"But, beyond all that, this keyboard looks cool--and, in the end, isn't that what really counts?"
Nobody has yet invented a keyboard that looks more impressive in real life than the IBM Model M w/ trackpoint in "stealth black". It doesn't come through so well in pictures, but up close it makes every single other keyboard look like an absolute child's toy.
Not only that, but nobody has yet invented a better alternative to the old buckling spring mechanism.
I've got a non-black Model M (the black ones are still around $100 if you can find one), and I don't see anything that these "gaming keyboards" offer that's a real improvement. Being able to disable the Windows key? My keyboard has no stinkin' Windows key! How's that for a solution to that problem? I don't see how an LCD screen is going to help anybody either - it just forces you to take your eyes off the screen. Which, against the guys I play against (when I do play online), could easily mean the difference between life and death. If the LCD is just duplicating stuff that's on-screen anyway, how is it anything other than a gimmick?
$80 for this seems to me to put this in the realm of "overpriced hunk of cheap plastic".
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 1:36AM
"But, beyond all that, this keyboard looks cool--and, in the end, isn't that what really counts?"
Nobody has yet invented a keyboard that looks more impressive in real life than the IBM Model M w/ trackpoint in "stealth black". It doesn't come through so well in pictures, but up close it makes every single other keyboard look like an absolute child's toy.
Not only that, but nobody has yet invented a better alternative to the old buckling spring mechanism.
I've got a non-black Model M (the black ones are still around $100 if you can find one), and I don't see anything that these "gaming keyboards" offer that's a real improvement. Being able to disable the Windows key? My keyboard has no stinkin' Windows key! How's that for a solution to that problem? I don't see how an LCD screen is going to help anybody either - it just forces you to take your eyes off the screen. Which, against the guys I play against (when I do play online), could easily mean the difference between life and death. If the LCD is just duplicating stuff that's on-screen anyway, how is it anything other than a gimmick?
$80 for this seems to me to put this in the realm of "overpriced hunk of cheap plastic".