October 12th, 2009
by Rafael Hernandez
While it would be nice to have a dedicated displays and input devices for every PC you have at your disposal you clearly don’t have enough desk space or a surge protector long enough.
In comes the Belkin SOHO F1DD104L four-port KVM which makes sharing your USB keyboard, mouse, DVI monitor, and speakers a breeze. Benchmark Reviews has a look:
The Belkin SOHO “learns” the DDC specs of your monitor the first time the monitor is connected to the switch and turned on, and thereafter presents these specs to all computers that are plugged in, all the time. It also emulates a generic keyboard and mouse on the USB ports, and what all this means is that each computer connected to the SOHO thinks it’s connected to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse all the time. This is turn means minimal delay when switching between computers: your keyboard and mouse are instantly available, and your monitor re-syncs in just a second or two; it also means that you can boot or restart a connected computer without having to switch to it first.
A nifty set of features so you don’t have to wait for your PC to accept your hardware.
September 28th, 2009
by Rafael Hernandez
A run of the mill keyboard will set you back a few dollars and will provide a good deal of usage before you shell out another couple of bucks to replace it but considering many of the prodigious typists out there your usual spongy keyed keyboard doesn’t quite cut it.
Benchmark Reviews has a look at eight different mechanical keyed keyboards which provide all of the heavy duty hardware your keys deserve:
But individual mechanical key switches make a keyboard expensive, and a $200 keyboard makes no economic sense for a $399 desktop computer you pick up at Best Buy. Even a $50 keyboard is too much. Most OEM keyboards these days cost less than $5 to manufacture and are available at $20 or less at the retail level. Virtually all modern keyboards use some variant of the "rubber-dome" key spring, in which the spring action to push the key back up after it’s been depressed is provided by a dome molded in a sheet of rubber under each key. Depending on the keyboard, the dome may be part of the actual switch mechanism, with conductive material on the underside of the dome bridging contacts on a circuit board beneath it when the key is pressed, or the dome may merely provide the spring effect for a membrane-switch keyboard.
An impressive array of choices out there for those that want to get something a bit more durable and infinitely more satisfying to type on.
September 9th, 2009
by Rafael Hernandez
Microsoft’s hardware division continues to crank out quality products, in relative anonymity, and their newest product continues that trend. Their new Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000 sports a slim design that would fit anywhere and even offers up an optional number pad for those rapid fire data entry tasks you’re so into.
You’re looking at an $89.99 MSRP for the keyboard while the number pad will set you back $44.95 sometime in October.
August 24th, 2009
by Rafael Hernandez
You’ve got yourself your a great new gaming machine with all of the best new hardware available matched up to an equally impressive monitor and audio system but you’re still using that keyboard you bought 7 years ago. Something isn’t right.
Razer’s Arctosa Gaming Keyboard promises to elevate your game with programmable macros and "anti-ghosting" technology, whatever that is. Benchmark Reviews has the full story:
The Arctosa Gaming Keyboard is one of Razer’s entry-level enthusiast peripherals to help gamers get into the world of high-end keyboards. It is a keyboard with many of the advanced features that you expect on a gaming keyboard, but with a price that wont break the bank. With such features as fully programmable macro keys and anti-ghosting technology, just to name a few. Benchmark Reviews is here to test this keyboard and its many features to discover whether it lives up to the Razer name, or if it is just another regular old keyboard with some fancy logos and shiny buttons on it.
A slick looking keyboard for sure, just hope it matches your system’s motif, ah forget the motif as long as you game better right?
August 7th, 2009
by Rafael Hernandez
That feeling you get when you’re having a bad day and your computer seems to want to fight you at every turn, yeah you know the one. It just drives you mad enough that your keystrokes are little more forceful (or a lot more) than you’re used to.
Soon your computer will sense your wrath.
TechFlash writes of Microsoft’s work on a keyboard with pressure sensitive keys that could allow an OS or other applications to do nifty things based on the level of force a user puts into his strokes. Here’s a tidbit:
The company describes the potential uses as "limitless," saying it has tested concepts including pressing a letter harder to get a capital letter or a larger font size, or hitting the delete key harder or softer depending on whether the user wants to delete one character or an entire word.
Given the likelihood of angry users mashing their backspace keys and deleting their entire works the keyboards of tomorrow better be shatter proof.
April 3rd, 2009
by Rafael Hernandez
It isn’t often that you wonder the rational behind the creation of some products…this may be one of those times. Logitech, makers of things that usually make sense, have come up with their diNovo keyboard for notebooks. Yes a keyboard for your notebook which probably has its own keyboard.
Thankfully the keyboard can work with all manner of devices that accept notebook input and comes with a wireless bluetooth dongle for typing at a distance. It’s also a very slim product for those out there that love their sleek gadgets. ITREVIEWED has a look at the keyboard:
Highlights include the fact that the USB receiver doesn’t need to be
line of sight as I thought it would, and it can also be plugged into a
PlayStation PS3. The keyboard is beautifully crafted and performs
fluidly, and there is plenty of space between the keys. The keys are
like laptop keys too, with a slightly raised bottom row of keys where
CTRL, ALT and Space reside. The media keys are also very customisable
with the supplied PinPoint application. There is a good array of
shortcut buttons (eject drive, volume, skip/play) and 10 of the keys
are customisable.
It seems like a great choice for that home theater system or game console typing, or even for use on a desktop PC.
October 19th, 2008
by Rafael Hernandez
Categories: Computer Cases, Graphics Cards, Heatsinks & Coolers, Laptops, Memory, Monitors & Displays, Motherboards, Netbooks, Power Supplies, Software, Storage
