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Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

blogs.microsoft.com

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Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#81

Post by analog31 »

to3m wrote: post #34
emirozer wrote: post #21

I guess MS is late by 19 years. PFU Limited reinvented the keyboard in 1996 :-P http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Hacking_Keyboard

That doesn't fold though. It's a foot wide and 4cm thick. The whole point of this new keyboard here is that it folds, and that it's really thin, so that it's like 6" x 5" x 1cm, and can go in your handbag or coat pocket. Much better prior art here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Palm-Vx-Portable-Keyboard-105Keys/dp... (has 2 fold points, feels like a laptop keyboard)

I still have two generations of the Palm folding keyboard, including the one shown in the link, and a newer one that's even slicker. They are in my junk box along with the Palm Pilots that I bought them for.

They were absolutely wonderful. I could unfold the keyboard, turn on the Palm, and be taking notes in a meeting or on an airplane, in seconds. Plus, the Palm devices had killer battery life despite the battery technology of their time, and some usability concepts that were way ahead of their time.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#82

Post by pidg »

sosuke wrote: post #76

I like the more foldable style that has been around for a while http://www.amazon.com/Targus-Stowaway-Portable-Keyboard-Hand... I hope they come out with one like that. I had one for a Compaq iPaq, it felt like the future every time I opened up. That was 2000 or 2001 I think?

I love Stowaways too - I had one for a Palm, around 2002. Then went looking for a Bluetooth one a few years later, only to find nobody makes them.

I guess either they are inferior to the foldable ones you can get everywhere (haven't tried one), or Targus are refusing to make or license them.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#83

Post by esaym »

I don't own a smart phone, or a tablet, and this is even more of a reason that I won't be buying one.. If you are so tied up with work, or your home office, or social media, then this is not what you need, you need a life.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#84

Post by Sephr »

doczoidberg wrote: post #27
walterbell wrote: post #8

Microsoft once made an awesome trackball and then discontinued it, leaving the remaining supply to be auctioned at high prices on eBay. If you're lucky, you can now find one of these extinct $50 MSRP rarities for the low price of $550 on Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-D68-00007-Trackball-Explorer... Why they won't bring this trackball back to the market is a mystery.

I don't understand why the trackball died. I can move a mouse pointer much faster with it than with a trackpad. Google's G1 had also a trackball. I think this was the only smartphone with a trackball.

Google's Nexus One also had one.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#85

Post by parfe »

This is going to revolutionize computing. It took Microsoft to step up and develop something revolutionary to how we interact with our devices. And the best part is not that it's just one device, but all devices. I can use this at my workstation, my tablet, my cell phone, my watch. This is going to usher in a new age of Access. Not just computing but information available to the fingertips of every human on Earth. A New dawn.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#86

Post by JetSpiegel »

melling wrote: post #54
jacobolus wrote: post #5

Reinvented is pretty strong language here, this idea is far from new. I think this new keyboard looks convenient enough for those needing extreme portability, but also probably a pretty mediocre typing experience. In any case, this time.com post is just blogspam. Here’s Microsoft’s page that all the content comes from: http://blogs.microsoft.com/firehose/2015/03/02/get-more-done... And here’s another third party page…

Smartphones and tablets are at least 15 years old too. Bill Gates used to run around CES telling everyone that tablets were the future. Anyway, for the "Post PC era" to truly take off, we're going to need portable wireless keyboards that "just work". Tablets are going to replace desktops for most people, once we figure out how to attach better input devices. The Microsoft keyboard does appear to be a big step in the…

> Tablets are going to replace desktops for most people, once we figure out how to attach better input devices.

That already exists, it's a netbook. Or worst case scenario, one of those netbooks with detachable screen.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#87

Post by pidg »

mapt wrote: post #74

If it uses so little power... Is charging the battery using solar power, like an old-style pocket calculator, practical? Just embed a few tens of square centimeters of cells under plastic on the edge of the keyboard. As a bonus, that means you don't have to permit anybody to open the thing ever, which grants you the ability to make it waterproof.

I've got a Logitech (non-folding) solar-powered keyboard. Happy to report it's been working for nearly a year now using that delicious sun energy.

Being a sceptic, I did also put it in a sock drawer for a few days after use to see if it would fail to charge. It failed to turn on after that until I'd left it in the sun for a while.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#88

Post by JetSpiegel »

joshuapants wrote: post #63
kstenerud wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's bluetooth so it's compatible with any bluetooth capable OS.

Is all the required software onboard the device itself? I thought it was using some kind of paired application to handle processing the input. edit: >With the TextBlade, WayTools can deliver over-the-air updates to keep firmware up to date, something that's not possible with most keyboards. The TextBlade will have more functions six months after it's released than it does today. For example, one upcoming update will…

Why would a keyboard need firmware updates? This is like the NSA wet dream, more pointless "IoT".

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#90

Post by erodingvar »

esaym wrote: post #83

I don't own a smart phone, or a tablet, and this is even more of a reason that I won't be buying one.. If you are so tied up with work, or your home office, or social media, then this is not what you need, you need a life.

Or maybe you need to be more productive. Or maybe "a life" isn't the same for everyone.
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