Optimus 103 Keyboard: driver free for portabilitee

It's hard work to keep the juices flowing for a product whose design struck our Pavlovian bell more than a year ago. Especially when all we're getting is a picture of a single, non-OLED prototype key released just last week. That (LCD?) key will hopefully, someday, replicate itself a la the grey goo and become the Optimus 103 keyboard, you know, the wireless slab which features 113 103 contextual keys which can be mapped to different functions within applications or simply act as animated, informational widgets. We've just learned that the device will appear to your system as a USB mass storage device with all those custom mappings stored right in the keyboard. That should allow you to take the keyboard anywhere, to any PC, with your application specific layouts in tow without the need to install any pesky drivers. Promises, promises. *blots mouth*

[Via SlashGear]

[Wunch_of_Bankers @ Nov 3rd 2006 8:30AM]

I love the smell of VAPOR in the morning!

[wraith808 @ Nov 3rd 2006 10:28AM]

Isn't the mini-3 shipping? and if it is, that pretty much doesn't make it totally vapor, right?

[Alex Padilla @ Nov 3rd 2006 8:39AM]

Such a good concept, but I agree with the guy above me. There's a fog in the air right now, and it's coming from the Optimus...

..."Phantom," anyone?

[Hitesh Sawlani @ Nov 3rd 2006 8:49AM]

There is clearly lots of demand for this "product"... Other cheap knockoffs should come in and make a bundle whilst they still can

[Tuna @ Nov 3rd 2006 9:09AM]

I have always wondered why they haven't made something like this before ... partially. And LCD on 103 keys ? How many usb ports will that thing need to function ?

[tobias rieper @ Nov 26th 2006 1:31PM]

in respond to your question, i found this web site http://www.unitedkeys.com/index.html

and the following product
http://www.unitedkeys.com/tech/index.html

susprised noone posted it so far

let me know what do you think about the product, and don't hesitate to comment on the price as well

p.s. eagerly expecting the 103, yet i don't let my hopes fly too high

[Alexander @ Nov 3rd 2006 9:10AM]

Umm... It's not going to be wireless. It says so right on the page. It will require USB and power.

"Upravlator has three cables (USB, VGA and power), and Optimus-[103] will have two (USB and power)"

So... While it will be 'portable' from computer to computer... I seriously doubt I'm going to be lugging a power brick along with me to every computer I go to. Not to mention this behemoth is going to weigh like, 12lbs or something.

[anorexia @ Nov 3rd 2006 9:15AM]

i don't think it would be that easy to take it between several different computers, wouldn't the file paths for each program that the button is mapped to be different?

[frisson @ Nov 3rd 2006 9:20AM]

There is lots of demand for this product at $100. How much demand will there be for it at the true cost of such a device at $500-�1000? Thats a lot of money to spend on something you'll fill with coke, pretzel dust and dead skin.

[tiuk @ Nov 3rd 2006 9:31AM]

Yeah, not to mention even if I could somehow justify the cost, I wouldn't be throwing it in my backpack to use on the go.

[hans @ Nov 3rd 2006 9:41AM]

Gizmondo II

[Erik @ Nov 3rd 2006 9:54AM]

They better speed up R&D, at this rate it will be 2109 before the full keyboard is done. Of course we could try and just use the one working key.

Aa aaaa aaaaaa aaaaa

Doesn't seem to work well. They should call that guy who makes those portable N64, PS1, etc units...he seems to know a hell of a lot more about design/fabrication then these people.

[starpause @ Nov 3rd 2006 9:56AM]

i still think the optimus 3 would be badass for displaying and switching between KDE desktops ... if it was supported.

[Ryan @ Nov 3rd 2006 10:39AM]

links to project live journal and website:

lj: http://community.livejournal.com/optimus_project/

website: http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus-mini/

the mini3 is for sale w/ a windows config tool and a mac os x tool coming soon. the upravalator is a 12(very large) key specialty keyboard. the optimus103 is the regular(enough) keyboard that is still being worked on.

ryan
http://www.wheretocaptain.com

[Merkidemis @ Nov 3rd 2006 10:59AM]

Well, they already have two products that use the technology. Its just a matter of scaling it to many smaller keys. Hardly vaporware.

[Graham @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:18AM]

OMG ITS THE BLUE "E"!!! GOD HELP US!

[Alexander @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:56AM]

1. This thing is being designed by a ART company. They spend 80% of the time making the damn thing _look_ cool, and the other 20% on making it work.

2. I think that the 'power brick' is going to be massive, and this thing is going to be dangerous. Why? Well, those LED's don't just power themselves! And holy moses if they are going to use little bitty CCFL tubes... Those things only last like 2 years, then they start to go dim. And if I buy this keyboard, it better well be the last one I ever buy.

3. Where is the goddamn Linux support? Son of a bitch the mini-3 STILL doesn't have Linux support, and frankly that is just a shame because this is such a Linux product. Program-aware commands changing on your keyboard?

I can think of hundreds of programs that could use the keys on the keyboard changing to what they actually mean. VI, Emacs, Nano, Kismet, Airsnort... The list just goes on and on!

Please, makers of Optimus-103... For the love of all that is good and right in this world... SEND A PROTOTYPE TO THE KDE AND GNOME DEVELOPERS! It's okay that you don't want to kludge about with Linux--I understand. But please, let someone who wants it at least have the chance to program a driver for it get a early prototype so it can get into the kernel so EVERYBODY can use it. That way, you don't have to do anything--the community will make support for you. But we can't do it without a prototype.

Thanks.

[Mr. B @ Nov 3rd 2006 11:56AM]

Well it's good to see they're at least working on it.

[Billy @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:18PM]

Jesus Christ, this thing is NEVER going to be released, yet it's SO COOL I'm surprised some company that actually has its shit together hasn't come along and released a copycat product and stolen all of Optimus' thunder.

[Ryan M @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:20PM]

I'm holding out for the e-ink version.

[docca @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:48PM]

That "fuzzy whiteness" on the background looks a lot like OLED to me...

[Juaquin @ Nov 3rd 2006 4:53PM]

I wish my G15 stored it's own key configurations. Definitely a worthwhile feature. At least this shows that these guys are putting some good thought into the Optimus. When (if?) it ever comes out, it will be a very polished product.

Which begs the question - do we want a mostly-functional one now, or a fully-functional one later? Cus you know if you get the half-assed one they're going to release an updated one a few months later and you'll be screwed. I hate that.

[Gadget Extremist @ Nov 3rd 2006 8:35PM]

One good use I have come up with for a re-mappable keyboard like this one is to display the alternate funtion of a key. For example:

Press CTRL+ALT and all the keys on the key board would change to display their alternate function (ie del would change to reset)

Press Just CTRL and keys A,Z,C,V,X,escape (etc) would change to read: Select ALL, Undo, Cut, copy, paste, and Start Menu.
Press ALT and keys like F4, TAB, etc and all other keys would display the funtion that would occour when the ALT key is pressed.
Press the Win key and every key on the keyboard would change to read out their secondary windows funtion:
Example: press win key and where the R key is would change to RUN all other keys would change to display their new funtionality for as long as the win key is depressed.(I forgot the rest; I use an old IBM clicky and hate the win key.)

If you like my Idea, then let me know by ranking this message.

-Gadget Extremist

[sangeet @ Apr 27th 2008 12:42AM]

odyssey keyboard driver

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Apr 1st 2008 1:52AM]

Where do you get these drivers you refer to and will they work with any keyboard?

[bobdole @ Nov 5th 2006 9:58PM]

is it just me or has this been in development for much longer than a year?

I seem to recall this being mentioned while edonkey was still popular...

well, I was thrilled a few months back to see this isn't entirely vapourware, but come on.. if it's $160 for 3 keys... it should be around $5500 for the finished product... I think I'll stick with my model m for my dvorak needs for now.