FDA Approves Self-Sanitizing Keyboard 185
jfruhlinger writes "Deep down, most people know that the germiest thing they touch all day is the thing they're touching all day: their keyboard. But what, if anything, can be done about it? A couple of former Microsoft hardware guys have launched a keyboard that sterilizes itself via ultraviolet light. While the FDA has signed off on it, tests show that the UV only kills about two-thirds of the germs living in it, and that it still needs to be cleaned by hand."
Re:Can't wait to see... (Score:5, Informative)
Just make it with the same antibacterial metal that door handles in hospitals are made from. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimicrobial_copper-alloy_touch_surfaces [wikipedia.org]
Seems to be a tried and testing technology that works well.
Re:Who cleans their keyboard? (Score:4, Informative)
The black ones turn just as gross: Take one apart sometime and have a look inside.
The wife's WoW-playing machine slowly developed some issues with the W and 2 keys on her fancy Saitek keyboard. It was really pretty nasty in there. Some scrubbing bubbles [scrubbingbubbles.com] for the external plastic bits, and a bit of Deoxit [caig.com] on the Mylar membrane switches, and she's got people asking her what she changed because her DPS went through the roof.
I take apart my favorite keyboard (an old, heavy, squishy white NMB that I really like the key-feel of, Model M be damned) once every year or two and give everything but the keyswitches a good wash in the dishwasher. It's been a good friend for nearly a decade, despite the occasional spill or cigarette ash or the constant bombardment of smoke residue, and I want to keep it around. (The keycaps were worn smooth long ago...)
So, yeah: I clean keyboards. Time is money, but money can't always buy a keyboard that I actually like. It's more of a functional thing than a spastic reaction to the obvious bacterial flora that obviously must be living on it, but whatever the case cleaning it helps me type in ways that keep me happy.
Re:Can't wait to see... (Score:5, Informative)
waterproof, sealed, dishwasher safe, antimicrobial keyboards.
http://www.sealshield.com/ [sealshield.com]
$149 with a touchpad vs. $900 because it comes with lights?