Musings on Technology, Gadgets, and the Ineffable. May also included gaming, books, films, and whatever I feel like adding.
I'm in love!! (or "Sexy Tech")
That's right, folks! Your favourite emu (actually, I might not show up as an emu here... maybe one of those sepia emo types, with a custom location, I might add, but not an emu, alas) has fallen in love! It's taken me eighteen years, six months and twenty-nine days, but I've finally been struck by cupid's arrow.
Her name is Tactus. Optimus Tactus. We call her little Oppy-Tac for short, and damn is she fiiiine.
She's also a keyboard, but who are you to say that such a trivial fact should stand in the way of true love?
I used to fancy her sister, Maximus (Oppy-Mac), but for all I care she can go and sulk on a wall as, and I've said it before, her younger sister is hotter.
You've really got to hand it to the Russians... well, one Russian and his team of designers - Artemy Lebedev, founder of Art. Lebedev Studios. They really know how to design beautiful keyboards, which bleed functionality to boot.
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Optimus Maximus
The Optimus Maximus (on sale now for $1877.43, and something like £790 in real money), is a keyboard with keys. A big keyboard with keys. She's 21" long, 7" wide, and stands at 1.5" above the desk at the highest point, with a viewing angle of 160°.
What's special about this keyboard is not the fact that I've never seen such a sleek number made of plastic, but that every single key is an OLED display (see organic LED), about an inch square. Each key/display, which is full colour, can be programmed to show whatever you want it to show - alphabets which change case if you hold Shift, controls for a game, shortcuts for a program, and even messages when you shut the computer down. Each button can show plain characters, or animated images, with the ten down the left side of the keyboard giving the user the option to program them with any function they want.
Up until last night, the Optimus Maximus keyboard was the best I've ever seen. Without even using it you can tell that the keys will be smooth to use, and that it will most likely be quiet (none of this tap-tap of regular, £10 keyboards).
Optimus Maximus keyboard
ThinkGeek :: Optimus Maximus Keyboard
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Optimus Tactus
Then, I saw Oppy-Tac. We saw each other from either end of a Google search, and it was love at first sight.
Oh, I'd just like to take this moment to thank Commonmind, and let him know that my girlfriend and I would like to buy him a pint some day.
Like the Maximus, the Tactus can be programmed to show whatever you want, but unlike the Maximus, the Tactus can be programmed to show whatever you want. The reason? It has no keys. Not a single one. Nada. Zippo. Instead, it sports a touch screen display.
Any part of the surface of the keyboard can be programmed to perform any function or show any image. You can change the shape of every key on a standard keyboard, if you so wish.
It can also show pictures, like colour charts, and video:
Sadly, she's still in concept form (announced at the start of the year), but I imagine she'll come with a hefty price tag (but don't all the best women?), and I reckon she'll be massively long - it's got fifteen F# buttons, for one thing!
Optimus Tactus keyboard
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And thar you go. My first Chronicles blog (which I'll probably port to my blog site, when i get it finished), and an introduction to the soon to be Mrs. Lenny.
Oh - have a look at the other keyboards available on the Art. Levedev site. There's a three-key keyboard, which again can be programmed to show what you want, and a sort of touch screen monitor keyboard which, surprise surprise, can also be programmed to show what you want. The design is among the best I've ever seen.
Her name is Tactus. Optimus Tactus. We call her little Oppy-Tac for short, and damn is she fiiiine.
She's also a keyboard, but who are you to say that such a trivial fact should stand in the way of true love?
I used to fancy her sister, Maximus (Oppy-Mac), but for all I care she can go and sulk on a wall as, and I've said it before, her younger sister is hotter.
You've really got to hand it to the Russians... well, one Russian and his team of designers - Artemy Lebedev, founder of Art. Lebedev Studios. They really know how to design beautiful keyboards, which bleed functionality to boot.
---
Optimus Maximus
The Optimus Maximus (on sale now for $1877.43, and something like £790 in real money), is a keyboard with keys. A big keyboard with keys. She's 21" long, 7" wide, and stands at 1.5" above the desk at the highest point, with a viewing angle of 160°.
What's special about this keyboard is not the fact that I've never seen such a sleek number made of plastic, but that every single key is an OLED display (see organic LED), about an inch square. Each key/display, which is full colour, can be programmed to show whatever you want it to show - alphabets which change case if you hold Shift, controls for a game, shortcuts for a program, and even messages when you shut the computer down. Each button can show plain characters, or animated images, with the ten down the left side of the keyboard giving the user the option to program them with any function they want.
Up until last night, the Optimus Maximus keyboard was the best I've ever seen. Without even using it you can tell that the keys will be smooth to use, and that it will most likely be quiet (none of this tap-tap of regular, £10 keyboards).
Optimus Maximus keyboard
ThinkGeek :: Optimus Maximus Keyboard
---
Optimus Tactus
Then, I saw Oppy-Tac. We saw each other from either end of a Google search, and it was love at first sight.
Oh, I'd just like to take this moment to thank Commonmind, and let him know that my girlfriend and I would like to buy him a pint some day.
Like the Maximus, the Tactus can be programmed to show whatever you want, but unlike the Maximus, the Tactus can be programmed to show whatever you want. The reason? It has no keys. Not a single one. Nada. Zippo. Instead, it sports a touch screen display.
Any part of the surface of the keyboard can be programmed to perform any function or show any image. You can change the shape of every key on a standard keyboard, if you so wish.
It can also show pictures, like colour charts, and video:
Sadly, she's still in concept form (announced at the start of the year), but I imagine she'll come with a hefty price tag (but don't all the best women?), and I reckon she'll be massively long - it's got fifteen F# buttons, for one thing!
Optimus Tactus keyboard
---
And thar you go. My first Chronicles blog (which I'll probably port to my blog site, when i get it finished), and an introduction to the soon to be Mrs. Lenny.
Oh - have a look at the other keyboards available on the Art. Levedev site. There's a three-key keyboard, which again can be programmed to show what you want, and a sort of touch screen monitor keyboard which, surprise surprise, can also be programmed to show what you want. The design is among the best I've ever seen.
Total Comments 9
Comments
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Oh my...
Tactus is indeed very hot. I want her!Posted 5th August 2008 at 08:40 PM by HoopyFrood
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If you want to chip in when she comes out, then maybe we can, you know, share her?
Posted 5th August 2008 at 08:43 PM by Lenny -
she seems a bit high maintenance money wise but she could tempt me to the other side
Posted 5th August 2008 at 10:52 PM by Tansy - One thing about this gorgeous creature, though. I admit that I'm somewhat harsh with keys and hit them quite hard (not really hard, but with a little more force than is necessary, probably -- I know, I'm a bad person, a keyboard abuser). And at least they have a little give in them. But a touch screen -- that's going to make some flat fingertips, surely?Posted 6th August 2008 at 01:01 AM by HoopyFrood
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My son is banned from ever seing this keyboard, he will want it, gosh I want it and I am not that into keyboards but this is very nice, I understand your passion and desire Lenny.Posted 6th August 2008 at 09:10 AM by tangaloomababe 
- You'll just have to learn how to type with feathers instead of hammers, Hoopy!
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You're mean, Tanga, very mean! He has every right to see the keyboard! But I know what you mean, particularly seeing as he's a budding Techy. Glad you like it, too. 
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Other side, Tansy? Don't tell me you're a, shock horror, laptop user?
! Or is it worse? Are you on the White Side?Posted 6th August 2008 at 10:27 PM by Lenny - nope PC was referring to the "she" tagPosted 6th August 2008 at 10:51 PM by Tansy
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About time. This is more like tech in the 2000's that we were told would happen.
I can face my 5 year old self with pride*
*He sits in my attic with a playmobile TARDISPosted 29th August 2009 at 07:01 AM by J-WO -
Well that puts my 1.99 PC world bargin bin clacker to shame...... one day
Posted 21st October 2010 at 11:41 PM by sloweye
