**UPDATE** Crazy, Sexy, Cool Keyboard "Optimus" - Demo Unit Ready for Preorder!

Ecofreak

Ecofreak

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Updated: February 3rd, 2006

There a small prototype available for pre-order.

Cost: $100

optimus-mini-34.jpg


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Updated: January 10th, 2006

I appears that the Optimus Keyboard so many of us have been :drool: over is coming out next month! Looks like it's not just a dream, after all. The article didn't mention anything about where you could buy it, although I'm assuming direct from the company that makes it. Here's the most important paragraph:

[quote name='Article']The Art Lebedev Studio's website states that the Optimus keyboard should cost less than a "good mobile phone". With phones costing $600 or more these days, this doesn't give us much of an indication. but Rebello says the cost for materials for just the LEDs won't be high. "Assuming they buy it in large volume, the BoM (bill of materials) shouldn't be more than one dollar per key," says Robello. From this perspective, the keyboard could cost less than $300.[/QUOTE]

Here's the Article: http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/01/10/optimus_annoucement_feb1/

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Lifted from Slashdot.com:

"What appears to be a Russian design company has on their website a keyboard in which the keys are using OLED to display what function the keys represent. The product is Art. Lebedev Studio's Optimus Keyboard. The uses of this could be amazing. They have pictures of layouts for Photoshop and Quake, as well as a QWERTY and Russian. Here's hoping that this will make it to a production model and not just a design model."

Link: http://www.artlebedev.com/portfolio/optimus/

I personally have little need for this, but it's looks tooooo sweet. :drool:
 
That's freaking awesome. If it ever came out I'd hack it apart for the technology to show the different configurations for my Mame cab... of course I'd need someone to hack it for me because I don't know anything about it...
 
[quote name='ryanbph']very cool, no need for it though[/QUOTE]

We're gamers. We don't need 10 consoles and 1000 games. We just want them, so we get them.
 
[quote name='Kayden']We're gamers. We don't need 10 consoles and 1000 games. We just want them, so we get them.[/QUOTE]

yeah, I totally agree. It looks sweet therefore we must have it. You don't need anything except maybe some food and water and a place to sleep when the weather is bad and oh yeah probably a toilet or something - but a hole in the ground would probably work OK or maybe if you were west of NY and east of LA you could shit in the woods or whatever people out there usually do.
 
[quote name='Deadpool']Wow that thing has got to be a huge power sucker too![/QUOTE]

Versus a standard keyboard, yea. But over all, itd say it draws less power than a router or even speakers.
 
Blah, its a traditional styled keyboard...those cramp my hands. I'm fine with my split, ergonomical keyboard...soo much comfortable
 
[quote name='SolidSnakeX99']Damn, so I guess I can't use the old m - n switcharoo and confuse my co-workers anymore??!![/QUOTE]


You can do far worse than that. Write a program that makes the letters move from key to key. Oh no, my keyboard has a virus, lol.
 
[quote name='Oxy_Gen']Blah, its a traditional styled keyboard...those cramp my hands. I'm fine with my split, ergonomical keyboard...soo much comfortable[/QUOTE]

Pansy. Take carpel tunnel like a man!
 
[quote name='Oxy_Gen']Blah, its a traditional styled keyboard...those cramp my hands. I'm fine with my split, ergonomical keyboard...soo much comfortable[/QUOTE]

Ergonomic crap actually makes my wrists hurt....
 
[quote name='guessed']You can do far worse than that. Write a program that makes the letters move from key to key. Oh no, my keyboard has a virus, lol.[/QUOTE]

Heh that really is bad a, but then as you pointed out, there would be viruses and what not that could be transmited to your keyboard... it could be sweet though, because each key is a screen, they could form together to make one big picture. Like a cock for example...
 
[quote name='Oxy_Gen']Blah, its a traditional styled keyboard...those cramp my hands. I'm fine with my split, ergonomical keyboard...soo much comfortable[/QUOTE]
Take a look at the FAQ on the site:

Some day it will be split ('ergonomic')
Click to expand...

Now what do you think? :)
 
I wonder if it changes to what you bind it to ingame or if you have to set it in another program.
[quote name='Ledhed']This is what the Z-Board manufacturers never realized: nobody wants to manually change the keybinds.



Too fucking cool.[/QUOTE]
 
[quote name='Kayden']I wonder if it changes to what you bind it to ingame or if you have to set it in another program.[/QUOTE]

I could only hope that it does it automatically, since I almost never use the default keybinds. I'll never understand people who use C for crouch.
 
Yeah, it's cool until the displays crap out on you or they tell you what will definitely be a $200 price tag for a freakin keyboard.

No thanks.
 
[quote name='Ledhed']I could only hope that it does it automatically, since I almost never use the default keybinds. I'll never understand people who use C for crouch.[/QUOTE]

Surely you don't both strafe right AND crouch. :roll:

What really pisses me off is how you can't run forward and strafe left. If you have Shift for run and you try to hold W+A+shift you get a system beep. :evil: You can run forward and strafe right though.
 
[quote name='Kayden']What really pisses me off is how you can't run forward and strafe left. If you have Shift for run and you try to hold W+A+shift you get a system beep. :evil: You can run forward and strafe right though.[/QUOTE]

I don't hear a sound when I press those 3 keys. And that's exactly why I bind it there; so that my other fingers don't have to leave WASD to crouch.
 
[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']too bad it couldnt be wireless. It would eat batteries like a fat person eats other fat people, only to become the highlander[/QUOTE]
No. It would use more than a traditional wireless keyboard, but OLEDs have very low power consumption. If you had a conducive recharging mat, i'm sure you could get a few days out of a rechargable battery.
 
For those too lazy to look up the FAQs:

"It's in initial stage of production

We hope it will be released in 2006

It will cost less than a good mobile phone

It will be real

It will be OS-independent (at least it can work in some default state with any OS)

It will support any language or layout

Moscow is the capital of Russia

Each key could be programmed to produce any sequence

It will be an open-source keyboard, SDK will be available

Some day it will be split ('ergonomic')

It will most likely use OLED technology (e-paper is sooo slow)

Our studio is located two blocks from the Kremlin

It will feature a key-saver

Keys will use animation when needed

It has numeric keypad because we love it

There's no snow in Moscow during Summer

It will be available worldwide (why not?)

OEM will be possible (why not?) "

As hot as this item is, how many times are you actually going to look down at your keyboard as your working and gaming? It's like having a CD deck in your car with dancing people - they're hella cool but deadly to look at when you're driving.

Unless, of course, you're godly.
 
[quote name='Ecofreak']

As hot as this item is, how many times are you actually going to look down at your keyboard as your working and gaming? It's like having a CD deck in your car with dancing people - they're hella cool but deadly to look at when you're driving.

Unless, of course, you're godly.[/QUOTE]

Sometimes when your mind goes blank you have to look at the keyboard. this will actually show you a grenade instead of a letter you need to remember.
 
[quote name='Kayden']Sometimes when your mind goes blank you have to look at the keyboard. this will actually show you a grenade instead of a letter you need to remember.[/QUOTE]

I suppose that's true. I just keep dying until the keys finally enter my motor memory. ;)
 
I want it.. really bad. Just seems fucking awesome. The adobe layout just gets me happy. Of course gaming use is great, but damn this keyboard is sweet.
 
[quote name='crystalklear64']Heh that really is bad a, but then as you pointed out, there would be viruses and what not that could be transmited to your keyboard... [/QUOTE]

What makes you think this thing would be susceptible to viruses. Viruses are more or less only written and distributed to harm things that are widely distributed and used (like windows ect...). If this thing does get released how many people do you know that are willing to drop $300+ on a keyboard? The idea of this thing even "getting infected" just makes me laugh, it is just a keyboard with 100+ little monitors on it and as far as I can tell neither my keyboard or monitor has ever gotten a virus. Furthermore I am sure 99% of the work to display the images and maintain keyboard functionality and whatnot will be done by the pc. Even if some sort of executable file did make it onto the keyboard as a disguised image file the keyboard probably wouldn't be able to do anything with it and just display some sort of default picture.
 
[quote name='javeryh']That's freaking awesome. If it ever came out I'd hack it apart for the technology to show the different configurations for my Mame cab... of course I'd need someone to hack it for me because I don't know anything about it...[/QUOTE]

That last sentence is so great given teh first part.

I am curious to know a price this is sweet.
 
I got to thinking about this keyboard and any other applications that this technology can be used for and thought of one, Nintendo Revolution. Anyone think this may be something Nintendo will be using on their new controller? Maybe a series of buttons on the controller and only the ones used for the particular game light up... When playing NES games for instance, the 2 gameplay buttons light up red to look like the NES contoller buttons. Or a game like Pikmin, which Myamoto just said would be perfect for the Revolution controller interface... Maybe the buttons light up to match the color of the Pikmin on screen. You can then select your Pikmin by using their given button on the controller... Remember all the talk of a screen on the controller? Maybe... OK, maybe not, but just a thought...
 
[quote name='Vinny']Damn, I want one of these... but I'm betting it's pretty pricy.[/QUOTE]

I've heard somewhere that it should cost $300 - 500.
 
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