Blank Keyboard?
Jul 28, 2006 1:31:56 GMT -5
Post by Lamron on Jul 28, 2006 1:31:56 GMT -5
I came across this while doing some random surfing: www.daskeyboard.com/daskeyboard.php
Its a completely blank keyboard. At first I thought it was a silly novelty, but at second look I thought maybe the idea has some merit?
Supposedly it will actually increase your typing speed. Maybe, but only if you are losing time looking at your keys now. It may help some people who can type, but can't resist an occasional glance down. Hunt-and-peck typists will be totally lost.
I was curious, but not $70 worth of curious. However, I do have an old nasty dirty keyboard laying around from a computer carcass that I keep to salvage parts off of. So I decided to try making my own.
I completely tore down the keyboard to every individual part, so I could put all of them in the kitchen sink and wash them with dish soap.
I learned a few things about keyboards. First, you will NEVER have to worry about wearing the lettering off the keys. I don't know what they are applied with, but I couldn't find any solvent that would do anything but make the key clean. Whatever these keys are printed with, its durable. I ended up having to sandpaper the markings off.
If individually sanding 101 keys with 220 grit and 600 grit paper seems like a big task, it is. Its one of those things you just do while watching TV or something where your hands are usually idle anyway. Just do one row per evening, and it will seem like nothing.
Secondly, a keyboard is not lost if you spill something in it. If you pour something onto your keyboard, immediately unplug it. If you take it COMPLETELY apart, you can clean it out. The way the insides are made, liquid can't do any real damage, it just prevents some keys from registering or makes several keys seem like they are being held down. You'd have to actually submerge the whole thing to ruin the circuit board hiding behind the NUM/CAP/SCROLL lock lights.
So here's what I have now:
The sanding process removed the tiny bumps that are on the F,J,5 keys. Since I'm completely going by touch alone, those are important. I used a soldiering iron to melt a little bump on those keys.
I figured there would be some adjustment period before getting used to being forced to remember where all the keys are. In the interest of fully testing it, I took a couple of on-line typing tests before and after. I usually type ~40 wpm if copying something, and a little faster if its my own writing (like this post typed on this blank keyboard).
I was a little surprised to find that the blank keys made absolutely no difference at all in typing speed or accuracy. Apparently, I wasn't ever looking at the keys anyway. Your mileage may vary.
Conclusion:
Pros:
- Can be very annoying to others trying to use your computer.
- Uber-geek coolness factor VERY high. Impress your friends!
- May help some people to improve their typing speed.
Cons:
- Can be very annoying to others trying to use your computer.
- If you're not already a decently good typist, you'll end up throwing it out a window.
- Too expensive for a basic no-frills keyboard. Should cost ~$25.
- A bit of work to do yourself, but might be worth it.
If you want to give it a try without all the work or $$, you can cover the keys with little stickers. There are places that sell the stickers just for this purpose. It won't look as nice, and they'll wear off, but its enough to let you see if you like it before going further.
Its a completely blank keyboard. At first I thought it was a silly novelty, but at second look I thought maybe the idea has some merit?
Supposedly it will actually increase your typing speed. Maybe, but only if you are losing time looking at your keys now. It may help some people who can type, but can't resist an occasional glance down. Hunt-and-peck typists will be totally lost.
I was curious, but not $70 worth of curious. However, I do have an old nasty dirty keyboard laying around from a computer carcass that I keep to salvage parts off of. So I decided to try making my own.
I completely tore down the keyboard to every individual part, so I could put all of them in the kitchen sink and wash them with dish soap.
I learned a few things about keyboards. First, you will NEVER have to worry about wearing the lettering off the keys. I don't know what they are applied with, but I couldn't find any solvent that would do anything but make the key clean. Whatever these keys are printed with, its durable. I ended up having to sandpaper the markings off.
If individually sanding 101 keys with 220 grit and 600 grit paper seems like a big task, it is. Its one of those things you just do while watching TV or something where your hands are usually idle anyway. Just do one row per evening, and it will seem like nothing.
Secondly, a keyboard is not lost if you spill something in it. If you pour something onto your keyboard, immediately unplug it. If you take it COMPLETELY apart, you can clean it out. The way the insides are made, liquid can't do any real damage, it just prevents some keys from registering or makes several keys seem like they are being held down. You'd have to actually submerge the whole thing to ruin the circuit board hiding behind the NUM/CAP/SCROLL lock lights.
So here's what I have now:
The sanding process removed the tiny bumps that are on the F,J,5 keys. Since I'm completely going by touch alone, those are important. I used a soldiering iron to melt a little bump on those keys.
I figured there would be some adjustment period before getting used to being forced to remember where all the keys are. In the interest of fully testing it, I took a couple of on-line typing tests before and after. I usually type ~40 wpm if copying something, and a little faster if its my own writing (like this post typed on this blank keyboard).
I was a little surprised to find that the blank keys made absolutely no difference at all in typing speed or accuracy. Apparently, I wasn't ever looking at the keys anyway. Your mileage may vary.
Conclusion:
Pros:
- Can be very annoying to others trying to use your computer.
- Uber-geek coolness factor VERY high. Impress your friends!
- May help some people to improve their typing speed.
Cons:
- Can be very annoying to others trying to use your computer.
- If you're not already a decently good typist, you'll end up throwing it out a window.
- Too expensive for a basic no-frills keyboard. Should cost ~$25.
- A bit of work to do yourself, but might be worth it.
If you want to give it a try without all the work or $$, you can cover the keys with little stickers. There are places that sell the stickers just for this purpose. It won't look as nice, and they'll wear off, but its enough to let you see if you like it before going further.
But besides the big end vs. little end of the egg discussion we're having here, it seems to me you're missing my humor in all of these type discussions. I know I won't get anyone necessarily to switch (though Lost Child tried to buy a used Mac mini and Woody was kind of sort of maybe thinking about it at one time, as I remember), so I'm not fully serious in many of the discussions, I just enjoy pointing out the situation with some fun or clever words, or illustrating absurdity with absurdity, as Rush says. ;D