10 Strange Computer Keyboards

DirectedImpact noted an amusing little compilation of 10 strange keyboards. Some of them you've probably seen before (the laser keyboard, the optimus OLED keyboard) and others are quite real (I actually had one of those split keyboards for awhile) and others are pretty out there: like the keyboard built into the lacy doily placemat thingee.

My keyboard: TypeMatrix dvorak

[wikinerd]

I use TypeMatrix [typematrix.com] keyboards with Dvorak skins and I love them! I also have Plum keyboards [www.plum.bz] but I don't really like them much. I also have laser projection virtual keyboards (their error rate isn't low though). From the article I liked the wearable keyboard, though. I will probably buy it, because I think it will be useful for as I use laptops while standing or walking. I have also seen AlphaGrip at shops and they are also interesting. Another company with interesting products is Maltron [maltron.com]. Data hands look nice too. However, I have found my TypeMatrix a very good choice and I like it for its small size and a design which is comfortable while maintaining compatibility with Qwerty. This is important for me as I know to type fast in Dvorak only in English. For other languages I am still stuck with Qwerty for fast typing as I didn't bother to learn Dvorak for non-English languages. TypeMatrix has built-in Qwerty and Dvorak modes so I don't need any changes in software to make it switch between the two depending on which language I type.

my personal stempunk favourite..

[greyworld]

is any of these... http://www.datamancer.net/keyboards/keyboards.htm [datamancer.net] Andrew

Re:Rubber

[techpawn]

There's also the Flexible Rubber Keyboard, which is not only easy to roll up and carry around with you

Actually, we found a use for them on a factory shop floor because of all the dust and junk that flies in the air kills a normal keyboard in no time flat. We found that the solvent thing was true but it's pretty true with ANY chemical/keyboard combination. They are not the best for gaming because their response time sucks and they have to be on a hard flat surface... Then again, maybe someone has fixed the response time issue because they'd make a wonderful LAN party keyboard because of portability. But the sheer unbreakability and ease to clean them sold us for the factory.

Misleading article

[dsmitchell1]

The article claims that the keyboards are or will soon be on the market. However, the last keyboard is made by a now-defunct company called Fingerworks. The article claims that the keyboard is available on the Internet for $350, but I would be amazed if you could find one for under $600. How many other keyboards in the list are no longer available?

DataHand

[Agenor]

I have to grant you that the DX1 is pretty neat, however my personal favorite is the DataHand [wikipedia.org]. The idea is to place each finger in a little well with buttons in four directions and one at the bottom so your fingers never move more than a half inch in any direction. Using the mouse is handled by switching modes which then enables each index finger to control the mouse, one finger controls slow movement and the other fast movement. One of my coworkers picked it up to help deal with his Carpal Tunnel and swears by it. I would pick one up to if they weren't so expensive [datahand.com].

They also sell a chair mounted [datahand.com] version.

Re:Slashdotted?

[prelelat]

I don't think it's vapor ware in the same sense that Duke Nukem Forever is. From what I understand they were having problems with production and couldn't make enough or something. I do know that they were planning on releasing the keyboard again in December on a limited production run. I'm not sure if that happened. But yes I believe recalling they won a vaporware award. Remember though that winning the vaporware award doesn't mean that a product won't come out it just means it's missed multiple release dates, and hasn't come out yet. So if the December production run did complete successfully it would no longer be vaporware.

Re:France

[bersl2]

A Frogpad strapped to the underside of the arm together with a Smartphone/PDA has always sounded to me like an excellent combo, since it's the only platform (not counting an on-screen keyboard, which I have always disliked) that can be operated with one free hand while standing.

Anybody ever tried this?