Apple developing dynamic OLED-based keyboard

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Comments

  • Reply 61 of 73
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Apple one would be very high res. that much we can promise.



    How can you promise that? I see no reson why a keyboard button would have to be high resolution. It just has to be high enough to display the text or simple icons perceptibly.
  • Reply 62 of 73
    irelandireland Posts: 17,799member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    How can you promise that? I see no reson why a keyboard button would have to be high resolution. It just has to be high enough to display the text or simple icons perceptibly.



    The Apple one would be a screen, not a series of tiny OLED buttons. I know they patented such, but the iPhone says all that needs to be said.
  • Reply 63 of 73
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by googleplex View Post


    This would be a godsend for gaming....



    I don't see how OLED or e-ink keycaps are supposed to significantly contribute to gaming, barring the possible design of new games specifically for the keyboard, and I don't know if that even would bring anything to the table. The only current genre that comes to mind that might be nicely convenienced is aircraft simulation, and it is a niche well below one percent.
  • Reply 64 of 73
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,599member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    How can you promise that? I see no reson why a keyboard button would have to be high resolution. It just has to be high enough to display the text or simple icons perceptibly.



    I'm holding Ireland to it though.



    If Apple comes out with one, and it's NOT high resolution, I'm going to institute a class action lawsuit against Ireland for Apple's not delivering on his promise.
  • Reply 65 of 73
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,599member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gon View Post


    I don't see how OLED or e-ink keycaps are supposed to significantly contribute to gaming, barring the possible design of new games specifically for the keyboard, and I don't know if that even would bring anything to the table. The only current genre that comes to mind that might be nicely convenienced is aircraft simulation, and it is a niche well below one percent.



    The only use, and it's is a big one for pro use at least, is to have each key properly labeled as to its use in that particular program.



    How many times has someone, in games, as well as in other programs, hesitated, because they forgot which was the correct key?



    It happens pretty often.



    It's even useful in more mundane programs. Do you always remember which characters you get when hitting the option key? Or the control key, etc?
  • Reply 66 of 73
    mzaslovemzaslove Posts: 519member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    The only use, and it's is a big one for pro use at least, is to have each key properly labeled as to its use in that particular program.



    How many times has someone, in games, as well as in other programs, hesitated, because they forgot which was the correct key?



    It happens pretty often.



    It's even useful in more mundane programs. Do you always remember which characters you get when hitting the option key? Or the control key, etc?



    I sure know a lot of editors who'd grab one. Most editing suites from Avid to Final Cut do well with specialized keyboards. Yeah, pros would love these sort of things. Also music suites would have fun (home and pro).
  • Reply 67 of 73
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,599member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mzaslove View Post


    I sure know a lot of editors who'd grab one. Most editing suites from Avid to Final Cut do well with specialized keyboards. Yeah, pros would love these sort of things. Also music suites would have fun (home and pro).



    I have two. One for Photoshop, and one for Final Cut Studio. Each cost $225. There are cheaper ones (not by much!), but I like quality keyboards for this stuff.



    A keyboard that allowed each key to change would be worth a good $350 to me if it could be used for those programs, and for characters. Games would be nice, but I imagine that each company could program for its own needs. Probably would be easy to do so.



    The fewer keyboards I have, the better.
  • Reply 68 of 73
    mzaslovemzaslove Posts: 519member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    I have two. One for Photoshop, and one for Final Cut Studio. Each cost $225. There are cheaper ones (not by much!), but I like quality keyboards for this stuff.



    A keyboard that allowed each key to change would be worth a good $350 to me if it could be used for those programs, and for characters. Games would be nice, but I imagine that each company could program for its own needs. Probably would be easy to do so.



    The fewer keyboards I have, the better.



    Be great if the app came with its own keyboard configuration if you wanted to use it, be it games, editing, etc. Then modify it as you saw fit. It would make my life a little easier (I hate multiple keyboards, too).
  • Reply 69 of 73
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,599member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mzaslove View Post


    Be great if the app came with its own keyboard configuration if you wanted to use it, be it games, editing, etc. Then modify it as you saw fit. It would make my life a little easier (I hate multiple keyboards, too).



    It would likely be just a matter of doing the icons, and putting them into some sort of format that Apple specs. Then I imagine you could just go to the keyboard icon on the menubar, and choose which layout you wanted to use, as you can do now.



    I suppose if Apple didn't do it, someone could write something that would allow you to download all sorts of icons the way you can do now for folders, and replace individual ones.



    Possibly we would see a new version of Candybar for this.
  • Reply 70 of 73
    mzaslovemzaslove Posts: 519member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    It would likely be just a matter of doing the icons, and putting them into some sort of format that Apple specs. Then I imagine you could just go to the keyboard icon on the menubar, and choose which layout you wanted to use, as you can do now.



    I suppose if Apple didn't do it, someone could write something that would allow you to download all sorts of icons the way you can do now for folders, and replace individual ones.



    Possibly we would see a new version of Candybar for this.



    Seems easy when you say it. I'm sure if they don't do this sort of keyboard now, one will eventually come out. Once there, I could see many other uses to make life easier. Anyone who uses shortcuts in a office/business applications could put a few on their keyboards, that sort of thing.



    I like the CandyBar idea -- be a snap for a small company to do that, or maybe a la some of Adobe's apps, instead of just Workspaces one can save, they can save keyboard iterations.



    Lots of fun stuff to do.
  • Reply 71 of 73
    iposteriposter Posts: 1,560member
    A keyboard that works multi nationally, or for any game?



    Problem solved, for $80 US!!







    OLED does look to be the future of keyboard technology, hopefully it won't take too long to come down in price.
  • Reply 72 of 73
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    The only use, and it's is a big one for pro use at least, is to have each key properly labeled as to its use in that particular program.



    How many times has someone, in games, as well as in other programs, hesitated, because they forgot which was the correct key?



    It happens pretty often.



    Games are a bit different. They don't use anywhere near as many buttons on average than productivity apps use for shortcuts, and they strongly encourage you to learn the key by touch. It's easier to do so because of the high frequency of their use in the game, it's more necessary because looking away from the screen usually hurts your game performance, and it's not half as much work because gamers bring in their preferred control schemes from past games by keymapping and that usually leaves them with only minimal new controls to learn.
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross


    I have two. One for Photoshop, and one for Final Cut Studio. Each cost $225. There are cheaper ones (not by much!), but I like quality keyboards for this stuff.







    I'm all for putting money in good keyboards, and that's well within reasonable to pay for a good one... but I have messed around with Photoshop on 100% amateur level when it was at version 4 and I was fifteen (I went through one of the thicker PS guide books and did the exercises), and had all shortcuts down just with my normal system of shortcut learning.



    I have long entertained the idea that when you learn shortcuts in more than one app, it might be a good thing that your memory doesn't map them directly from function to physical key, but from function to character to key instead, because the physical act of pressing the key without thinking about it is hard and memorizing function to character is really easy in comparison. When split to the two parts, the harder character to key part is shared between all apps. The function specific keytops work against this. Thoughts?
  • Reply 73 of 73
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,599member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gon View Post


    Games are a bit different. They don't use anywhere near as many buttons on average than productivity apps use for shortcuts, and they strongly encourage you to learn the key by touch. It's easier to do so because of the high frequency of their use in the game, it's more necessary because looking away from the screen usually hurts your game performance, and it's not half as much work because gamers bring in their preferred control schemes from past games by keymapping and that usually leaves them with only minimal new controls to learn.



    You have to be proficient with the keyboards in all of these apps. But there is a learning curve. Don't forget that each game can have its own special keys. They are not all alike. After you finish that game, which can take from a few days to a few weeks, you go on to another. This type of keyboard would be very helpful. there could be special keys that you can use for special items. How many games make you cycle amongst the weapons you carry? Or amongst the stuff in your backpack? In a situation where you needed something very quickly, it would be better to just go to the key and click it, rather than to have to click through all your stuff.



    Quote:

    I'm all for putting money in good keyboards, and that's well within reasonable to pay for a good one... but I have messed around with Photoshop on 100% amateur level when it was at version 4 and I was fifteen (I went through one of the thicker PS guide books and did the exercises), and had all shortcuts down just with my normal system of shortcut learning.



    Yeah. Well, I've been a pro user, beta tester, and teacher of PS from when it first came out, and I know the program pretty well. But, still, I appreciate my PS keyboard.



    Quote:

    I have long entertained the idea that when you learn shortcuts in more than one app, it might be a good thing that your memory doesn't map them directly from function to physical key, but from function to character to key instead, because the physical act of pressing the key without thinking about it is hard and memorizing function to character is really easy in comparison. When split to the two parts, the harder character to key part is shared between all apps. The function specific keytops work against this. Thoughts?



    Everyone is different, but editors, as a group, would not agree with you.



    Going back in time to the old hardware word processing computers, such as the Wangs, the keyboards, which had extra keys (and the function keys were actually used back then), all had as many keys as possible labeled as to their functions, so this idea is nothing new.
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