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Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

blogs.microsoft.com

141–150 of 251 posts

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

HTC Hero and original Desire had one too, not sure when HTC stopped or if anyone else used them though.

I had the Desire, and that was less a trackball and more an optical sensor. A much poorer experience than a trackball.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#143

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…

The keyboard can't get OTA updates unless it can communicate with the update server. That means it has either WiFi or 3G or the tablet gets the files and uploads them to the keyboard. Probably the latter.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#144

I hate laptop keyboards. The problem is the touch pad in front of it. Inevitably, my palm will brush against it, and the software will assume I'm clicking on something, and something random will happen. It's not just me, others will sometimes ask me what the hell happened, I was typing away, and the window disappeared (or some other random thing happened), and I say "you brushed against the touchpad". It's so bad tha…

Never had a problem with it, both on WinXP from 2001 to 2008 and with Ubuntu since then. I never changed the default settings. All just worked. They've been all HP laptops.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think so - my mum was trying to get a cheap-ish new replacement for her 5 year old 10" netbook last month. It's very very hard to do. Certainly when you compare the spec:price ratio of anything on the market today compared to a tablet + bluetooth keyboard.

Netbooks are being subsumed by laptops, as laptops get smaller. Several of the "ultrabooks" are thinner and lighter than my old Dell Mini 9. The 11" models are perfectly acceptable "netbooks", they just don't call them netbooks anymore because that was an indicator that it was kind of a crappy computer, but was small and cheap and good enough for browsing the web. The cost is getting closer to netbooks, as well, thou…

But even the 11" models cant replace tablets. Imagine a scenario, you are travelling in a train or a bus-you cant open the 11" laptop/netbook, while traveeling. And as far as the debate about tablets replacing desktop goes, that might be possible when tablets get stronger/better processors

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#146
It's getting harder and harder to buy traditional high quality mouse and keyboards for PC. Microsoft and Logitech used to produce them.

But the look at the current portfolio of Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/mice and http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/keyboards

No traditional keyboard with cable and normal key-layout, no normal mouse like the IntelliMouse or Comfort Mouse 6000 (discontinued because of firmware lag bug).

And Logitech portfolio: http://www.logitech.com/en-us/mice-pointers/mice and http://www.logitech.com/en-us/keyboards

Logitech discontinued their best cable based mices, MX500 and MX518 too.

Notebooks used to have good keyboards too, like the IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad T40/T60/T400/T410 series. But recent notebooks from Lenovo//HP/Apple/etc. all have these flat keys :(

What traditional cable based keyboards/mices and business notebooks with normal keys should one buy? The above mentioned products are already so rare one that Amazon.com lists them with a ca. $200 price tag (they used to be reasonable priced in $20-$30 range).

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#147
post #146

It's getting harder and harder to buy traditional high quality mouse and keyboards for PC. Microsoft and Logitech used to produce them. But the look at the current portfolio of Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/mice and http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/keyboards No traditional keyboard with cable and normal key-layout, no normal mouse like the IntelliMouse or Comfort Mouse 6000 (discontinued b…

It's not harder to buy "traditional high quality" in the keyboard sense - to me, that means buckling spring, and there's a huge market for it at the moment. It is expensive though. Have a search for "Cherry MX" keyboards. Big manufacturers like Corsair have recently launched several traditionally shaped keyboards with these switches.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm interested in the textblade. Was the moment I first heard of it. But I've never spent $100 on a keyboard. I would like at least a good honest review from a programmer I've heard of and respect. I would definitely prefer a hands on at a store before plucking down that kind of cash.

I think $100 would be a reasonable price to pay for a keyboard that you use for many hours every day over several decades. The Textblade seems like something that I'd use in short intervals here or there for a year or two.

Keyboards and mices from Microsoft and Logitech used to cost around $20-$30 and were of such a high quality that MTTF was about 10 years. Nowadays their products do not meet my needs (no 1990s/2000s traditional business style, only fancy form factors) and are overpriced with lower quality.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#150
post #146

It's getting harder and harder to buy traditional high quality mouse and keyboards for PC. Microsoft and Logitech used to produce them. But the look at the current portfolio of Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/mice and http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/keyboards No traditional keyboard with cable and normal key-layout, no normal mouse like the IntelliMouse or Comfort Mouse 6000 (discontinued b…

It's not harder to buy "traditional high quality" in the keyboard sense - to me, that means buckling spring, and there's a huge market for it at the moment. It is expensive though. Have a search for "Cherry MX" keyboards. Big manufacturers like Corsair have recently launched several traditionally shaped keyboards with these switches.

The point about mice is dead on though, I wish I'd bought more of the Intellimouse model as I am on my last one (of probably 3-4 total) and the Comfort Mouse 6000 I bought to replace it is not good enough. The slight lag on middle click is forever annoying.

Look for some of the better engineered Microsoft mice (now all discontinued) on Amazon for an idea of what kind of prices these are fetching. Some are crazy expensive and I suspect it is because people like me still want them.

Edit: Here's a 50-pack for £4500 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-IntelliMouse-Optical-1-1-o...

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