Monday, April 21, 2008

Return of the Dead Flesh Keyboard

The 48K Spectrum had a legendary rubber keyboard, affectionately known as a "dead flesh keyboard". Sort of likely a rubbery calculator keyboard but bigger. I for one always really liked it. Now you can get one for your PC - yay! And what's more it rolls up and slips neatly into a Parka jacket pocket and can probably be cleaned under a tap with aid of a dishcloth. I've just had a go on one, and I have to say it feels gorgeous. If I didn't use a freaky keyboard for folk with RSI, I'd probably move to one immediatley. Fifteen pounds to you sir.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can you actually touch type quickly on it?

Dodgey Phil said...

I've just given it a more extensive test, and I'm afraid it's not quite as good as a real keyboard. It is possible to type quickly on it, but the key spacing takes a little getting used to (I think the keys are slightly smaller than I'm used to), and it does seem to take a little more (not a lot more) pressure to press a key. The one I was using also seemed to have a duff space bar (one of the three membrane switches wasn't working). Also, it's nicer if you place a book/magazine underneath, otherwise you can feel the impact of the keypresses a bit much.

So it's quite good, but actually probably not a permanent replacement for a real keyboard.

Dodgey Phil said...

Oh, and apparently it's also available with numeric keypad, fun lights and in a variety of cosmic colours.