Okay... I was hunting around the 'net for a new keyboard (found an old "Dell" keyboard new for 4 bucks at Directron... I love the old, non-ergernomically correct boards), in the process, I found some fairly strange stuff!

All of these are available at Directron.com

First on the list:



Datahand Ergonomical Keyboard
COST: $995.00 (there is another version for the low, low price of $1,225.00)

Yep, this is probably the future for keyboards... if they can survive a price tag that friggin' high before the come down to affordable for the common guy!

Basically the deal is you never have to move your hands, all the keys are set up QWERTY, but they're in reach of all the fingies on your hands.




EluminX Illuminated Keyboard
Cost: $95.00

Yep, it's been mentioned before, but it's available now! Your genuine glow-in-the-dark keyboard! Although modders have been doin' this for awhile, this one does provide fairly decent light...



Black Crystal Optical Mouse
Cost: $19.00

Is it just me... or is this one of the coolest mice you've seen? Still... no buttons (rocking action) might get kind of annoying...

Maybe it's just the blue lights in a clear shell... but that is pretty sweet looking!



Kensington Black Pocketmouse Pro
Cost: $36.00

Yes... this mouse has a retractable USB cord! I guess it's the middleground for those folks who want wireless, but don't wanna keep worrying about batteries and signal...



Digital Persona U.are.U Keyboard.
Cost: $189.00

Yes... this keyboard has fingerprint verification built right into it! Biometrics, here we come!

I've got that black crystal optical mouse.. once you get used to the rocking, it's actually a lot more comfortable to use than a regular mouse, at least in my experience. And with a little practice, I'm fragging as good as I ever was (which, granted, was not that great to begin with) in all my FPS games with this mouse. It just takes some getting used to.

Oddly enough, tho, I never see myself switching to one of those new-fangled ergonomically correct keyboards. I have a fairly powerful Athlon XP 2200+ machine, with a GF4, that crazy crystal mouse without any buttons, lights all over the place.. but my keyboard is an old (like, mid-to-late 80's old, I beleive) Tandy keyboard that weighs around 10 pounds and is made of some mix of ultra hard plastic and stainless steel. The keys make the most satisfying CLICK sound when you hit them, and unlike the old Gateway pretty-boy keyboard I used to have that quit on me after 3 months of use, this thing has survived nearly 20 years of constant use and abuse, sodas spilled on it, entire meals eaten over it, being carried to and from LAN parties, being used to club baby seals.. That Tandy keyboard is going with me to my grave, man.

Edit: w00t, 50th post at long last! Ph34r my custom avatar!

Here are a few more that ive found dark




THis one adjusts to about any angle you please


And lets not forget the keyboard for out sight impaired older members, i wont mention any names

One more that i had to add



Its called the Orb Touch, Keyless keyboard........letter and numbers are made, by assessing certain positions with the orbs.

Quote: The orbiTouch™ keyless keyboard is a revolutionary input device comprised of two domes upon which the hands comfortably rest and includes an integrated mouse that totally eliminates the need for finger and wrist motion, two major causes of repetitive strain injuries. Each dome slides into one of eight positions from a central resting point, much like the eight major positions on a compass (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W & NW). An orbiTouch™ slide guide is included to show the various combinations of dome positions used to create all of the different alpha and numeric characters of a conventional keyboard. Initial results indicated that users were able to type at 52% of their regular keyboard speed in as little as five hours. The orbiTouch™ keyboard can be a viable solution for anyone suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, repetitive strain injuries or double extremity disabilities.

dont forget the new rollupable keyboards...theyre like made of gel-like material its crazy...lemme look http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...?sku=I136-1020 there it is....weird

pockets: I saw one of those at my local Radio Shack for like $15. I played around with it, almost bought it until I realized I really had no use for it. It feels really starnge, but I found I could type on it about as fast as on a normal keyboard, it just felt really strange, because the keys give almost no feedback when you hit them.. and since I'm used to my old Tandy Tank (see above) that emits a ground shaking CLICK on each keypress, well, it was just too strange. I might end up getting one eventually just for the looks I'd get at the next LAN party, tho.

Damn! Thanks guys, I didn't realize there were quite so many oddities!

Cool!

http://www.fingerworks.com/

i forgot this one...it looks pretty darn spiffy....
touch sensitive so there no tactile feedback really, and also uses gestures for many things, even the mouse. they even have gaming mode its pretty weird...looks cool.....would pay the price though, toooooo much money for a keyboard

Insomniac posted this link a while back that has all sorts of oddball keyboards and a few mice. a lot were designed for handicapped people, like only one hand, etc, but i definately wouldn't mind getting a few of them.


i'd really like to try out this 7-key keyboard they have there. each letter/number is a combination of the seven keys, one for each finger and three for the thumb. left or right handed.


i may actually get one of the Touchstream ones with a DVORAK keymap. they look nice and i would definately like a silent keyboard, but for $320, i can wait. combines a mouse, keyboard and gesture recognition on the same surface. i like.

[edit] fix link and realized i never mentioned the pimp "mice" out there



the Mindmouse which reads the movement of facsial muscles as keystrokes and mouse clicks and the Headmouse (see below) which uses a small disposable dot on the forehead to detect where the user is looking. software adds an onscreen keyboard and the sensor on the monitor detects where they are looking. look too long and it clicks (or types if you are looking at the keyboard). kinda interrestig. thye could take that further and it could be really damned cool.



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[edit 2] stupid links [/edit 2]

And dont forget the keyboard made specially for our people using Windows ME

wonder if we can get that in a usb interface...

i'm trying to mod it to use bluetooth

lol yeah ME is a bitch... tho somehow my friend managed to get it running fine on his comp, no crashing or anything. then again, maybe that was shortlived... it is screwed now...