(no subject)

[summercomfort]

There should totally be a touchpad keyboard. I'm sure there's a market out there for absolutely silent typing, especially in classrooms and swanky places. I mean, laptops have a touchpad for which different areas can be configured via software to do different things. "hotspots", they're called. Now imagine if the keyboard area is a gigantic touchpad, which each key being a "hotspot". Now you can type just by hitting the hotspots! To make it even cooler, imagine if there's some sort of lighting system underneath to label the keys. A simple one would just be "LED light through a letter-shaped hole", but a cool one can make it really easy to switch keyboards and suchlike. Regardless, from there, it is a simple step to converting the touchpad keyboard into a tablet. Just push a button to turn off the backlight and make it sensitive to a stylus. Voila!

This comes from wanting to take notes in class with a computer because it makes searching easier later, and because I type faster than I write, but it's so embarrassingly annoying in classes with 20 people or less, which is like, all but one of my classes. >_<;;

Add:
1) If you want to maintain some feel of border between the keys, I would recommend getting the optional soft plastic keyboard cover
2) the touchpad tablet will not replace a wacom, as it does not have umpteenth million levels of sensitivity, only 2 - 5, and it won't be able to handle Tilt.

Comments

[illuminatedwax.livejournal.com]

http://www.electronickeyboards.com/silent-keyboards.html

Figured that they'd already exist...

[summercomfort]

well, they need to make 'em cheaper and for laptops. I don't give a damn about customizing the background and whatnot, but I want 'em silent! And what's with the "mousepad region" being so small?

[lalainyourface.livejournal.com]

there is something like that you know.
But I think its beyond your budget, if you have one

[night-watch.livejournal.com]

There's this thing (http://www.artlebedev.com/portfolio/optimus/) too, if you haven't seen it yet. Unfortunately this won't see the light of day for years, if it ever will, but it's a cool idea nonetheless.

[satyreyes.livejournal.com]

WAAAAAAAI!

[summercomfort]

d00d, that *is* cool. I especially like the Photoshop buttons (although by now I have most of them memorized, like [R] is the BluR/Sharpen/Smudge tool, [G] is the Gradient/Fill tool, etc.

<-- dork.

[eptified.livejournal.com]

By far my favorite element of that is that they have someone in the design team credited for "laying on of hands".

[conejita.livejournal.com]

yes! the optimus but without buttons and it should be thin like a thick piece of paper and be foldable/rollable. but personally I'd need edges or at least f/j bumps.. hmm wacom should be an extension to the right and it should all cost <$500 :DDD ok maybe we shoot for the optimus keyboard existing in the first place.

[absolutsauron.livejournal.com]

http://www.alpern.org/weblog/stories/2003/01/09/projectionKeyboards.html
not a sheet, but still...

[conejita.livejournal.com]

waaa!!! so cool!

[summercomfort]

hey, that's pretty darn impressive! Problem with that is inconsistent typing surface.