“Russian design studio Art Lebedev opened its online store for pre-orders of the Optimus Maximus LED keyboard. The first shipment of 200 keyboards was sold within one day, despite the keyboard’s hefty price tag of $1564.37,” Wolfgang Gruener reports for TG Daily.
“According to a note posted on Art Lebedev’s website, the first 200 buyers will be receiving their keyboard in early January. The next 200 keyboards will ship after December 20, with another 400 becoming available in early January,” Gruener reports.
here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lurker_PC” for the heads up.]
It might be handy for a high-end video editor? Just wondering since the keys can be easily modified and they work in low light.
And sorry if that was on-topic.
While it is expensive I don’t think many people here get the idea. Yes your Macbook Pro does come with led lit keys. But this keyboard you can change the keys. Like say you were playing WoW you can change the A key to have the left arrow .. or a bomb or a spell .. whatever you want. They key’s have lcd screens in them
lcd = LED
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People here are missing the point, or else not reading the full article. Apple’s keyboards with ambient light sensors just brighten in dim light. On this keyboard each key displays a changeable image. It does NOT have a fixed letter. In other words, if I wanted the keyboard to display Chinese characters (or Kanji, or Cyrillic characters) instead of the Latin (Western) alphabet, I just flip a switch in System Preferences. It’s like the old OS 9 Key Caps desk accessory — on the actual friggin’ keyboard! How cool is that?
Or say you are using Photoshop and flip a setting and each of keys now display on icon that shows what function each key is assigned to, like Cut, or Paste, or Crop. Or you’re in a FPS and the keys display icons for forward, backwards, change ammo, shoot, etc.
Now are we getting it?
Finally!
THE perfect keyboard to go with your computer from http://www.go-l.com/
Damn kids – why don’t you figure out what the keyboard does before you say things like “my macbookpro has a lightup keyboard and a computer too…”
It seems like 19 out of 20 of the posters so far – maybe even worse than that – don’t have a clue what this thing does.
Here’s the thing –
If you switch to dvorak – all the key images switch too
If you switch to russian – all the key images switch too
If you switch to japanese – all the key images switch too
If you are running photoshop and hit the command key – all the key images display an icon represnting what that shortcut does
If you are playing world of warcraft – all the keys display images for the commands that those keys do in world of warcraft.
And, you don’t have to tell it that you switched to world of warcraft from photoshop – it knows by itself.
Also cool, but not as vital – you can run “keysavers” – like screensavers when you are away from your computer.
Anytime you have shift or option or caps or command pressed the keys all change their image.
The thing is pretty fscking cool –
I wouldn’t pay $1400 for it, but I would pay $200 or $300.
(It seems like those of us who know what we are talking about all responded at the same time….)
“How many starving Africans could $1564 feed, for fscks sake”
Probably none, as the corrupt governments there would probably take the money.
OK. I get it. While that is totally and absolutely more and I want from my keyboard. I’m sure I’ll want one soon.
Here are some better images and descriptions:
http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus/
“They key’s have lcd screens in them”
Not exactly. They are OLED.
P.S. There’s a (Flash) demo page showing Photoshop and Half-Life layouts.
http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus/demo/
@ Blame Canada: Whos Blaming Canada? I only stated a case where innocent farmers were thumped by a powerful company for a situation out of the farmers control and knowledge for that matter.
It was only recently (Late last year) that EU banned rice from the US because it had been contaminated with GM rice but the US government did not declare it until random tests revealed it.
Will you slap me with one of your labels just because of what actually happened?
Do you work for Monsanto?
Why your reaction?
Does this mean Keyloggers will be renderd ineffectual?
I just tried the demo and it is frightning how every button you press on your keyboard lights up on the demo.
Keylogging Extroadinaire!
The only people that might be “getting it” are those extremely few individuals that also might pay cash for a Ferrari or Rolls-Royce. For the rest of us, it’s ridiculously overpriced.
Give it two years though; it’ll be $49.95 and made in China instead, (or the design ripped off at least).
It’s a great design.
What you are looking at is not so much as an overpriced keyboard. You are looking at quite possibly the future of all keyboards. Since everyone here is pretty much well versed in the history of computers, I will spare you the price comparisons between things we take for granted now than with what those things cost when they first came out. Just think how much a Macbook, which costs 1099 now would have cost 10 years ago. My guess would have been 20,000 dollars.
“How many starving Africans could $1564 feed, for fucks sake.”
Rascal you’re infantile.
No more diamond rings, no champagne or luxury cars in your lefty world. Everyone down to the lowest denominator.
While this is some awesome technology it’s will probably be rendered obsolete soon by the multi-touch screen technology that Apple and others are coming out with, why bother with a keyboard with a fixed key layout that only displays 10fps when you could have a widscreen multitouch monitor with a key layout that can total change depending on what you need?
That being said… can anyone loan me $1564.37?
E of E
I want it. I won’t get it. But I think it is very cool. If I remember correctly, they have a mini-version of about 10 keys available too. (or will have). I would love to have it esp. for my work computer since I all sorts of specialized keyboard shortcuts I use.
Hmm, just thought of something, I wonder if the letter changes based on what font you are using.
Actually, what I want is this combined with the light keyboard (can’t remember the name – the one that projects a laser image of a keyboard onto a surface).
Did you know that “infantile” is an adjective?
Reminds me of Star Trek:TNG. The “keyboards” were touch sensitive screens and changed according to what application you were in.
Of course, whenever the Enterprise was in a battle they also had the nasty habit of blowing up and giving off massive amounts of electricity to whatever unlucky crewman happened to be standing by.
Technological marvel or sci-fi plot device. You decide
I’d buy one if it was white. But that black clashes with my eMac.
The only cool thing I see on this keyboard is what looks like an application quick launch section on the left, and only 20,000(833 days) hours of life for $1600!!
I’d pay $60 for it if was white…to match my Mac. Over $1,500 for a keyboard? That’s just plain crazy!!!