Re: keyboard (open question at end)

[Todd Showalter <todd altsoftware com>]

On Wed, 2 Dec 1998, Sergey I. Panov wrote:

>  Todd Showalter <todd@altsoftware.com> writes:
>  
>>     I'd like a keyboard with a built-in CPU (maybe one of the Hitachi
>> SuperH series) and maybe 4mb of RAM.  Make the keys 32x32 flatscreen
>> displays (the big cost of flatscreens is failure rate on the large panels,
>> right?), and let *me* program what the keys look like.  That way, if I
>> want a gnome foot key, I *program* one.  If I want a "copy" key, I
>> *program* one.  If I want a dvorak layout, my keyboard *looks* like
>> dvorak, and if I want cyrillic or kanji, I can have them and the keyboard
>> shows me what is where.
> 
>  Sam Vilain:
>> That's the "super duper deluxe" version.  I'd hate to engineer the
>> thing though...
>
> I saw such a keyboard more then 10 years ago. It had LCD in each of
> the  keys and they were displaying current layout. There should be
> some reasons why it did not became popular.

    Well, a decade ago such a thing would have been slow to update and
fairly expensive.  It probably wouldn't have been all that reliable
either.  It may be (almost) practical now.  It could probably be built for
something around $200 USD ($20 processor, $10 memory, $15 case/mechanics,
maybe about $5 for a USB connection, and the rest for the keys...), but
it's still probably too "out there" for the mainstream market.  The
reliability problem would be greatly reduced, though.

    I'd buy one, of course, and I know some other people who would too,
but it may not be enough to make a market yet.

    OTOH, this may be practical soon.  In which case, it might be worth
putting the hooks into the appropriate software in preparation for the
day; it might even improve the chances of it happening.

							Todd.

--
Todd Showalter       |  "The time has come," the Walrus said,
                     |    "to talk of many things:"
gandalf@interlog.com |
todd@altsoftware.com |                            Lewis Carroll