Asus Reveals the Eee Keyboard 312
El Lobo writes "Asus' success with its Eee line of netbooks might have come as a surprise, but the company is now determined to expand the Eee brand into every possible niche and form factor. Case in point: the insanely cool Eee Keyboard, which will surely bring a smile on the faces of those who remember the glory days of the home computer. Described as a fully functional PC with inset Qwerty key arrangement, the keyboard has a 5in touch screen that displays a suite of bespoke media controls or a Windows desktop."
Eee Keyboard (Score:5, Interesting)
Anyone else read the headline and think
"Finally, a new/good keyboard for the EEE netbook."
Re:Channeling Steve Jobs.... (Score:3, Interesting)
actualy there is a logical reason other thanstyle for a product like this.. given it's size and the goal of being light weight.. by spacing the keys out and allowing the upper frame to be solid accross the mid secion of the device allows the surface to he structural - there for allowing the bottom of it to be thiner and allowing the whole device to be thinner as you don't have to make room under the keyboard for support and you don't need heavy materials around the edges for support - caluse as soon as it flexes watch it die.
Re:Channeling Steve Jobs.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Ever use a really good keyboard, one with microswitch keys? The frame the keys are set in is totally solid. You can't make them all that thin, but this thing has even less reason for thinness than a laptop. The only reason to make it thin is style, and compromising ergonomics for style is exactly the problem I'm talking about.
Re:Not innovative; but slick enough, and really fu (Score:5, Interesting)
It doesn't look like much use as a laptop due to the tiny screen in an awkward place and lack of cover for the keyboard. A three hour battery life means it's not much use as a wireless keyboard. I suppose as a desktop PC it would be OK, but then why have the tiny additional screen and battery? They just make it larger and more expensive than it needs to be. Ditch the screen and battery and it might make for a cheap, compact desktop PC, but as it is I just don't see the point. On the other hand there are plenty of things I don't see the point of that are hugely popular, so what do I know?
More like VIC-TV (Score:5, Interesting)
It's more like the VIC-TV, a 1983 Commodore CES prototype. Picture at Secret Weapons of Commodore pages:
http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/ckb/secret/supervic.html [floodgap.com]
Re:Not innovative; but slick enough, and really fu (Score:3, Interesting)
A "universal remote control" app that runs on the little screen could be fun. Hold it end-on, tell the screen display to rotate 90 degrees, put little stickers over the columns of keys for your fifty favourite tv channels ...
A remote control that you'd never lose!
Re:Bam! Power Supply (Score:2, Interesting)
Seriously unless you plan on using this thing on the go there's no reason to rely on a battery.
Did you miss the part about it connecting wirelessly to your TV? That's the utility of having it run off battery. No product that requires power outlets in your couch is going to fly.
I don't really want to pay $99 for a dedicated Netflix box but if it could be used as a regular PC as well then that's more reasonable.
Again, you seem to have overlooked the clutter factor. If you want to watch Netflix streams on your TV, a dedicated box is a lot less hassle than connecting a PC. A hundred bucks (one should always round off these prices) is not a lot to pay for that kind of convenience factor. And the actual cost is offset by the fact that you don't have to buy the adapter hardware to connect your PC to your TV (or buy a PC with said hardware built in).
Let me guess, you refuse to buy a dedicated router, because you have an old PC running Linux that does the job just as well, right?
Re:Fond memories (Score:5, Interesting)
No of course not. Today's PCs and Macs can do Video Toaster like effects. Anyway....
The original Commodore Amiga 1000 could do preemptive multitasking with only 256 kilobytes of RAM. It was and still is very efficient with memory.
It is not limited to just one screen like a Mac or PC. The Amiga can do multiple screens with independent resolutions. So for example you could have a 720x480 screen for a DVD movie, a 320x200 screen to emulate an old Super Nintendo console, and a 1600x1200 screen for surfing the web. Being able to give each program its own full screen instead of being confined to windows is a much better computing environment.
It doesn't use a Microsoft OS. ;-)
Re:Fond memories (Score:3, Interesting)
Uh, like what? And please don't say Video Toaster.
Actually, I'm gonna have to say Video Toaster.
The last time I saw an Amiga in production usage was 2002, it was running Video Toaster for live production CG -- broadcast graphics, titles, etc.
I scratched my head, but I was told that it was one of the only cost-effective products out there for low-budget productions. The few hardware CGs I used at the time I found to be extremely confining, and I ended up liking Video Toaster more.
Re:Wrist wreckers (Score:3, Interesting)
you should be resting the butt of your hand on them, not your wrist.
You shouldn't be resting any part of your hand on them. If you can't hold your hand level in the plane of the keyboard using your arm muscles, without straining them, you need to get more exercise. And no, you're not "still pumped from using the mouse".
If you're suffering from carpal tunnel [...]
No, I have ulnar nerve damage. There are many kinds of RSI, CTS is only one of them... and other forms of RSI are often misdiagnosed at CTS.