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Hardware

A Waterproof Rollable Keyboard 89

Posted by CmdrTaco from the finally-a-keyboard-I-won't-break dept.
was writes "Inpace limited has released a keyboard that is waterproof, and can "withstand most detergents, disinfectants and sterilisers" and can be rolled up for ultra portability!" I'll avoid assorted obvious dirty jokes about water proof keyboards and let you guys roll your own.
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A Waterproof Rollable Keyboard More

A Waterproof Rollable Keyboard

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  • chording keyboard to the rescue (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    There are now a number of different chording keyboards on the market, but as someone else pointed out they can be pricy. Anywhere from $150-400 on average.

    What's interesting is that the chord keyset has been around for 30 years. It was invented in the late 60s by Doug Engelbart as a counterpart to the mouse. It had only 5 keys (like piano keys, not typewriter keys), but by using a 3-button mouse (as Engelbart originally designed it), one could get up to 256 different "keystrokes". As I recall, the original chord set only used 128. At first, people balked because they claimed that they would never be able to learn all the chording, but Engelbart said the average person could become proficient in about 8-10 hours of use (citing his two daughters as examples).

    Just goes to show how strange technology adoption is. The mouse (or some derivative) is now on almost every computer running in the world. But the poor chord key set is living in obscurity.

  • WATERPROOF FLEXI-KEYBOARD PRICES (Score:2)

    by Anonymous Coward
    FLEXI-KEYBOARD 2 Qty:1-5 UNITS $110.00 PER UNIT

    FLEXI-KEYBOARD 1 Qty:1-5 UNITS $254.00 PER UNIT

    SHIPPING CHARGED AT COST

    FOR FURTHER INFO:
    ben.w@inpace.com / mike.m@inpace.demon.co.uk

    Thanks
    Ben Woodruff
    iNPACE LTD
  • I have lost 4 keyboards to beer in the past year.... Most recentlyu my nice ligitech internet keyboard. I like lots of programmable buttons.. .but alas.. im back to a $4 keyboard until i can muster up the courage to go buy anotherone to spill beer in... ( it seems my keyboards get as thirsty as i do)

    CLuster
  • HAHAHAA! It got /.'ed too! Congratulations /.ers we just scored a double play.

    Actually its kind of a bummer 'cuz I havn't been able to get a look at this thing. I know I've ruthlessly murdered a few keyboards with an onslaught of tasty beverages.
  • Posted by jeremycrabtree:

    Okay, Here are the steps...


    For the console:

    1) look in /usr/lib/kbd/keytables for the .map file that is apporpriate for your locale. (us.map for me)

    2) Add something like the following:

    keycode 125 = Decr_Console
    keycode 126 = Incr_Console
    keycode 127 = F21
    string F21 = "exit\n"


    125 is the lefthand logo key, 126 is the righthand logo key and 127 is the menu key.
    (Coincidentally, this is a handy setup, uses the left key to go back one screen, and the right key to go right one screen, and uses the menu key for a logout button)


    For X11:

    1) Open or create ~/.xmodmaprc

    2) Add the following:

    keycode 115 = F20
    keycode 116 = F21
    keycode 117 = F22

    115 is the lefthand logo key, 116 is the righthand logo key, and 117 is the menu key

    3) Then add the following to ~/.Xclients, ~/.xsession, or ~/.xinitrc ; depending on which one you use

    xmodmap ~/.xmodmaprc


    4) Assign F20, F21, and F22 to whatever you want.

    Side note: Is there any way to attach an ADB keyboard to a PC? Maybe an ADB to PS/2 convertor, if such exists?

    (I have an Apple IIgs and LOVE the keyboard, and thought it might be cool to try it with my PC :)
  • Posted by Pushkin:

    Seriously, the keyboard is definitly spill proff; but by no means is this input device 'jerk-able'. Sure it obiliterates stuff getting between the keys, where the most damaging stuff occurs, but thats all it does. And this is mainly the reason why this keyboard is non-jerkable. No one in their right mind 'tuggs' directly over one's keyboard. Sooo, if a company were to make _THE_ jerk masters keyboard it would have to be truly a one handed design. It would have to be in the shape of a hand or something ergonomic, and the number of keys would have to be cut in half or quaters, and any extra keys would have to be accessable via multiple shift keys (i.e for numbers hit x-shift, for letters hit y-shift). Hell just for overkill include a touchpoint (think pad pointer device) on the keyboard! Something like this would be rather awkward, but it dosent hurt to dream i guess...
  • Use something like xkeycaps: that way you can have both a META and ALT key for emacs, as well as a "Compose" or "Multi-key" to get all those nice Latin-1 symbols.
  • First attempt at loading the mirror got nasty errors, but it's coming up now. They have some neat toys. And yes, the keyboard would be pretty cool... but I wonder if it's a pain to type on?

    -Obelisk
  • They do... There's this thing Sony and many other companies came up with. It's called a Walkman. :)
  • I seem to remember an article on slashdot previous about flexible displays. Anyone want to take the time to look it up?
  • Try clicking on up one and down one at the top of any comments page. It was a way developed to try and filter Anonymous Cowards and bad posts (which some people had been complaining about) while still permitting them to be seen. It allows forum moderation without censorship. Anonymous Cowards get a default score of zero, registered users, one. Other scores given by forum moderators as comment value indicates. Very useful for filtering several hundred comments. I think there are negative scores as well...

  • dvorak (Score:1)

    by mikpos ( 2397 )
    You could remap your keyboard (so you don't have to pay $60391 for a chording keyboard) to use one-handed Dvorak. Comes in left-handed and right-handed. It still uses a normal keyboard, but the most commonly used keys are smushed to one side of the keyboard so you really only need to move your hand if you're typing a lot of words like zqzxl'zql'z;qzxkq
  • X can remap them, probably Linux itself can with loadkeys. Doesn't interest me, though, I'd rather have fewer keys than more keys.
  • I've cleaned a stainless steel sink with our office coffee. Works great! :-)
  • didn't they have that in star trek? Picard and a woman playing a duet in a Jeffery's tube somewhere, Picard playing his little flute, and that woman playing a rollup keyboard...


    )O(
    the Gods have a sense of humor,
  • my keyboard got flooded with 2 cans of beer, first time i have open it and clean it and it worked well, second time it was broken... why do i drink beer when i'm on the net the evening? :)
    --
  • The windows and menu keys are a godsend. I use mine for meta and compose. Actually, I only use the left windows key for meta, so that leaves one free. What should I do with that one?
    --

  • beer... (Score:1)

    by K-Man ( 4117 )
    Try running it through the dishwasher.
  • ...Kernel Hacking in the Tub!
  • During World War II, Allied fighter pilots used to paint a picture of a plane with a line through it on the side of their aircraft for every enemy fighter they brought down.

    I think slashdot needs a "killed" page, a similar idea but with a full list of all the servers to date that have been slain by the slashdot effect. Something to brag about, at the very least.

    I think it would be cool.


    Oh, and the rollable keyboard page was cool, too. Gotta get me one of those.

  • what i would like to get is a keyboard that is made to be used with one hand only, cause i think it is more efficient if you are working in an environment where you have to use the mouse and keyboard at the same time. Cause i hate having to puttake my hands off of the mouse to typ, and then put my hands back on the mouse, it just gets tiresome after a while. If i could get a real simple keyboard with just the basics on it, and small enough to use, i would be happy, and i am sure alot of people would too. It won't be for those who do lots of typing, but for those of us who switch back and forth alot during the day.
  • What's with the "bulge"? I assume most of the electronics are there, but it seems like it would annoy:

    • lefties because to take up the mouse means you'd have to hurdle over the bulge to get to your mouse on the left hand side of the keyboard.
    • righties because it seems like your left hand would brush up against the bulge whenever you hit some important keys. (Shift, ctrl, tab and escape).

    ...and I wonder how they keep it from tending to roll up, after it's been stored for a while?

    Then again, this is probably not for touch typists or developers. :-) Underwater developers, maybe.

  • heh - Zappa
  • BFHD, I can waterproof a keyboard with tear-off plastic wrap. But a keyboard you can roll up and stick in your bag...now THAT'S pretty darn cool. When we get to where you can have a rollup 21" flat screen monitor too, that'll be about perfect.
  • there's no price anywhere on there site.
    darn it! i wanta know how much it is :)
    maybe its free? :)
    -- Wembly
  • This sucks! I was working on something simular! Anyone have an Old Tandy Keyboard? Take it apart, there's 3 plastic sheets that actually make up the keyboard. Tape them together, label the keys, and make a case for the small PCB that's left over. Mine can be rolled up, stuck in a pocket, disconnected from the Circuit Board, but isn't water-proof as far as I know. Their model does look nicer than mine though. Guess I should have spent more $$$ on design instead of printing key labels out on my printer.
  • If you have to ask...........
  • So NOW, your Pet goldfish can surf the net, and Breathe at the SAME TIME!!! (See Figure 1)
  • FLEXI-KEYBOARD 2 1-5 UNITS $110.00 PER UNIT FLEXI-KEYBOARD 1 1-5 UNITS $254.00 PER UNIT 'nuff said.
  • This is kewl, now to compliment my Flexible Wearable PC from ViA Inc. I can get a flexible keyboard. Now if only it came in designer colors. Or maybe it does and I missed it.
  • There was an article awhile back that spotlighted a company that had developed such technology. Now all we need is rollup hard drives.
  • I think anyways.. I was getting a WHOLE 12 BYTES a second!!! Woo hoo! That's worse than 300 baud, desu ne?
  • Does anyone know if there is a way to actually make those windows keys useful under linux?
  • for anyone who has a decent amount of coordination
    among the fingers, I have seen a chording keyboard
    for one hand that produces every keystrokes by
    using a combination of 11 keys (I think?).

    I believe it was two key possibilities per finger
    and three for the thumb (any math majors care to
    calculate and see if this would cover 104 keys using a max chord of 3 simultaneous keys??? )

    at any rate, a scuba diver was the first to use this that i know of so that he could record his results into a waterproof backpack computer while diving and still have one hand free. :)

    now which is more interesting, the backpack underwater computer? or the one hand chording keyboard?? *grin*

  • This is the same thing that was in the Fetish section of this month's WiReD [wired.com] [7.04, p.58], and they at least list the price (£69.95, US$117) At least this isn't another reference to the car MP3 player that we see every month or so :-)
  • I imagine a jerk-offable keyboard would be pretty cool, but seeing as the bloody page won't load....
  • They put up a mirror!
    http://www2.inpace.com
  • Pardon my lameness, but what does the Score:1 mean?
  • Oh, you know you love the attention :
  • How about a *musical* keyboard that rolls up?
    Would be nice if it had a good feel, and was
    touch-responsive.
  • How about a *musical* keyboard that rolls up?
    Would be nice if it had a good feel, and was
    touch-responsive. I thought about that, back around
    1965 or so, back in the days of analog synths.
  • Slashdot. Yum. Make problems. Hehehehehe.

    --jwriney
    John Riney
    jwriney@awod.com
  • Dang, you beat me!

    Here's the keyboard:

    http://www2.inpace.com/flexi.html

    karamouse
  • If we eliminate crud on keyboards by washing them, we eliminate Crud Puppy as well. And I can't let that happen.
  • Wow, a company that still makes 102 key keyboards.. No awful windoze keys for me!

    (now if someone would make replacement keycaps with penguins or something :)

  • Rollin Rollin Rollin
    Keep that ASCI rollin
    Though the beer is flowin
    Don't Spill!!!!!
    Beer, Coffee and Grappa
    Remember who's your Papa
    Just keep that old mouse there by your side
    Don't you fear a spillin
    Even if yournot quite willin
    the thought can be quite chillin
    Slow Down
    The mess can be wiped up now
    without the keyboard goin down
    and sticky fingers will not gum you up

    Roll It Up
    Wipe It Down
    Stroke it Up
    Stroke it down
    Clean it up
    Don't you Frown
    Good Times
    Oh my God
    Here's the boss
    I better clear,
    best to degauss
    Clean it up
    Back to work
    in Time!!!!!!!!
  • Now I can take a shower and work on my computer!!!! Shower cam..hahahahhaa.. Just kidding.. I think I would give people heart attacks.. Hmm.. Wait.. Hmm. That sounds like a good idea.. Muhahahahahhahaha..
  • the Adesso TruForm (or something to that effect) has a pointer or trackpad that goes in between the two halves of the kbd (it's ergonomic, don't you know). It's really nice, and you don't have to move your hands too much. Of course, if you want to do precision mousework, it's not very useful.

  • grrrr (Score:1)

    by rawg ( 23000 )
    Why don't they put a price list up!
  • Guess I'll have to wait a few days to see.

  • Yuck (Score:1)

    by _Spirit ( 23983 )
    I have a hard time touching some ppl's keyboards now, do we have to encourage them ? On the other hand... I might finally be able to consume beverages and not ruin everything in a 2 meter radius
  • How about a keyboard in your pants? That's what the wonderful dreamers over at MIT's Media Labs have come up with - washable keyboards stiched directly into fabric [mit.edu].


    Scott Severtson
    Software Developer
    Auragen Communications
    scotty@auragen.com
  • uh, the twiddler chording keyboardis only $200 Bob
  • i want to split one of those flexible keyboards into 2, apply a little velcro and have a keyboard that can be attatched to both legs. =] just think how comfortable your hands are resting on your legs. eh? perhaps i'm just insane.

  • Mirror (Score:1)

    by was ( 108801 )
    Boy, this is the thanks I get for sending all that business your way.

    Least you could do is send a complimentary keyboard. ;-)

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