Archive for February, 2007

Last year in the tech world, an idea was born. The Optimus Keyboard. No, it has nothing to do with The Transformers! Art Lebedev Studio came up with some amazing concept drawings that amazed geeks everywhere.

What makes this keyboard so revolutionary? Well, many things. The first, of course is how each individual key has its own display (most likely using OLED technology), which may be changed to anything that the user wishes to symbolize executing a command, such as a Firefox icon representing the opening of the browser. The possibilities are endless! This not only makes the keyboard junkies go crazy due to the insane amount of key combinations, but also appeals to the graphic artists who could create icons, animations, or other graphics/designs that could be very useful. Because in the notes they stated that it would be an open-source keyboard, it gives programmers the opportunity to create many revolutionary apps to use with this hardware. It would be amazing to see a section of sourceforge dedicated to Optimus applications.

Everyone wanted to know how to get their hands on this stunning piece of hardware when the craze first emerged. Unfortunately, it slowly became known that it was only a concept. However, as most know, Art Lebedev noticed pretty quickly the overwhelming interest in the product, and took the obvious business move, finding out how to put this into mass production. Since the day they started looking at these options, it’s safe to say that it has been one dissapointment after another. With release dates pressed back, rise in estimated price, and slow progress in over a year, people have lost interest.

I still follow this product, by viewing the project blog about once every couple of weeks, checking out the site for updates, and digging for the latest rumors about it. As a high school student working part time, it’s impossible to justify spending $1,300 for a keyboard. Yes, the possibilities are endless, the looks are tempting, and the urge to buy new hardware is hard to resist for any geek, but at such a high price, who can afford this? My guess is that the main interest will be design company’s with specific needs for this product. I also predict that it will not be properly advertised for this market. Even the concept drawings were focused on gamers. With these things in mind, this great product might not be given the run it was meant for.

The ideal release for the keyboard would be to market to the gamers, and those looking for more than a regular keyboard can give them. This was properly demonstrated by Logitech with their release of the G15 (shown above) which has become a favorite and also a controversial topic in the gaming community, mostly affecting WOW, Battlefield 2, and Counter-Strike players.

My personal experience with the G15 has been positive overall. The Logitech software for macro programing is easy to use, and suprisingly powerful. A must have, if purchasing this keyboard is to download LCD Studio. This freeware allows the user to create displays for their LCD’s. LCD Studio gives the user a lot of creativite options, and can be quite a convenient tool. The design I created for my g15 includes the RSS feed of digg.com, Gmail notification, Winamp controls and display, as well as other system information.

Make no mistake, the G15 keyboard is for gamers, but there are many other uses for it as well. Photoshop, for example, I have programmed a little over thirty key shortcuts for either confusing combinations to remember, or grouping certain shortcuts together for my convenience. There are many pre-made “profiles” for the “g keys” that can be found within five minutes of searching.

Some who still follow the Optimus concept stick with it, and await the release. Even with a few devoted fans, the keyboard will never reach its potential. It needs a strong community behind it to create applications, graphics, and find good uses for it. This is why the g15 is so successful. Perhaps the cost per unit of the Optimus will be unexpectedly reduced, but with around $10 per key it is unlikely.

Another keyboard that has caught my eye is the DAS Keyboard(shown below). Most keyboard junkies should be familiar with this device. The DAS “has been designed to produce even greater speed by providing responsive, tactile feedback with its new gold-plated and clicky high-end mechanical key switches.” Enough said, a great keyboard, which definitely gives a bold look and feel to a true geek’s rig. It’s basic, but simplicity does go a long way.

The point of this post is to bring to attention what the future may hold for keyboards, explain the situation with The Optimus, and to give a few alternatives to those keyboard junkies looking for a new toy. Please let me know your opinions about any of this. Tips about some other great keyboards are always welcome(I know there are some unique, and wierd ones out on the market that I left out in this article.)

-MadHatter