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Students get their hands on Microsoft's Adaptive Keyboard, adapt it to their nefarious ways (video)
When Microsoft announced its Adaptive Keyboard, backed by an LCD not entirely unlike the Optimus Maximus and its dynamic ways, the company said it'd be hosting a contest to see which students could come up with the best way to use the thing. Now it's time to look at some of the results. Highlights? One app, with the press of a button, replaces your keys with the icons on your desktop. Another brings Windows Media Player playlist control to your fingertips, and a third lets coders easily navigate namespace, class, and member variables. Oh, and then there's the app that dynamically remaps your keys to frustrate keyloggers -- and users. There are lots more, all presented by some generally uncomfortable looking students over the course of the video embedded after the break. Warning: it's 24 minutes long, so you'd best get a refill before clicking "Play."
Pressure-sensitive keyboard lets you express fury, tenderness
Microsoft's hardware division has always pushed the envelope, and its latest prototype is no exception: this pressure-sensitive keyboard looks exactly like a normal 'board, but each key can register up to eight levels of pressure, opening up all kinds of interesting possibilities. Sure, there's a gaming demo, where pushing buttons harder makes you run faster or jump higher, but that's sort of old hat -- we're super intrigued by the typing corrector, which uses the pressure difference between keys you mean to type and keys you accidentally graze to fix your mistakes. Definitely interesting stuff, and we're sure to see more novel uses in October when Microsoft opens its first Student Innovation Contest by showcasing student projects made using keyboard prototypes. Videos after the break!
