I am starting to get obsessed with keyboards. I have been looking at them since I learned to use the Dvorak layout (and now it is my preferred layout). I would love a mechanical keyboard but they are all really expensive so I guess I'll have to make do with pictures until I can afford the real thing. Haha, I sound like I am printing out photos of keyboards and tapping on them... definitely not doing that at all!
Looking at keyboards makes me realise how lame my bog standard membrane one is. I mean, look at this beauty:
It's a Space-Cadet; has anyone ever used one of these things? Obviously it's a bit old now but I'd still use it over my own. I like the amount of modifier keys, you can type over 3000 characters with it!
Then I found this article from a guy who is officially obsessed with keyboards:
http://stevelosh.com/blog/2012/10/a-modern-space-cadet/ There's a heck of a lot of information here that can be used to customize the keyboard you already have, and some advice on buying mechanical keyboards.
One of Steve's pretty keyboards
Programmer Dvorak
This is an article about the layout I'm now using,
programmer Dvorak, it's really nice once you get used to it. I would recommend learning Dvorak, it is much less straining on your hands and I personally am much faster than I ever was using Qwerty.
Contextual Keyboards
I think this is a very nice concept, a keyboard where the key fascias change depending on their current assignment. So, for example, you could display your keybindings for games directly on the keys (fire, jump, strafe left, launch potato, etc.); or tools for applications like photo editing software; and of course it's ideal for playing around with your general keyboard layout.
Every keyboard needs a Shakespeare key!
The first realisation of this idea I heard about (probably through the forum) was the Optimus Maximus (), each key is a tiny lcd screen. The drawback of the Transformers keyboard is that you would have to be the size of Optimus Prime to use it! The thing is bloody huge, and it's worth its weight in gold costing... oh I can't actually find a price for it any more. Did they stop making it?
Anyway, ever since I heard about electronic ink I thought it would be a fantastic alternative to LED screens on the keys: slimmer and with the advantage of zero power consumption once the key faces have been set.
Isn't it beautiful?
Gizmodo thinks so. It is just a concept but surely it's not long until we get something like this.
Formerly OBese87.
