That Which We Touch: Keyboards & Mice

I commonly find myself encouraging people that I consult for to buy a nice keyboard and mouse. And although they are out of production, the iconic IBM Model "M" mechanical keyboard is an abiding symbol in our modern world for a reason. They are so rugged and for the longest time, considered "industry standard" that Hollywood foley (sound effects) operators generally use the sound of them to represent people typing, although most modern keyboards are now silent. They are long out of production, but still sought after to this day, especially by "hacker" types who tend to pound so hard on the keys that they wear out the typical "rubber domed" type in short order.

I have a long running fascination with input peripherals; that's mice and keyboards to most people. I love them, and am willing to try all manner of them to find the perfect combination. My current combo are the Logitech Illuminated Keyboard, because I hate lag and find that I rarely move the keyboard around, plus I quite often do computing at night with the lights darkened; paired with a Logitech Revolution MX wireless mouse. This is because I absolutely hate the cord, and find that I do in fact use the various other buttons, especially the forward and back. The free-spinning wheel is a bonus when I'm searching on a looong webpage.

....And as a nod to my quirkiness, on occasion, I also use a year 2000 relic; the Microsoft Sidewinder Strategic Commander. Yes, I know it was designed for role-playing games, but I like the idea of extra programmable buttons so I use it for stuff like the Aero-Flip key combination..... and because it's weird!

Speaking of "weirdness"; I've been into that for a while now (in relation to mice and keyboard at least), going back to the Logitech Cyberman 3D controller. Back in those days, I had imagined that I would like gaming and the concept of a device that allowed for the normal mouse functions as well as jumping and ducking would be great! Turns out that I never did get into gaming and the Cyberman was a little limiting. However my fascination didn't begin or end there.

In the late '90s while living in Chicago, I walked into a Relax Your Back Store in Lincoln Park. There in the middle of all of these really cool and comfortable seating was an especially interesting office chair. Around that time, there was a lot being written about carpel-tunnel syndrome and various other ailments associated with long hours of working in front of a computer monitor. Here was a solution! An office chair where the keyboard was split in two, one half on the respective sides along with touchpads, therefore allowing the user to keep both arms supported and in optimal positions. The price tag of course kept it from becoming a mainstream item, but the idea was really interesting and was partially responsible for kick-starting my slight obsession with ergonomics. Of course, when you combine this will a long established obsession with design, then this becomes a fertile area for come craziness. 

For some years, the computer industry's mainstream product that represented ergonomics pretty much was represented by Apple's split keyboard and Microsoft's more easily handled, but enormous concept and it's clones. The M$ style was pretty popular and could be found most anywhere, while Apple's offering was a little more of a "niche" product and rarely seen outside of the "big-screen", like in the movie "Hackers" where the mousey villain used it.

There were a few "mavericks" among the crowd though, like the really radical Kinesis and the Safetype "grip" style keyboard, but they pretty much were commercial failures.

In the meantime, the industry's ever moving pendulum headed the other way to more of a design orientation. So of course, Apple (and it's contractor Frog Design) is going to lead that pack! In today's world, there's not a product that represents cool, than the Apple Bluetooth keyboard. That's especially true of the short version without the number pad. It's small, simple, works and just looks great anywhere in the house. If it had a built in pointing device, it would definitely be my keyboard of choice for our home theater PCs. 

If a wireless version of this existed, I'd definitely use it, but IBM and now Lenovo steadfastly refuses to cut the cord, so I'm still using the Logitech DiNovo Edge in the living room and the Mini in the bedroom.

They are pretty good devices, but of course, I'm still saddled with the devil's invention....., the touchpad on both! 

Design keeps pushing the envelop, especially in the gaming area where some of the mice are beginning to resemble science fiction. One device (though not ready for prime time), that it really cool in concept is the infra-red keyboard! Although the reviews have universally panned it, we seem to be one step closer to the really cool input devices of Hollywood.

Who can forget the oh-so-futuristic keyboards of Star Trek. Here is an overlay that anyone can run out and buy, but you know if you have a tablet, that pop-up onscreen keyboard that you peck on already has you there!

Of course, the 3-D virtual reality interfaces of the films "Johnny Mnemonic" and "Minority Report" were both ultra-impressive to geeks like me, but really: who wants to wave their arms around and do so much work to surf the web?

Now, this is more like it! The Gravitonus, Ergonomic Workstation and iCubby! But barring spending many tens of thousands of dollars, I'll stick with what I have for now. What's my current target?

It's an NMB Concert Master keyboard of course! 

....And this is an Altec Maxisound. These obviously 90's masterpieces of computer hardware will help me when I'm working on somebodies machine. On occasion, I find that I've forgotten to set up sound on a computer after a reload since my testing area doesn't have room for speakers. Then embarrassingly, I'll have to go back and get the drivers sorted out for them later. A few days ago, I was watching a "fix-it" video on YouTube, when I saw one of the Concert Masters on it. I was hooked! This will go along very well on the Tech Station that I'm planning to build.... but of course, that's another post.