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MikeTheC
December 13th, 2008, 10:05 PM
Just ran across this particular model of keyboard.

Yes, I'd love to have one.

No, I'm not rich enough to afford one.

I wonder, though, how easy it would be to support in Linux...

ThinkGeek: Optimus Maximus Keyboard (http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/input/9836/)

Oh, and it's "only" $1589.99.

cardinals_fan
December 13th, 2008, 10:09 PM
This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_Keyboard) is the only real keyboard. I want one...

Grant A.
December 13th, 2008, 10:18 PM
This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_Keyboard) is the only real keyboard. I want one...

Whew! Sexy. :redface:

fedex1993
December 13th, 2008, 11:52 PM
The OLED keyboard is way to much, and also it requires a power input, also i herd it doesnt type well, but the optiumis w/e mini with 3 oled buttons is actually really nice and handy to use.

billgoldberg
December 13th, 2008, 11:59 PM
Just ran across this particular model of keyboard.

Yes, I'd love to have one.

No, I'm not rich enough to afford one.

I wonder, though, how easy it would be to support in Linux...

ThinkGeek: Optimus Maximus Keyboard (http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/input/9836/)

Oh, and it's "only" $1589.99.

It doesn't support linux.

It's windows or OSX only.

And it is one ugly, huge keyboard.

Chilli Bob
December 14th, 2008, 12:53 AM
Just ran across this particular model of keyboard.

Yes, I'd love to have one.

No, I'm not rich enough to afford one.

I wonder, though, how easy it would be to support in Linux...

ThinkGeek: Optimus Maximus Keyboard (http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/input/9836/)

Oh, and it's "only" $1589.99.


You could set it up to show the VIM bindings, and VIM might almost be usable.

red_Marvin
December 14th, 2008, 01:41 AM
I'd rather prefer the Das Keyboard or even better the one I hope to design if I can find good and cheap enough switches (basic consept, fewer overall keys, but added extra fn keys under the space bar)

loell
December 14th, 2008, 01:50 AM
talking of keyboards, I always want this as an add on. :D

http://www.bajca.com/index/bajca_index_02.jpg

bajca smiley keyboard. (http://www.bajca.com/index.htm)

namegame
December 14th, 2008, 02:25 AM
I'd really like to get a Dvorak keyboard just to experiment with it and see if I can learn it.

I already touch-type on a standard US QWERTY keyboard. I've heard that using Dvorak keyboards can increase your typing speed so I'd like to give it a try.

ryaxnb
December 14th, 2008, 02:28 AM
I still think the G15's ability to act as a second screen, thus allowing IRC on the G15, is far better. Waiting for another G15 with a bigger screen that can be used as a terminal for any terminal mode apps.

linuxguymarshall
December 14th, 2008, 02:31 AM
This has been around forever
Not Linux friendly
The Optimus Tactus (http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus-tactus/) is waay cooler (If only it existed....)
DAS keyboards are better
Who needs an optimus maximus when you have a headset, TrackMan Marble FX, gamepad and joystick. I dont :)

avaralom
December 14th, 2008, 04:08 AM
That is pretty awesome, in theory at least. I don't think I could ever justify spending that much money on a keyboard though. XD

Dr Small
December 14th, 2008, 04:37 AM
I'd really like to get a Dvorak keyboard just to experiment with it and see if I can learn it.

I already touch-type on a standard US QWERTY keyboard. I've heard that using Dvorak keyboards can increase your typing speed so I'd like to give it a try.

Absolutely. I use Dvorak, and it has made typing easier for me. I never really checked my speed while on QWERTY, but I think I can type near the same, or faster; now that I have switched to Dvorak. I am usually between 50WPM-85WPM, depending on my train of thought :p


This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_Keyboard) is the only real keyboard. I want one...

I want one of those.

oedipuss
December 14th, 2008, 05:02 AM
I'd really like to get a Dvorak keyboard just to experiment with it and see if I can learn it.

I already touch-type on a standard US QWERTY keyboard. I've heard that using Dvorak keyboards can increase your typing speed so I'd like to give it a try.

Why don't you just pop out the keys and put them back in dvorak ?
It's certainly doable with most keyboards and doesn't feel much different.

namegame
December 14th, 2008, 05:10 AM
Why don't you just pop out the keys and put them back in dvorak ?
It's certainly doable with most keyboards and doesn't feel much different.

I'm primarily a laptop user, and the last time I tried to move some keys around, I discovered that they are not meant to come off. When I took it to get repaired, I found that the manufacturer only ships entire Keyboards, not just individual keys.

Maybe when Christmas comes I'll look into a Dvorak USB keyboard or something.

EdThaSlayer
December 14th, 2008, 05:14 AM
I love the small lcd screens though. Won't they break under the pressure of my very powerful fingers? Also, I would rather buy a whole new gaming machine instead of spending that much on an keyboard.

oedipuss
December 14th, 2008, 05:21 AM
I'm primarily a laptop user, and the last time I tried to move some keys around, I discovered that they are not meant to come off. When I took it to get repaired, I found that the manufacturer only ships entire Keyboards, not just individual keys.

Maybe when Christmas comes I'll look into a Dvorak USB keyboard or something.

Ah didn't think of that..
I suppose ~35 small stickers is out of the question :P

A bit more on topic, what's the big deal with the optimus keyboard? 100 little screens, under constant, sometimes excessive pressure, that can break or malfunction at any time ? At 1500$ ?

The concept one looks useful though, but still only as an extension to the keyboard with extra tools, not so much as a replacement. It'd be weird typing on a flat surface, you wouldn't feel the separate keys.

HotCupOfJava
December 14th, 2008, 05:23 AM
Check out what this guy did with a Model M:

http://steampunkworkshop.com/keyboard.shtml

pretty cool, huh?

MikeTheC
December 14th, 2008, 06:07 AM
Check out what this guy did with a Model M:

http://steampunkworkshop.com/keyboard.shtml

pretty cool, huh?

I've seen it before, but I'd still say that's worth at least a:

+2 !!! Yeah!!!

Man, talk about labor-intensive. But the finished product looks cool as heck.

red_Marvin
December 14th, 2008, 06:27 PM
I'd really like to get a Dvorak keyboard just to experiment with it and see if I can learn it.

I already touch-type on a standard US QWERTY keyboard. I've heard that using Dvorak keyboards can increase your typing speed so I'd like to give it a try.

Why would you need a special keyboard for dvorak? Just change your layout settings, if you think about the keycaps being placed wrong, if you plan to learn touch typing on it, it doesn't matter does it? (I'll agree that it's harder in the beginning though...)

MikeTheC
December 14th, 2008, 07:07 PM
Why would you need a special keyboard for dvorak? Just change your layout settings, if you think about the keycaps being placed wrong, if you plan to learn touch typing on it, it doesn't matter does it? (I'll agree that it's harder in the beginning though...)

Actually, with a Das Keyboard "Ultimate", you get both that nice "klackity" tactile feedback and no markings on the key caps at all, so you can easily treat it as a Dvorak keyboard.


Here is a Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QWERTY) on Qwerty, it's creation and history.

Here is a Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard) on Dvorak, it's creation and history.


Basically, Qwerty was created as a standardized layout for typewriters, and was deliberately designed to slow down the typing rate to help prevent jamming the printing bar system, which had been a real problem with typewriters of that era. Dvorak, on the other hand, had been designed in the 1930s to take advantage of the fact that typewriter design (and especially electrical typewriter design) had improved such that jamming wasn't as big of a deal any longer. Moreover, it was designed to help alleviate the stress on the operator which was inherent in the Qwerty design.


From what I can recall, I think the top end for Qwerty typists is about 150-or-so WPM, and for Dvorak it's like 200+ WPM.

I've tried to use it, and I can certainly vouch for how alien it feels when one is used to and has developed so-called "muscle memory" for Qwerty. A friend of mine, an older gentleman from an era where it wasn't nearly so common for men to ever type at all, has tried in later years to learn to type (with some degree of success), but had been interested in Dvorak. He was my main influence in fooling around with it myself.

Ultimately, I gave up because there is really no common support out there for it, and asking your employer or school to "please change the layout to Dvorak" is met with as much incredulity as one would expect associated with asking them to pull their own teeth out.

executor
December 14th, 2008, 08:01 PM
This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_Keyboard) is the only real keyboard. I want one...

i have one :) don`t use it. it`s norwegian one.

klange
December 14th, 2008, 09:09 PM
The Maximus has been around for over a year and still has no Linux support. I'd take the money out of my college funds to buy one if we could actually use it.

HotCupOfJava
December 14th, 2008, 09:47 PM
I've seen it before, but I'd still say that's worth at least a:

+2 !!! Yeah!!!

Man, talk about labor-intensive. But the finished product looks cool as heck.

The LCD he did is pretty awesome, too......I just don't have time to attempt something like that!

shadowdude1794
December 14th, 2008, 11:13 PM
I like the virtual keyboard (http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/) better. I want...

bp1509
December 14th, 2008, 11:37 PM
virtual keyboards and various other touch screen keyboards to me are not good at all. Typing well and speedy is vastly improved when a tactile response is present.

wmcbrine
December 15th, 2008, 12:18 AM
This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_Keyboard) is the only real keyboard. I want one...I'm typing this on a black Model M clone from Unicomp (http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/). Unfortunately this model is no longer available. Before that, I had a real Model M that was something like 14 years old before I got it. It worked great, until I spilled some water in it. After it dried out, it still mostly worked -- just the Ctrl keys were dead.

"Clone" may not be the right word, since Unicomp claim to be the legitimate heirs to the Model M, having bought it from Lexmark. However, their version doesn't have the removable keycaps of the classic version, nor the unpluggable cable -- it's more like the later versions of the M. I also feel like this keyboard, although very nice, isn't quite as springy as my old M.

Edit: Actually, I take it back -- according to their catalog, some models do have those features. Just not mine.

red_Marvin
December 15th, 2008, 04:50 AM
MikeTheC: I was just reacting to what I interpreted as the misconception that a different keyboard layout needed the purchase of a new keyboard.
I'm a dvorak user myself since maybe a year, and while I don't know if my typing speed has increased, it sure feels nicer. It also helped me to learn touch typing (I still use qwerty-looking keyboards, so I couldn't look where the keys were, and thus learned to do without).

MikeTheC
December 15th, 2008, 04:56 AM
MikeTheC: I was just reacting to what I interpreted as the misconception that a different keyboard layout needed the purchase of a new keyboard.
I'm a dvorak user myself since maybe a year, and while I don't know if my typing speed has increased, it sure feels nicer. It also helped me to learn touch typing (I still use qwerty-looking keyboards, so I couldn't look where the keys were, and thus learned to do without).
Well, both types of solution exist (software mapping support, and Dvorak layout keyboards).

I'm glad to hear you've been able to switch over and use it. I would love to go Dvorak myself, at least in principle. It's just I don't know how practical it would be, knowing how high-and-mighty, stuck-on-themselves that company IT departments often are.

init1
December 15th, 2008, 05:13 AM
I'm primarily a laptop user, and the last time I tried to move some keys around, I discovered that they are not meant to come off. When I took it to get repaired, I found that the manufacturer only ships entire Keyboards, not just individual keys.

Maybe when Christmas comes I'll look into a Dvorak USB keyboard or something.
Yeah, on my laptop, when a key comes off, it's very hard to get back on. Currently, I'm typing without "T", "S", or "N" keys (the keys still work, but it's less comfortable)

mister_k81
December 15th, 2008, 08:55 AM
i have one :) don`t use it. it`s norwegian one.

I have a Lexmark Model M sitting around somewhere that looks nearly identical to that one. It has the buckling spring key design, detachable key caps, detachable PS/2 wire, and a built in PC speaker. It's pretty damn heavy for a keyboard, but it's built like a rock and works perfectly :D .

acelin
December 15th, 2008, 08:56 AM
This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_Keyboard) is the only real keyboard. I want one...

These are such a joy to type on...

The rich clack...

The sexy click...

That vivacious tap a tap tap...