Optimus Maximus

http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus/

Who's getting it... IMO, crap for us but certainly the riches will get it...

They should have just built a touchscreen keyboard... that's more futuristic than this... (and supposely cheaper)

Let's start this project, who's joining?

 

heh i just dont see even the rich getting this. it's a nice idea, great even but unless they can sell it to the masses, i dont see them making up for developing it.

 

Lol,
I don't really know what were they thinking.
Though I think much of the cost is because of the financial damage that the maker took until they finished it.

 

If it is like this, i doubt they even have support for it later...

 

Dedicated Gmail, Firefox and Engadget buttons?

Sold!






...Now if only I had the money :laugh:

 

Still lack the NBR button...

 

They are programmable, I personally would defiantly assign one button to the NBR.

 

A really freaking cool concept, but at $1600, not exactly a practical purchase.

I would dedicate one button to gmail, one to autoblog, and one to NBR forums.

 

Now that you bring it up...














It doesn't matter at all! [evil]

 

That's definitely nice for multi-language support.

 

Yeah, but $1500 ?!

 

well i guess if ur gonna buy you might as well get the million dollar notebook as well

 

Ah, the perfect keyboard for next year's Maximum PC Dream Machine

 

No, see, the $1mil laptop is pointless. This has a lot of really cool features. You can switch keys as you want, and there are a million little shortcut keys on the sides.

Its a bit like a Voodoo computer. Really friggin sweet, but really friggin expensive, plus slightly pointless.

 

A touchscreen keyboard has the same problem as those projected keyboards, no tactile feedback at all.

These things are really cool looking. If they're able to keep going with the idea, and they get down to $300 in a few generations and they have a good feel, I'll probably pick one up. Plus they need to open up for Linux support.

 

I just thought, this thing would be great for learning vi or emacs! Linux distributors should bundle them with their boxed sets!

 

Tactile feedback is not a problem at all... I think it can be solved easily (well, from my mechanical engineer POV)

 

What's your idea?

I'm just not seeing it, you have a flat screen with no movement and no click. You rely entirely on the character showing up on the screen to know when you've had a successful key press.

 

Remember FOLEDs? Their flexible, just place some tickable thing down there and your nearly done... but u would still have a lot of little bugs to squash around thou... if i have the time and money, i would do it myself..

Edit: Opps, din noticed that FOLEDs are not on the market yet, but ideawise, it would be more efficient than placing 103 led display...

 

What's that, Flexible Organic LED?

Here's another issue, most people prefer the movement to the click. I like both, being a mechanical keyboard nut, and while I think the click would definitely help, the movement is what really makes a keyboard feel right.

I might be wrong, though, it might just take time to adjust. But I've always hated things like calculators with a flat flexible layer over the buttons, and those do move to some degree.

 

That's one nice looking keyboard...Who wants to buy one for my brother's birthday....XD

 

Wow you are really going all out for your bro aren't you?

Anyways.. I feel that in the future keyboards will all be like that, with little lights in place of stickers for keys, so you can change what your keyboard layout is on the fly.. sick

 

No, I'm not going to buy that keyboard for my brother.lol

However, I am going to buy him a 17" Macbook Pro once the Santa Rosa and Direct x 10 graphics hit into Macbook pros

 

The biggest problem with this thing (other than cost) is that it is obesely heavy. The little OLED screens on each key are really heavy. Plus all that plastic protecting them.

And for the people that were talking about touchscreens and whatnot, I'm pretty sure that this is just a regular keyboard with programmable OLED displays on each key.

 

They are, we were discussing the possibility of a cheaper alternative.

 

Agreed. And actually, I was reading in Popular Science magazine a couple of months ago about this cell phone in China that has a touch screen. To get a tactile feel to it, they actually use a motor with an offset mass, just like the motor used to vibrate your phone when it rings.

Oh and the name of the phone is the Samsung SCH-W559 and is only available in China. Now we can make our LCD keyboard.

 

I see another problem: the vibrating mass will cause the keyboard to vibrate (and make noise maybe and 'interact with the underground) if you have one weight for the complete keyboard. If you want to have a separate mass under each key I'm afraid it is going to cost more than the Optimus Maximus after all. The mobile phone doesn't have the 'interact with the underground'-problem because you're holding it in your hand.

 

Suspension for your keyboard? lol, just put a sheet of rubber on the bottom of the keyboard to quell the vibration and noise.

 

If you typed too fast, wouldn't it become a something (well, i m not sure that word could be used here, but just use your word linking imagination).. It's a nice idea thou...

Tactile or no Tactile, it's just when do we get used to it...

 

I know it's expensive but, if I had that sort of cash, I'd buy one.

As far as I'm concerned the Optimus keyboard is the doggies danglies.

 

sorry but thats fugly!

id take the Logitech diNovo Edge over that any day

 

The thread topic tricked me into believing there was some optimus prime transformer accessory for my laptop but it's just some keyboard... talk about disappointing.

 

8 month waiting list for those who want it

So the first 200 thats been made have been sold but buyers wont get them until December... December!!!! what the hell??? lol

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/32131/135/

 

heh at that price you would think they would include one of them cool 20th anniversary optimus prime figures!

that would be cool but still wouldn't convince me to buy it

maybe it they had optimus AND fortress maximus

 

Hmm I could...but what's the point?

 

It's pretty nice...

Why couldn't they make it on a squishy touchpad screen or something..

I like comfort..