Thursday, May 19, 2011

World's First OLED (and most expensive) Computer Keyboard


                         

Optimus Maximus Keyboard





The Optimus Maximus Keyboard designed by Artemy Lebedev is the first of its kind and won the iF (International Forum) Communication Design Award in 2008. The keyboard (available in black or white) is fully configurable for your software of choice on both Mac and PC.

"The Optimus Configurator software enables users to program each button to reproduce a sequence of symbols and edit images separately for each layout."



Features

  • Revolutionary Keyboard Features a tiny OLED screen on each key. 113 screens total.
  • Each key can be individually programmed to perform a series of functions, open an application or run an Applescript (Mac only)
  • Various System Monitor functions can dynamically display on a key including CPU usage, CPU temperature, Network Speed, and Memory Usage
  • Play a GIF animation or Quicktime movie on a Key
  • Paint images across all keys at once in your image editor of choice
  • Key sets can be linked to an application, so whenever you open that app the appropriate keys come up
  • Powerful layer function allows you to combine existing key sets in different ways
  • Use any language with the appropriate key images including Cyrillic, Ancient Greek, Georgian, Arabic, Quenya, and Hiragana.
  • Display notes, numerals, special symbols, HTML codes, math functions or any other special symbol.
  • Any key (or to be exact, a unit consisting of a cap, a microchip and a display) can be easily removed by hands to be cleaned or replaced
  • Built in USB hub
  • SD Card Slot for Storing keyboard Settings
System Requirements
  • PC with installed OS Windows XP or Vista, with a USB 1.1 (or better 2.0) port; Mac OS X 10.5.1 or higher.
  • At least 20 MB of free space on hard drive.
  • At least 256 MB of RAM.
Specifications
  • Keyboard Dimensions: Length 537 mm, Width 173 mm, Height 38 mm
  • Key Dimensions: 20.2 x 20.2 mm
  • Display Dimensions: 10.1 x 10.1 mm viewable area on each key
  • Display Resolution: 48 x 48 pixels per key
  • Frame Rate: 10 FPS
  • Color Depth: 65,536 Colors
  • Viewing Angle: 160 degrees

Cost $2400 on Amazon

UCube - USB powered speakers

















"At $150 per pair, these sleek sound machines aren't cheap, but each speaker is able to pump out 15 watts of peak power -- you won't be filling a large room with crisp, distortion-free sound, but they're probably loud enough to play your tunes or flicks for a group of friends, or to annoy strangers in a park. UltraLink claims that the speakers use DSP-controlled power supplies to "store energy during quiet passages," allowing the 3.25 inch cubes to reach their 15 watt peak output with 170-degree listening angles." 
Check out the video.
via Engadget

David Foster's 10 Tips for Songwriters


"In recognition of his "unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers," songwriter/producer David Foster was presented with BMI's Icon award Tuesday night in Los Angeles, and during his acceptance speech, he listed 10 rules for up-and-coming songwriters, which offers good advice for almost everyone."