Tag Archives: keyboards

Absolem DIY mechanical keyboard mixes class and geekiness in a handsome wooden package

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Computer keyboards have remained unchanged over the decades, utilizing the same standard layout with very little variation. Of course, there have been attempts to change the general shape of the keyboard, including split forms designed to improve ergonomics, but the number of keys sometimes remains the same. There are also times, however, when creative people think outside the box and go to town with new concepts and experiments. Those often end up looking unpolished or straight out of a sci-fi show prop, but this eye-catching butterfly-shaped keyboard won’t look out of place on a minimalist wooden workspace.

Designer: Dénes Bán

The designer, a software engineer by profession and modder by hobby, initially wanted to create something that would have ended up looking completely different. The ultimate goal was to have a reduced number of keys, 36 in total, plus a few extra keys that would allow switching between letters, symbols, and function keys. At first, he settled on a “3D” design that had those extra keys hidden underneath an elevated surface for the split 36 keys.

That, however, didn’t pan out, and the modder realized that his needs and situation were better served by a uni-body keyboard instead. Still sticking to the same idea, however, he ditched the typical “ergonomic” keyboard format but still kept the split layout, ending up with a form that looked like a butterfly. That wasn’t by accident, though, since he already chose the name “Absolem” for the keyboard after the character from Alice in Wonderland.

As always, the building process was actually shorter than the designing and prototyping stages. Despite the wooden exterior, the Absolem keyboard uses plenty of plastic and electronics, including neoprene, so it’s not exactly a sustainable design. That said, it also has a good amount of wood and steel, so not everything has a negative impact on the environment.

The creator’s acute attention to detail is what you’d expect from professional modders, but his taste in materials and design does set him above his peers. The end result is an intriguing and beautiful mechanical keyboard that almost looks like a part of some fantasy or steampunk world. The ergonomics of such a design is probably a bit questionable, but it’s hopefully not worse than traditional keyboards, which are seemingly non-ergonomic by design.

The post Absolem DIY mechanical keyboard mixes class and geekiness in a handsome wooden package first appeared on Yanko Design.

Honeycomb-inspired keyboard and mouse combo hits our wishlist

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Biomimicry and design are closely knitted together – like we’ve seen countless times in the last century or so. Creating nature-inspired accessories has a huge set of merits in functionality and of course visual appeal. So why not have a honeybee-inspired keyboard and mouse combo that promotes a productive work regime?

Alexandre Touguet has enchanted us with his mindful designs in the past, and this time around another one of his creations has caught our attention. An uber-cool keyboard that instantly evokes the memories of spotting a honeybee colony in the wilderness. To complement the accessory, a mouse in bee-inspired patterns is something I’ll take with both hands, any day. The biomimicry in the form of a hexagonal-shaped geometric pattern falls perfectly in place like Lego pieces – fitting the keyboard keys like a charm. This leaves me thinking, why hasn’t this cool peripheral been on the market before.

Designer: Alexandre Touguet

According to the designer, the idea of creating this chic keyboard and mouse has a more deep-rooted link. Alexander pondered over the declining population of honeybees across the planet due to human-induced activities. Considering how important bees are to the overall balance of the ecology, Alexander wants to bring this awareness through everyday objects. The logical solution – create a keyboard and mouse combo that closely resembles the honeycomb structure, exemplified by the use of colors. Most people spend a lot of time in front of the screen, so it makes complete sense to instill the seed of subconscious awareness about bee conservation.

The key layout on the keyboard replicates the beehive structure for a very different sensory experience in daily use. That honey-colored Spacebar, Enter and Escape button have me already going crazy. Combine that with the complementing mouse with an irresistible orange-colored scroll button, and this is a guaranteed hit product when ultimately it hits the market. The designer imagines the combo to be primarily a wireless offering with the option to connect it via wired connection too when the internal battery runs out.

The post Honeycomb-inspired keyboard and mouse combo hits our wishlist first appeared on Yanko Design.

You can “Air Type” on this tactile keyboard with inflated key caps

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Ah! Look at that keyboard! When the world is transitioning toward a smart future where a mechanical keyboard with a built-in LED screen will rule the roost, a designer dares to give us a cushioning of air bubbles to type on. When I think of laying my finger on this keyboard, I’m hopeful it’ll start popping up like bubble wrap and that would be overly satisfying.

Anyway, that’s nothing like what the Air Type – yes, that’s what it is called – intends to achieve. The tactile keyboard comes with inflated, bouncy keycaps that should be a satisfying experience, not for popping, but to type for long hours. Suddenly the keys on my Dell laptop are hurting my fingertips. I don’t have the leisure to order the Air Type in and continue this article, but hopefully Running Guy Studio will pull off the design to fruition in my lifetime.

Designer: Running Guy Studio

This is not the studio’s first attempt at toiling with an inflated design. They’ve tried to inflate a PlayStation controller and near perfected an Air Case for smartphones. The airtight, inflatable lining for smartphones can protect the device during falls and is super tactile and pleasing to work with. After improving and optimizing that inflatable phone case to produce a couple of worthy copies; Running Guy has found the keyboard as the third best option to try the inflation technique.

From the renders of it, the keyboard looks intriguing to type on with each individual inflatable key. The concern of bubbles popping up with each menacing thud on the keys, still looms in my mind. But hopefully, issues with usability, quality, and reliability have been addressed and we shouldn’t bother; instead, we should see this as a stepping stone for the future where like our jackets and tents, electronics will also be inflatable!

The post You can “Air Type” on this tactile keyboard with inflated key caps first appeared on Yanko Design.

Stunning Pokémon Keycaps Are Like Tiny Worlds Inside Your Keys

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Crafted by artist and Etsy seller Hirosart, these custom Pokémon keycaps feature miniature worlds inside your keys. Not satisfied with just the pocket monsters alone, Hirosart creates tiny landscapes that reflect the areas in which the Pokémon live. How about that! Thank goodness I don’t own any, or I’d get so lost staring at my keys I’d never get anything written. It’s already hard enough, and my keyboard is missing keys.

Individual Pokémon keycaps start at around $50 apiece and go up from there depending on key size, with a spacebar running around $174. They’re certainly not the cheapest keys, but they’re definitely some of the most stunning. And can you really put a price on pounding your Charizard return key to send a particularly fiery email to someone? I would argue not.

I just bought a set not realizing they wouldn’t be compatible with my laptop keyboard because I don’t think about these things, I just get excited, grab my wife’s credit card, and spend. Now I need to buy a separate keyboard in order to use them and, wouldn’t you know, I accidentally bought a musical keyboard instead! She’s going to kill me.

[via Kotaku]

Mars Rover Curiosity Keyboard Wrist Rest Is Out of This World

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Space: according to Star Trek, is the final frontier. And I learned everything I know from watching Star Trek, most importantly of which is always keep someone in a red shirt between you and an enemy’s phaser. But how can we pay homage to our current space exploration? Enter this Curiosity Rover wrist rest available from Vietnam-based Moon Key. Wait – where are all the aliens?

Available for $99, the wrist rest comes in five different widths to accommodate any keyboard and features a hand-painted Curiosity Rover cruising along the rocky surface of the red planet. I’m tempted to buy one, knowing full well it’s going to be hard to get any work done while constantly getting lost daydreaming about space exploration and making rocket ship noises at my desk.

As far as preventing wrist strain, there’s no question it beats my current wrist rest, which is none at all. Unfortunately, the strain causes my hands to cramp and requires me to take regular breaks from typing. Plus, my keyboard is missing keys, and I have to copy and paste certain characters from a notepad document I keep open on my desktop. Honestly, I should probably buy a book on productivity. You know, something to rest my coffee on.

MelGeek Mojo68 Transparent Mechanical Keyboard: I See Value

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If you’re looking for a great entry point to the colorful, thoccy, and expensive world of mechanical keyboards, keep an eye out for MelGeek’s upcoming Mojo68. It’s a stylish and fully assembled 60% mechanical keyboard with a transparent plastic chassis, gasket-mounted components, RGB backlighting, and wired and wireless connectivity options.

The Mojo68’s biggest appeal is obviously its look. Its chassis comes in six colors, each with a matching set of keycaps. I like that the keycaps aren’t palette-swaps and actually have varied designs. There’s something for almost everyone.  As expected, the keyboard is programmable and has a hot-swap PCB. Inside you’ll find silicon and poron dampening pads as well as a plate, so you’ve got plenty of ways to tune its sound. The keyboard can be connected via USB, Bluetooth 5.1, and what I’m assuming will be a USB dongle as the third option.

MelGeek says it will soon launch a Kickstarter fundraiser for the Mojo68. You can leave your email at the company’s website to get notified when the fundraiser goes live. You can also put down a $1 (USD) deposit to avail of the limited pledge tier that will get you the Mojo68 as a reward for only $149, a $99 discount from its final retail price.

Theoryboard MIDI Controller Has a Whopping 96 Buttons: Every Row Has Its Chord

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Most MIDI controllers mimic the appearance or at least the arrangement of notes in a piano. Irijule’s massive Theoryboard on the other hand features 96 LED-lit pads arranged in two columns with four rows each. The left column lets you play chords, while the right column lets you play melodies. The sheer number of pads means you have access to all 12 chromatic notes at once, letting you experiment while mostly guiding you into creating pleasing progressions and combinations.

Aside from the pads, the Theoryboard also has 24 buttons at the top for switching scales and a touch-sensitive OLED screen in the middle for toggling or adjusting various features. Here’s a review by YouTuber loopop:

Aside from loopop’s criticism about the quality of the pads and buttons, one commenter also mentioned that the Theoryboard doesn’t come with a manual, which is confounding for a device that is not only unorthodox but is supposedly geared towards beginners. Still, it’s undoubtedly an innovative and feature-rich controller that even veteran composers and producers can enjoy. You can pre-order the Theoryboard from Irijule for $699 (USD) as of this writing, which is a large discount from its eventual retail price of $1,199.

These Colorful Keyboards Add Pizzazz to Your Desktop

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When it comes to computer keyboards, they usually come in boring colors like black, white, or grey. And their keys are almost always square. If you’re looking for something a little more vibrant, then you might want to grab one of these colorful keyboards I spotted on Amazon (affiliate link).

UBOTIE’s wireless keyboards sell for about $60, and come in various shades of purple, blue, green, pink, and red. With their circular keys, they kind of remind me of those lipstick displays you see at department stores. You know, the ones that are always missing that one color you’re looking for? Or that’s been worn down to a nub?

If these keyboards aren’t colorful enough for you, each one comes with a color-matched wireless mouse too. The keyboards and mice run on a 2.4Ghz wireless connection and work with Windows or Mac OS computers. While they do make a blue keyboard, they don’t support Bluetooth, so don’t expect to use one of these with your mobile devices.

I suppose if you’re really into fashion and makeup, you could buy all five of these and color-coordinate your keyboard and mouse with your outfit each day. Though for me, that would mean my basic black keyboard is already perfect.

 

The HyperX Alloy Origins 60 is a small-but-mighty gaming keyboard

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Maybe it’s because our homes are feeling increasingly cramped, but 60 percent keyboards seem to be coming into vogue. Those are decks that not only lack a number pad, but also jettison all the function keys and miscellanea like the “scroll lock” and...

Gaming accessories that can make your setup a lot cuter

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Even as more casual players have taken up the hobby and more wholesome titles have flooded the market, video gaming still has an aura of aggressiveness around it. Which is reflected in popular series like Call of Duty, but also in the accessories peo...