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Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

blogs.microsoft.com

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Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#201

Post by hobarrera »

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…

The video link on TextBlade's site is broken.

I'm pretty sure they screwed something up, since it points to https://waytools.com/products/textblade/1/undefined.

Note "undefined"!

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#202

Post by tushar-r »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #20

Since every single comment[0] at the time of me writing mine is negative, let me make a positive one. I do really like the concept and would buy a high-quality Bluetooth keyboard. I care about ergonomics and probably wouldn't want to code all day on such one, but sure as hell I would use it to reply to e-mails during my commute or write stuff wherever I happen to be at the moment. I actually bought a cheap BT keyboar…

I actually used this [0] old Palm keyboard quite effectively with an iPad when travelling. Not very comfortable, but quite usable in a pinch. Bought out the last remaining mint condition piece a couple of years back and it has actually served us quite well when we feel the need to type longer bits of text while on vacation :-)

[0]http://www.amazon.com/Palm-3245WW-Wireless-Bluetooth-Keyboar...

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#203

Post by anonbanker »

melling wrote: post #199
anonbanker wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Smartphones and tablets are at least 15 years old too. Bill Gates used to run around CES telling everyone that tablets were the future. [citation needed]

It was COMDEX in Las Vegas. He gave the keynote. http://news.cnet.com/Gates-defends-PC-at-Comdex,-unveils-new... http://news.microsoft.com/2001/11/11/gates-showcases-tablet-...

Thanks. Exactly what I was hoping for. Totally worth the downvotes for asking.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#204

Post by louthy »

tombrossman wrote: post #150
cr3ative wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 expen…

I am still using my first intellimouse; it must be 15 years old (I actually don't remember exactly when I bought it, but it was a long time ago) - it's absolutely perfect still. I have just ordered another for home (just in case) and two for the office (one for usage, one for backup). It really is a solid bit of kit, and I'd be gutted if I couldn't source one again.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#205

Post by anonbanker »

moron4hire wrote: post #198
anonbanker wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Smartphones and tablets are at least 15 years old too. Bill Gates used to run around CES telling everyone that tablets were the future. [citation needed]

Respectfully, I don't think you'll find much sympathy here on HN with a reply in that vein, even from people who would agree with you.

I find it amusing that asking for source, using wikipedia's standard, is considered ”tone” of any sort, let alone a rude one.

No offense was intended in the grandparent.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#206

Post by moron4hire »

anonbanker wrote: post #205
moron4hire wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Respectfully, I don't think you'll find much sympathy here on HN with a reply in that vein, even from people who would agree with you.

I find it amusing that asking for source, using wikipedia's standard, is considered ”tone” of any sort, let alone a rude one. No offense was intended in the grandparent.

I know I certainly consider that specific reply to be flippant, and I know there are others who do as well. I don't know if it's the general opinion of people on the Internet to view it as flippant, but at least on HN, the general culture is to not use Reddit-esque short-form replies, and to articulate a full response that uses your own words. Wikipedia isn't exactly known for being a welcoming community.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#207

Post by comex »

JetSpiegel wrote: post #196
michaelcampbell wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bug fixes? If something needs a firmware to begin with, it probably needs firmware upgrades.

It's a keyboard. It's not rocket science, how hard can it be to make a bug-free keyboard firmware? It's not this is virgin ground either, keyboards have been built for decades which had no bugs.

If you look up the TextBlade, you will immediately see why its firmware needs to be more complex than your average keyboard.

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#208

Post by kabdib »

frik wrote: 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…

I need a "split" keyboard so my choices are relatively limited. The Kinesys Freestyle 2 keyboards (with the tenting) are pretty decent replacements for older members of the Microsoft Natural series. The Kinesys boards are not perfect (the ESC key is a bit far out, and there are 8 special purpose keys on a bank on the left that are useless). But they've got inverted-T and the key feel is good.

The MS Natural keyboard line became utter crap with the 4000 and they've just been digging the hole deeper. Mushy keys, bad travel, bad layout, very bad decisions about ESC and F-key sizes. The latest attempt at a real "ergo" keyboard is an unusable embarrassment.

I have a couple of the Kinesys boards. I'll probably keep buying Kinesys as these wear out unless MS ships a decent split keyboard (Cherry keys, okay? No mush, right?).

Shout out to the keyboard folks at MS: Talk to some of your better engineers about what it takes to make a keyboard that you can touch-type code on. Talk to people who use Eamcs or vi. Build that. It can be $300, but if it's good, I'll buy several.

(Let's not talk about the mice quite yet... :-) )

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#209

Post by xorcist »

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #166
seanp2k2 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might like https://www.trulyergonomic.com/store/index.php or a Kinesis with the height adjusters http://m.thewirecutter.com/reviews/comfortable-ergo-keyboard... Edit: reviews of other mechanical ergo keyboards: http://www.anandtech.com/tag/ergonomic

I've tried Gold Touch, ErgoDox, MS 4000 and now the MS Sculpt Ergo. The Microsoft keyboards are the best I've used. Everyone I know who uses an ergo keyboard settled on the MS 4000 or upgraded to the Sculpt Ergo. Now if only Logitech would make their TrackMan Wheel still. Or maybe Microsoft would make a worthy successor? Hint, hint (I own 4 Logitech trackballs just incase they are ever discontinued completely).

+1 on the Trackman Wheel. I'm down to two now, the switches in the buttons gave up on one. I would pay a lot for a worthy successor.

(Here's how to enjoy a thumb-trackball: Push up the sensitivity to max. Give it 14 days no matter how bad you think it is. Love it forever.)

Re: Microsoft's new foldable keyboard

#210

Post by bane »

sitkack wrote: post #194
bane wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've yet to get the adapter for my phone, but my Shield tablet has a built-in hdmi port and works amazingly well.

And you can hookup a BT or wired keyboard and mouse? Ever run something like emacs ? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zielm.emac...

I've used a wired mouse and keyboard over USB and it worked fine. But I don't have a BT equivalent so I don't know how well they work.

I'm also not an emacs user, so I can't comment on how good this port is. However, I've used my phones with terminal emulators and setup busybox and ssh and vim work fine.

For quite a while I even used a spare android phone as a remote log monitor when we were developing something and a tricky intermittent bug would show up. I just brought it around with me to meetings, wherever and just tailed a log file to keep an eye on things. It just sat under my normal monitor most of the time acting like an extra mini-screen.

http://kevinboone.net/android_nonroot.html

There's also a port of Octave if that's important

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.octave&hl=...

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