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Input Devices Hardware Technology

Eee Keyboard Details Released 166

Details on the new Eee keyboard, previously held secret during the FCC filing, have now been made available. You can now take a look at the innards and a full spec sheet detailing exactly what is being promised. "Beneath the 5-inch, 800 x 480 pixel touch panel (with stylus) we'll be getting Windows XP Home running on an Intel Atom N270, 945GSE / ICH7-M chipset with Broadcom AV-VD905 video decoder, 1GB of DDR2 memory, either 16GB or 32GB of flash storage, 4-hour battery, Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI and VGA outputs, integrated stereo speakers and mic, 3x USB, headphone and mic jacks, and external WiFi / UWB antenna. The Eee Keyboard's on-board Ultra-Wideband (UWB) throws 720p content to your TV within a 5-meter range (10-meters for non-video transmissions) via a UWB receiver packing 2x USB ports, another mini-USB port, audio out, and HDMI."
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Eee Keyboard Details Released

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  • The C64 is back! (Score:2, Interesting)

    by BumbaCLot ( 472046 ) on Monday October 12, 2009 @03:06PM (#29722585)

    How hard would it be to build a cheaper version to teach kids programming?

  • ITS 2009 (Score:0, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 12, 2009 @03:25PM (#29722841)
    WHY ARE WE STILL USING KEYBOARDS?!! die die die die die death to all keyboards!
  • by Al Dimond ( 792444 ) on Monday October 12, 2009 @03:27PM (#29722895) Journal

    I think the target is something like the iMac and Mac Mini markets. As for keyboard-integrated computers, what about laptops, which are practically the only computers sold today? And, while we're on the subject, I've lately been wondering why so many good laptop technologies have never made it onto desktop machines. I, for one, would love to have a small battery in my desktop box for when the power went out (I've lived some places that had really crummy power connections) and something like a laptop battery would be smaller, cheaper, and better-integrated with a standard desktop OS than a UPS. And most of the components don't really need a full-sized case. Full-sized hard drives and power supplies, by my understanding, are legitimately better than mini hard drives and external power bricks... and video cards, for people that care about graphics. I really don't, which saves me some space... so why can't I buy, right off the shelf, a small-form-factor desktop PC with quality desktop components where they matter and tiny ones where they don't? With a laptop-style battery, great ACPI support out of the box, and practically noiseless (unless I'm running a compile job)?

  • Re:Don't bother (Score:3, Interesting)

    by fuzzyfuzzyfungus ( 1223518 ) on Monday October 12, 2009 @03:28PM (#29722915) Journal
    In this application, the UWB interface basically replaces two wires. It goes from the computer to a breakout box with 1 HDMI and a few USB ports. Essentially, one HDMI cable and one USB cable going to a USB hub.

    If the whole mass is implemented as a "UWB interface device" linux support would be a real surprise. I'd probably be just like wireless in the bad old days, only worse. However, they could also, in principle, have encapsulated the whole UWB bit behind standard looking interfaces. If all the host computer sees is a USB port and an HDMI port, with the UWB silently replacing the usual wires, then software support should be more or less automatic(although, there probably will be some little pairing interface to be figured out).
  • Re:XP? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by lambent ( 234167 ) on Monday October 12, 2009 @03:38PM (#29723045)

    SSL, not SSH. And the SSL vulnerability in XP in supposedly worked-around by running a firewall (for the purpose of this discussion, the POS that ships with XP is supposed to be a firewall).

  • it's got a fan! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Locutus ( 9039 ) on Monday October 12, 2009 @03:49PM (#29723161)
    holy cow, they still need a fan on those things? Can't wait to hear these things rattling around after a couple of years when the bearings start going out. They should release an ARM version IMO.

    LoB
  • Re:ITS 2009 (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 12, 2009 @03:52PM (#29723199)

    Same here.
    I use a a keyboard because:
    (OK, hand writing recognition)
    A) I type faster than I write
    (speech-to-text)
    B) When I'm at the office I don't want people to be interrupted by my talking (we have someone who talks on the phone to her family for long periods of time, it is extremely annoying even though they stuck her back in her own room).
    C) We sometimes have people out front waiting to be helped and they might hear someone dictating to their computer. (Law office, I don't think some people would want that)
    (to the virtual keyboard)
    D) I don't look at my keyboard when I type. I don't need to look at the screen, I just type and will even hit backspace to correct things even though I haven't looked at the screen.

    Umm, can't think of any other main reasons at the moment.

  • by CFBMoo1 ( 157453 ) on Monday October 12, 2009 @03:55PM (#29723225) Homepage
    I'm back in the 80's!!!

    http://www.geekwithlaptop.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/radio-shack-trs-80-model-100-mobile-computer.jpg

    http://www.phys.uwosh.edu/mike/calcs/pc1.html

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Sharp-PC1500-IMG_0306.JPG

    All they need with that thing is a thermal printer and someone with frizzy hair!
  • Major obvious flaw (Score:3, Interesting)

    by davevt5 ( 30696 ) on Monday October 12, 2009 @03:56PM (#29723249) Homepage Journal

    This is built for people who are right handed. That vast majority of people that matter to me are left-handed.

    Any chance there will be a version sold at the Leftorium?

  • by tjstork ( 137384 ) <todd.bandrowskyNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Monday October 12, 2009 @03:58PM (#29723265) Homepage Journal

    I like the idea of the keyboard only form factor PC like 80's boxes wired to TVs, but do you think they could do the Amiga like thing and put in a 1GB kick butt graphics card into it... :-)

  • Why not Linux? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Jim Hall ( 2985 ) on Monday October 12, 2009 @04:19PM (#29723569) Homepage

    I was excited until I read Windows XP Home.

    Look, I know a bunch of people run Windows. But on an Atom CPU, 1GB memory, 16GB (smallest) flash drive, I just don't see Windows being that great. I'm sure Windows will run, but how well?

    Ah well, I suppose I can easily wipe this and put Fedora on it ... I just wish Eee put a Linux option on more of their gear, installed out-of-the-box. Even if I wipe whatever Linux they give me and put another distro on it, I'd love to send a message by buying the Linux option.

    To compare, I'm running an older Dell subnotebook with 1GB memory, booting Fedora 11 from an 8GB consumer flash drive. Works great, very fast!

  • by Bat Country ( 829565 ) on Monday October 12, 2009 @05:11PM (#29724385) Homepage

    Educational gaming machine go!

    Let your kid browse the internet in the living room while you read - thus glancing up regularly and supervising to make sure nobody has goatse'd them.

    Show your friends the latest stupid thing you found on Youtube.

    Attached USB + Controller [slashdot.org] + Stella [wikipedia.org] = Living room Atari 2600 which can be easily attached and put away when you're done (less easily accomplished in these days of LCD TVs without coax).

    Cheap television + keyboard computer = information kiosk. Tired of your friends getting drunk and wanting to use Google on your computer to settle disputes on random shit? Stick one of those in your living room on a pedestal. Call it "The Last Word."

    Have a little too much money? Do you like having whiteboards but you consider them lower-class? Buy a large format flat screen television, something cheap which can hack 720p clearance from some home theater "everything must go" sale, stick it on the wall and use this thing on a cheap pedestal table as an art easel. Encourage people to graffiti on your wall with the stylus on the attached screen.

    Attach a webcam to one and stick it up in your windowsill and take time lapses of the seasons. Hell, if it's cheap enough, put one in each window.

    Or just use one for the same thing you'd use an EEEpc other than reading on the bus to work.

  • Re:too many outputs (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Nerdfest ( 867930 ) on Monday October 12, 2009 @06:09PM (#29725169)
    I keep saying ... "All computers should be black and rack mount". Curvy cases that you can't stack are pretty on their own, but useless around other equipment. The same goes for routers (Linksys 160N, I'm looking at you). You'd think we'd be at the point where manufacturers would not be charging a premium for rackable equipment. It doesn't even need to be truly rack mount, just a similar form-factor, like audio/video equipment.

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