Das Keyboard: Hit Any Key 479
Black hardware just can't help looking cool (think TIE fighters, NeXT Cubes, and the hard-to-find black SE/30 case you might have lusted for in 1994), but have you ever wanted an all-black keyboard? Das Keyboard, from Austin-based Metadot, fills the craving for those so afflicted, and by "all-black," I mean something very nearly that: except a small white label ("Das Keyboard") in the upper left corner and labels for the three usual indicator lights -- num lock, caps lock, and scroll lock -- there's nothing but black to see. The keys are unlabeled in any conventional sense, though the index-finger keys of the conventional home row (F and J) are marked with the usual small bumps; theoretically, this should make typing more accurate after a time, just because cheating with one's eyeballs isn't a possibility. It's the aesthetic opposite of the recently announced Optimus keyboard; this is high minimalism applied to the modern keyboard. The truth is, I wanted to like Das Keyboard. It looks cool, and the concept sounds, well, sound. The thing itself left me a bit disappointed, though; I've outlined my reasoning below.
The problem with inviting comparison
Metadot borrowed from the best in the design of their keyboard: dimensionally, it's just about a dead ringer for an IBM Model M. Compared to my 1984 Model M, Das Keyboard's chassis is less than a half-inch shy of the M's longest dimension, and that half inch is shaved off the the outermost edge; key size, curvature and placement are identical to that of the Model M, at least to the limit of the measuring instruments mounted to each side of my nose. (The underside looks quite a bit different, though: A fair amount of Das Keyboard's undercarriage is just empty space, because the plastic underneath follows the curve of the keys themselves, leaving a small wedge of air.) The board's 6-foot USB cable (nice and chunky) exits to the rear through a neat slot straight up from the Caps Lock indicator. However, the dimensions are unfortunately where the resemblance ends, because the great thing about older, mechanical-action keyboards like the Model M is not so much how they look, but how they feel beneath the hand. Instead of the clacking, snapping action of buckling-spring keyboards, manufacturers have mostly moved to cheaper, less-complicated membrane keyboards, some of which feel better than others. My impression on opening the box and giving the black keyboard a lengthy groping was that the Das Keyboard's action is a bit squishy. To be fair, in the current keyboard market, most of the competition feels no better, and many competitors feel worse. Some people prefer the feel of membrane keyboards, though, so don't take my word for it -- taste in keyboards is idiosyncratic at best. As membrane boards go, Das Keyboard is on the good side of average.About that extreme makeover ...
So what does the all-black color scheme do for one's typing speed? According to the company, by taking away the crutch of key labels, the user is forced to learn better typing skills and concentrate on their computer's screen.This may be true for some people, and it sounds like a good theory, but in several weeks of use, I never quite swam, and mostly sank. Whenever I'd hit a wrong key (which was often), I found myself either hunting-and-pecking or craning my neck to peek at a conventional keyboard a few feet away for guidance. I'm an untutored typist, but several years of moderately heavy keyboarding mean I'm at least not a newcomer to entering text with a keyboard -- I even rather enjoy it, most days. However, maybe I'm just a slow learner, but I haven't had as much frustration with a keyboard since I played with a Twiddler a few years ago. Maybe I glance at my keys more than I realize on my conventional keyboard, or maybe it's simply that I had a hard time getting used to the feel of the board, but in the end I ended up disappointed with my speed using Das Keyboard. That's not to say that a better typist would feel the same; maybe I'm just not to the threshold of typing skill that Das Keyboard requires.
According to a company representative, the keys on Das Keyboard are divided into several distinct groups, each with their own response. I tried in vain to detect the difference between keys in various groups, and think I faintly detected it, sometimes. But the difference between any two of the keys on this keyboard (harping, I know) seems far less than that between any of Das Keyboard's keys and its equivalent key on a mechanical-action board. An exception is the space bar, which really did take the promised extra effort to press down: this is a welcome change, and I hope other keyboard makers license (or at least copy!) the idea, because I tend to keep my thumbs on the space bar. (I'd like to see a mechanical-switch version of Das Keyboard, which would retain the neat looks but do away with the milquetoast response.)
Top Ten (Score:5, Funny)
Want to do something more practical? Get a Braille keyboard and learn that while typing. It's a skill, right?
Obligatory H2G2 Reference (Score:5, Funny)
Though I hear it works best on the new Sun "Diver" systems.
You're all thinking it. (Score:5, Funny)
When you press one of these black buttons that are labeled
in black on a black background, a little black light lights
up black to let you know you've done it!"
Re:Top Ten (Score:1, Funny)
How much did
Wow (Score:3, Funny)
Ok thats nice (Score:1, Funny)
It's a keyboard.
It's black.
Wow.
Awesome.
Can we please move on now? Seriously!
Dax Keibowrd is thr grwatst kehboard evar@ (Score:5, Funny)
From the site: (Score:2, Funny)
Because I know my friends would just love it if I secretly replaced their keyboard with one that had no labels on it. Of course they wouldn't be able to email me their problems any more.... hmmm maybe it is a good idea after all.
I find it very... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Das Keyboard (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Oh FFS! (Score:5, Funny)
A Company with Vision (Score:5, Funny)
Re:You're all thinking it. (Score:5, Funny)
"Great. we could do with a bit of color."
Re:I find it very... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Das Keyboard (Score:3, Funny)
But yeah
Re:Obligatory H2G2 Reference (Score:2, Funny)
When you lock caps, num or scroll, does a little black light light up in black to tell you you have the lock on?
Re:Top Ten (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Oh FFS! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:You're all thinking it. (Score:5, Funny)
I mean, you don't need labelled keys to go
CTRL-C
PGUP
PGUP
PGUP
CTRL-V
ENTER
and then call it a new story, do you?
Dieter's New keyboard (Score:1, Funny)
Hans, would you like to touch my keyboard? Touch my keyboard! Touch him! Love him! Liebe mein Tastatur!
Now is the time on Sprockets when we enter data.
Stupid keyboards (and mice) these days (Score:5, Funny)
Then there's these mice, I am quite happy with my Logitech 3 button mouse circa 1995. It works perfectly for me (of course you need to periodically clean them) and doesn't have that stupid scroll device that everyone seems so intent in putting in them these days. That reminds me, I need to go to the local computer recycling place and dig around in their bins to find some good keyboards and mice to stockpile that have a reasonable layout before the entire earth is plagued with these new marvels that annoy me so much.
I don't expect everyone here to agree with me, i know quite a few people who love their scroll wheels and fancy optical mice. I'm just not one of them.
Re:Top Ten (Score:2, Funny)
Tried it, didn't work... (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Das Keyboard (Score:3, Funny)
Great! Now all my keys are sticky and have fingerprints on them and my fingers are covered with gunk...Got any other bright ideas?
too easy! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Das Keyboard (Score:2, Funny)
surfing more family-friendly sites?
Obligatory Spinal Tap Reference (Score:4, Funny)
None. None more black.
Re:So... (Score:4, Funny)
What's next, mood ring keyboards? (Score:3, Funny)
Black and blue is the color of the day.
TIE Fighters aren't black (Score:5, Funny)
TIE Fighters aren't black.
Sorry. It's Slashdot. I had to say it.
"Compared to my 1984 Model M..." (Score:5, Funny)
Sophisticated Nerd #2: Ah yes, 1984. The vintage is most excellent.
Nerd 1: Can you believe that some people actually type on (shocked whisper) PS/2 keyboards?
Nerd 2: That's positively scandalous! Worse yet, I was at my financial institution (banks are for the unwashed masses) yesterday, and the teller was actually typing on a Logitech USB keyboard. Every time he hit the Windows key, I wanted to lecture him on real keyboards and the proper volume of key clack, but it would have been completely lost on the brute.
Nerd 1: It's completely ridiculous. There should be laws against such mindless use mundane computer components.
Or did nobody else think it was odd how the author compared it to a 20 year old design as if it were a car or a fine wine?
Re:"Compared to my 1984 Model M..." (Score:2, Funny)
I love my model M keyboards! Even the one my wife uses! 3 at home (one for me, one for the wife, one on the switchbox), and one at work! Drives my co-workers bonkers sometimes. All they get is the soft little "click" from their Dell branded cheapo keyboards, while you can hear me typing away from the far side of the room with the lovely, crisp, clackey sound!
Re:TIE Fighters aren't black (Score:2, Funny)
TIE Fighters aren't black.
WEREN'T black. It was a long time ago.
Sorry. It's Slashdot. I had to say it.
Me too.
Re:So... (Score:5, Funny)
Actually, there are sweat shops in Malaysia staffed by trained cats that work around the clock applying their sandpaperlike tongues to carefully polish the letters off of standard black keyboards. Cats are very hard to train, you see, so that gets expensive. They also spend most of their lives sleeping, so it takes several days for a particular cat to finish the work on one keyboard. But the craftsmanship is stunning. To help with the training, they spray on a specially formulated catnip mist that is designed to leave no traces on the finished keyboard once it is dry. They use this to entice the cats to lick the keys, and because it's specially formulated that's automatically, like, $30 a unit right there. Then there's all the litter to change, crates of fresh mice brought in daily, and an in-house addiction clinic. Done in America, that could easily pop the per unit price to $150 easily, and that's why it's done in Malaysia, so you get to save a lot of money on all this hard work. So it's a pretty good value, all things considered.
Re:ALL the keys? (Score:2, Funny)
No offence, but || is madetory. I typed this whole post with my eyes closed. Even had to hit backspace once or twice.
Not that it isn't a waste of money, but not knowing where pipe is? Dayam!
Re:Top Ten (Score:2, Funny)
Homer: "To start press any key. Well where's the "any" key? I see Esc, Ctarl (ctrl), and PigUp (pgup). There doesn't seem to be any any key! Phew. All this computer hacking is making me thirsty. I think I'll order a Tab. Oop! No time for that now, the computer's starting."
Re:Best Reason to Buy One (Score:3, Funny)
What real geeks want is :
Das Screen!
A 21" slab of matte black plastic !
Only $3500!
Get yours now!
If you have a while iBook (Score:2, Funny)