything in a 2 meter radius
beauty is only a light switch away
It's also more efficient for... ummmm...never mind.
I'll leave that one alone.
Pretend there is some witty statement here.
How about a keyboard in your pants? That's what the wonderful dreamers over at MIT's Media Labs have come up with - washable keyboards stiched directly into fabric.
Scott Severtson
Software Developer
Auragen Communications
scotty@auragen.com
Scott Severtson
Senior Architect, Digital Measures
uh, the twiddler chording keyboardis only $200 Bob
i want to split one of those flexible keyboards into 2, apply a little velcro and have a keyboard that can be attatched to both legs. =] just think how comfortable your hands are resting on your legs. eh? perhaps i'm just insane.
Boy, this is the thanks I get for sending all that business your way.
;-)
Least you could do is send a complimentary keyboard.