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Kinda looks like my Gyration keyboard that came with my Gateway 901x that MS sent me to test MCE 2005 but its black (it has a mouse you can pick up use like a Wii remote)

the "revolutionary" keyboard is a near-perfect ripoff of the ultra-cheap small form factor usb keyboards fry's has stocked for ages. BTC 6100E is almost identical from the top and side.

otherwise wtf is so revolutionary about this approach?

i don't want my monitor in the same box as my cpu for a dozen obvious reasons.

what would really be great industrial design is for someone to come up with an "integrated" display that is easily removable. why can't i snap out the laptop display? how many monitor form factors are there?

It never ceases to amaze me just how hard it is for OSnews users to understand what a regular "consumer" is.

Am I the only one who can see what this computer design actually means in the real world? I'm surrounded by people so smart, they've forgotten how to be idiots :/

Kroc, I don't think its industrial design. Its marketing design. Its like the old Design Centre stuff in London, its designed to look a certain way. At that its brilliant. Whether it functions is another story (keeps cool, feels good to type on for a long time).

Good industrial design is something quite different. Kitchenaid mixers, for instance.

Not an accident that all the reviews are about how the keyboard looks. If it was great ID, they would be about how it feels. Note what Apple says: the Apple Keyboard looks equally at home in your living room or on your desk.

Yes, it looks great. How does it type though? And is it membrane? You bet it is.

Edited 2007-08-07 20:47

I wonder what it feels like too. I went the opposite direction and bought a Tactile Pro 2.0 keyboard for my mac... :/ I like clicky-clacky keys that fight back a little.

According to Steve Job's presentation, the keyboard is also an improvement in terms of ergonomics. More specifically, he mentioned the benefits of not having the front part of the keyboard and the touch area so far from the surface. There is also the helpful slant. Anyway, while I'm sure looks were the focus, ergonomics weren't an afterthought.

> Why don't other manufacturers get it? This is what consumers
> what from a computer.

It's not what I want from a computer. I want something that I can expand. I don't want an all in one system with a monitor built into it.

Apple still doesn't make the system I want. And I've given up that they ever will. I want an expandable Mac Pro type system, that doesn't cost $2499 because it has a quad Xeon processor (which I don't need). Why oh why can't Apple make a reasonably priced expandable system? With Apple it is either low end, or high end. There is no in between.

As far as the keyboard, if those keys have as little tactile feedback as it looks like they must have, considering that they hardly extend off the surface of the keyboard at all, than I don't think I would like it. And it would seem to be another example of Apple placing aesthetics over function.

Edited 2007-08-07 22:34

[quote]
As far as the keyboard, if those keys have as little tactile feedback as it looks like they must have, considering that they hardly extend off the surface of the keyboard at all, than I don't think I would like it. And it would seem to be another example of Apple placing aesthetics over function.
[/quote]

If the keys of the new iMac keyboard are anything like the keys of the MacBook, yes, they do provide tactile feedback, and IMO, its very nice.

C'mon guys. At least let's not fall into prejudging things before even giving them a try.

Yep, I think you should pretty much give up on your quest. It really is hopeless. But I don't blame Apple. Sure, one of their motivating factors is that you have to buy a new computer every time you want an upgrade (other than RAM). But it seems to me that the majority of (non-gamer) people already follow this buying model, regardless of whether they could theoretically upgrade their PC or not. So why not have a PC that takes up as little room and looks as sleek as possible?

Edited 2007-08-08 03:56

I'll buy 2 of the new wired keyboards.

One for a Mac and the other for a Linux Workstation.

Does anyone know how much time it will take for Xorg keymappings of this new keyboard to be added?

because every damn IE grads are in Apple? Kidding.

"This just floors me. Why don't other manufacturers get it?"

You mean all those other manufacturers that sell much more of their designs than Apple does?

"This is what consumers what from a computer. "

Now, I'm not going to say it doesn't look good, because it does, but is it what people want?
If that really was true Apple would have a much larger market share. No doubt a lot of people like it but it's probably not for Joe Average. It's like saying that Bang & Olufsen is what people want out of audio/video equipment.

"but is it what people want? "

Yes , the problem is the same with everything , the wallet don't meet what people want , that's why when they see 1200$ :

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/...

They go for the 500$ Laptop or desktop from Dell that is more in line with there budget in majority.

Apple as had this problem for years , there payment plan and special offer are not available and easy to get everywhere.

If your budget is tight witch one do you pick the 12$ -15$ monthly payment or the 29$ - 45$.

Go in a computer store that as Apple products , watch how a lot of people go and look at them , but watch what they buy in majority.

Actually I know a lot of people that won't go with Apple simply because they don't want to adapt to a new OS, for whom price has nothing to do with it. They tend to agree that Apples look slick, but they insist that they want Windows. I've tried to persuade them against Vista, but alas, I feat it's a futile battle.