“How do you get people interested in a USD 1500 keyboard? Simple, turn each key into an OLED screen. When you hit caps lock, the keys change to show they’re upper case. Play a first-person shooter and the WASD keys turn into arrows. The Optimus Maximus keyboard brought this audacious idea to life, although since it was first shown in 2005 the hardware has gone through many delays. So many delays, in fact, that Art. Lebedev was accused of promoting ‘vaporware’ up until the price was announced, at which point there was a whole new set of sticker-shock-induced complaints.”
… as soon as China begins to deliver identical keyboards for $15.00;)
I’ve been waiting for this cool device. Wow… but sadly, the article does not mention how the feel is. Remember? Look and feel. Looks good. Feels… hm?
Furthermore, I don’t like the new layout of the function keys:
http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus/optimus_maximus_01w.jp…
The old one was much better, do they still offer it?
http://cliftonsnyder.net/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/keyb_001.jpg
It reminds me to my Sun USB keyboard, similar to this one:
http://homepage1.nifty.com/y-osumi/parts/keyboard/sun/sun_type5c.jp…
So far, so good.
For heavy typists, usually those who learned typing on a real typewriter and who need to type very much (programmers tend to be such subjects), a real IBM keyboard still seems the best imaginable solution:
http://www.theochem.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/~axel.kohlmeyer/pics/ibm-key…
These devices are that popular, still years after their introduction and extinction, that they go away on eBay for 50 … 100 Euro.
Allthough they don’t have OLED keys, you can replace the caps of the keys by simply pulling them upwards, so you can make a Dvorak layout from a QWERTZ / QWERTY keyboard within a few minutes, just using your hands (no tools needed) and your favourite text editor to tweak you ~/.xmodmaprc. 🙂
Ah yes, and you can pull the HIL plug from the keyboard to disconnect it (for example if you want to free your desktop a bit). Still they are secure (in opposition to wireless solutions).
That Sun keyboard is a Type 5. I have one too for my UltraSPARC machine – great keyboard, excellent build quality, just awesome.
That other one you showed, the IBM – I have that one too in storage. Great keyboard, but a tad bit too long a keypress for my taste.
Good stuff though.
“That Sun keyboard is a Type 5.”
Yes, it is, that’s why I said “similar”. I have a type 6 USB with the three button mouse (I hate mousewheels, they hurt):
% dmesg | grep “^u[mk]”
ums0: Sun Microsystems Type 6 USB mouse, rev 1.00/1.02, addr 2, iclass 3/1
ums0: 3 buttons
ukbd0: Sun Microsystems Type 6 USB keyboard, rev 1.00/1.02, addr 3, iclass 3/1
“I have one too for my UltraSPARC machine – great keyboard, excellent build quality, just awesome. “
Sun always built great devices. They did not carry a “low quality segment” where the keyboards or mice were crappy. So if you bought an expensive, but excellent workstation (you mentioned one), you get an excellent keyboard, too.
But sadly, at least in the PC consumer sector, keyboard quality lowers and lowers. Even for desktops you hardly find a keyboard with real keys. Most of them are already “notebook keyboards in a desktop package”. Ever tried to repair them? Nearly impossible. If you spilled Cola or soup over your IBM keyboard, everything you need is a screwdriver to chop out the key carriers, then open the device (3 screws), disassemble it into less than 5 parts and put it under the shower. 🙂
“That other one you showed, the IBM – I have that one too in storage. Great keyboard, but a tad bit too long a keypress for my taste.”
I agree, it’s very individual how you feel the quality of a keyboard. For me, these notebook keyboards’ keypress way is to less. I’ve seen some patethic rubber-like keyboards enthusiasts migrating to this particular IBM model.
“Good stuff though”
And worthful. See prices at eBay, at least in Germany.
Power to the old IBM keyboard! I have one of these things, they are indestructible and they feel so much better than any other keyboard I’ve tried…
“Power to the old IBM keyboard! I have one of these things, they are indestructible and they feel so much better than any other keyboard I’ve tried…”
Yes, they are indestructable. Just drop a “modern” keyboard off the table – it will disassemble immediately.
There are only two kind of keyboards that feel better (at least to me):
The first one is the original IBM XT keyboard. The construction is similar, but the mechanical parts seem to be slightly different, the “klick” is better. Strnage thing, cannot explain, must feel it. This is how it looks like:
http://www.clickykeyboard.com/2005/ibm_emr/ibm_emr-003.jpg
By the way, I’ve got this one, too:
http://www.wbnoble.com/forsale/computer-related-images/ibm-3180.jpg
Sadly, it seems to be neither XT, AT or PS/2 compatible in any way. And the cross shaped cursor section is not as handy as the upside-down T shaped one.
The second one is the family of the robotron keyboard that have contactless (!) keys, utilizing Hall elements. If a key breaks, replace the mechanical part with the spring and the magnet. If the Hall element fails, make four soldering points. See the K7637 and similar ones:
http://www.robotrontechnik.de/bilder/Zubehoer/Tastatur_K7637_2.jpg
http://www.robotrontechnik.de/index.htm?/html/zubehoer/tastaturen.h…
Additionally, I have a huge collection of keyboards down in the cellar, but nothing is comparable to the IBM keyboard mentioned first. I’m a devoted keyboard guy. =^_^=
Edited 2008-01-09 01:46
If they combined the OLED keycaps with IBM Model M-type buckling spring mechanism, I’m sold. Otherwise, I have no need for this.
You can’t go wrong with a good old IBM keyboard. I have two, one waiting in the closet against the day that I wear this one out. Maybe next decade some time.
I believe there’s a company somewhere manufacturing these still, but I don’t know if the quality is the same.
I was just about to make “but is it buckling spring” post.
Seriously though, at $1.5K it better be mechanical in some way.
The IBM Model M really is the pinnacle of keyboard design. I have one that I use and three more that I keep as spares, not that the one I use is going to wear out anytime soon. The weight of the keys is just right, the effort is lighter then the Dell SK-8135 I have to use at work, and the click gives me positive confirmation that the key has been fully depressed. Above all the action is crisp and linear. There is not pop like on dome switch keyboards.
The Model M is still being made by Unicomp. They’ve been updated with USB as an option which is nice as PS/2 may become scarce in the future.
Dell SK-8135
http://xa.beareyes.com.cn/2/lib/200506/29/235/image001.jpg
Really wish I had one of the older Model Ms, with the detachable cable. The cable on mine is frayed, but the keyboard itself is very solid (minus the caps lock key, which I threw out after reading a John C. Dvorak rant).
Works fine with a USB adapter, if I plug it in before turning the computer on. Very hit or miss otherwise.
Ought to buy one from Unicomp with a Mac layout.
Oops double post.
Edited 2008-01-09 15:34 UTC
And people say Macs are too expensive! I can see why they are so pricey though; that’s a lot of OLEDs. Still, not really worth it until the price is under US$500 for the full version. I suppose a few early adopters with more money than sense will get one, and so we may end up with a few more reviews here and elsewhere.
As for me, well I’m a very casual gamer, I don’t use Photoshop or even GIMP that often, and I touch-type Qwerty, so I have absolutely no need for this device. I’d love to see it in action though, just because I’m interested in the technology behind it.
“And people say Macs are too expensive!”
Have you looked at the price of Mac keyboards? Saturn in Germany carries only the thin ones (that feel ugly) and the wireless ones (that are unsafe), both of them are 2 times the price my white Mac keyboard was (29,95 Euro) one year ago.
“I can see why they are so pricey though; that’s a lot of OLEDs. Still, not really worth it until the price is under US$500 for the full version.”
Furthermore, I wish they would introduce a free and open programming interface to this keyboard, or have it operated basing on standard protocols (unelegant, I know). So you can use this great device, no matter which OS you’re using, and still have full functionality that does not depend on a proprietary programming tool.
“[…] I have absolutely no need for this device.”
But you need to watch videos on your keyboard! Everyone needs to. 🙂
Just imagine a gamer is getting his game running on the alphanumeric keyboard section – whole screen mapped onto the many key-screens (wow, new terminology!) while you control your game using the cursor and numeric keys and the mouse. Or much better: Let’s assume a gamer is right-handed, so he turns the keyboard 180° and has the cursor and numeric keys on his left (motion control similar to WASD), the alphanimeric key-screen-composition in the middle and his mouse on the right.
I remember MICROS~1 introducing a table that is a screen and you touch it. This keyboard could be a different approach: The keyboard as the display. 🙂
Edited 2008-01-09 00:14
“the keyboard as the display.”
Take a look at their Tactus prototype. That’s pretty much what you’re describing, and if done right, could be a geek’s wet dream. Imagine what one or multiple *programmable* touchscreen displays could do, especially coupled with resolution independent display models.
My take: a variable size display canvas acting as the main and secondary monitors, with an overview of the entire canvas on the keyboard, from where you can pan around the entire canvas, move, resize, hide, show, and close windows. If you need more space, or to zoom in on your work, just tell the computer. There’s no need for artificial limits on work area dimensions anymore. This kind of input device, again, coupled with resolution independence is DEFINITELY a good chance to breathe new life into the desktop model.
OR, another idea, (for OS X,) how about a listing of all of your windows by name, including minimized and hidden windows. Kinda like the taskbar that never was.
OR programmable color palettes or swatches.
Main display is hung? You’ve got an ssh terminal at your disposal.
The ideas go on and on. I’m anxiously awaiting the impact of all of these new input methods I’ve seen lately. I know it won’t be for another 10 years or so until we start seeing real change, but believe me, the seeds are being sown.
€60 for a keyboard is still a very very far cry from $1500 for a keyboard. You’d have to be slightly loopy to spend $1500 on a keyboard.
This keyboard is mostly made up of electronics, do the keys get warm due to the led’s being displayed? Is there any electronic interference being emitted to the monitor or nearby devices?
That will never ship.
NEXT!
Presenting the 1500 buck donut-crumb and finger-crud collecting trough. What’s next? Chinchilla mud-flaps for off-road vehicles? High-gloss poster-weight Matisse reproduction diapers?
Still, I want one.
Isn’t it much more easier to buy a touchscreen and use some available software to simulate a keyboard? I have myself a 1024×768 LG touchscreen monitor and when I read this article I just remembered that this is a project I would like to start.
you will need a multitouch touchscreen in that case, or are you one of those that types with only 1 finger?
btw, that picture of the sun keyboard, is that an “any key” between escape and F1?
But not for $1500, maybe for $500.