Mouse/Keyboard Concept is One of the Stupidest Ideas We've Ever Seen
Mouse/Keyboard Concept is One of the Stupidest Ideas We've Ever Seen
Posted 10/30/2008 at 8:38am
| by Paul Lilly
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Web magazine Yanko Design sports a tag line that reads 'Form over function,' but one of its newest entries, the Glide Keyboard from Weston Boege, appears to have neither. The conceptial keyboard/mouse hybrid is a design that attempts to fuse both input devices into a single product. Underneath the keyboard would sit an optical sensor for tracking the keyboard's movement, and low friction pads purportedly make it easy to nudge the peripheral around your desk space. Let's break this one down.
Aesthetics
We like funky looking gadgets just as much as the next person, but apart from the black and white color scheme, we're not impressed by the Glide Keyboard's looks.
Concept
We're not exactly sure what problem the Glide Keyboard has been designed to solve. Is it supposed to help users with limited desk space for multiple peripherals? If so, moving a full sized keyboard around in cramped confines just seems like a bad idea.
Ergonomics
Maybe the picture misrepresents what the final product is supposed to look like, but from our angle, the curved plank won't be doing any favors for your fatigued digits. And what do you do when you reach the end of your keyboard tray before the on-screen cursor reaches its destination? Pick up the keyboard and reposition it? No thanks.
That's our opinion - what's yours? Hit the jump and sound off.
Image Credit: Yanko Design and Weston Boege
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nsvander
October 30, 2008 at 4:40pm
Why not just put an eraser tip in the middle of the damn thing like they do on laptops or even a touch pad built into the board near the space bar, at least that makes sense. The last thing I want to do when typing is move the entire keyboard around to make my cursor move anyways.
Kazabet
October 30, 2008 at 1:47pm
By your own admission you're just looking a proposed specs and a concept photo. You're just guessing that you'd have to pickup the whole keyboard to be able to move to the edges of the screen. What if you just had to lift your wrist?
Obviously this product is not designed for precise mousing like photoshop or gaming, but for spreadsheet work this would be wonderful. Imagine never having to lift your hands off the home row as you navigated your spreadsheet? Sure tab and return can work as long as you're following a prescribed route, but what if you're jumping around to different cells?
How bout filling out a web form where the tab order isn't set right. You type your name, glide down, address, glide down, country, etc... all without having your fingers leave the keys.
For a hunt-and-pecker, removing your fingers from the keys isn't a big deal. For a skilled touch typist it's a significant hit to your wpm.
The concept of combining the two is a great idea, execution is a separate issue which can't be judged until you see the final product.
Personally, I think having the keyboard, or part of it, sit on a rocker that you could use like a laptop's eraser head would be better than moving the whole thing, but I'm not gonna knock this until I try it. Still don't think anyone would ever have a use for this? Remember, just a few decades ago very smart people were also saying, "There is no reason why anybody would want a computer in their home."
Kazabet
October 30, 2008 at 2:34pm
PS. Maximum PC in Drupal you have to list <p> and <br /> as allowable tags if you're going to use the filtered HTML setting. Otherwise everyone's comments are going to show up as big blocks of text.
The line break filter which is supposed to break up your paragraphs automatically does not work in conjunction with a GUI.
winmaster
October 30, 2008 at 4:40pm
Yes I agree. I can't get my signature to work right. (See previous posts)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
mikeart03a
October 30, 2008 at 1:13pm
Whoever thought about this culmination of two different technologies into one should be shot. Just exactly how the hell am I supposed to move this thing around a keyboard tray? Not mention, I bet this thing will cost an arm and a leg... $400 maybe? For that price I could buy 3 good logitech wireless keyboard and mouse combos!
- mike_art03a
IT Technician
Gov't of Canada
Keith E. Whisman
October 30, 2008 at 1:00pm
God I hope Fidelity Investments doesn't invest my 401k into this piece of crap. I've done lost enough cash already.
t_rush
October 30, 2008 at 10:11am
Maybe next years Dream Machine will have one? ;) Keyboard / mouse mash-up = Fail
skhills
October 30, 2008 at 10:07am
Keyboards with integrated trackballs can be annoying to use, but they would be a user's dream compared to this. (head scratch...) The stress injury comment is priceless.
r3dd4wg
October 30, 2008 at 9:47am
ROTFLOL
Wow, I would hate to be the venture capital firm that backed that idea.
(Oh geez, I'm going to piss myself I'm laughing so hard)
nekollx
October 30, 2008 at 10:12am
something like
"How would you like to remove your mouse from your destop all together i have this GREAT idea make the keyboard a mouse!"
to with the zombie investor saids "Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaains....you got big braaaaaaaaaaaaaain take money now."
b_boy_69_00
October 30, 2008 at 9:36am
I was thinking of adding about 60 keys to my mouse so that I could do this very thing, but my fingers are to big. And it's a stupid idea.
nekollx
October 30, 2008 at 8:59am
it's for old fogies use to a typewriter trying to get into this "digi-mal thing"
GFC
October 30, 2008 at 8:54am
I think there was going on something like this:
"oh this keyboard suc*s
-what if we just add an optical sensor to the bottom and call it keyboard AND mouse ?
-wow, dude, that's a great idea"Well - it's not..
Keith E. Whisman
October 30, 2008 at 8:50am
It looks like this keyboard can cause a totally new repetitve stress injury. They managed to actually build a keyboard that is actually more dangerous to use. LOL...
I'll just stick to my USB Logitech Desktop Wave keyboard that I freaking love.
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