Re: LED Keyboard - I\'ve gotta get me one of these!
I'm going to put it to the first real test hopefully tonight, if I can "re-embowel" the lab computer before darkness hits.
One problem I have with using the ProMetric is that I can't see what the $*^&* I'm typing into the various data fields while testing is in progress. Using another flashlight to illuminate a keyboard can spoil the test if I'm not really careful, and the monitor brightness is turned down so low that it doesn't illuminate the keys either. So the new keyboard will be used for this purpose, and I'll see just how much easier it is to work in this environment. Even at the brightest setting, the light coming from it isn't enough to affect the photometric readings from any tested source, bright or dim.
The compact size and relatively light weight (when compared to a full-sized desktop keyboard) means I can just plop it anywhere between measurements, and nothing gets crushed or knocked off the table by it.
Here are the suggestions (so far) I'm e-mailing to the manufacturer today:<UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>The map light has 3 reds. Either replace the center red with a low-intensity green, or replace them all with white. Red lines on a map will
vanish when viewed in only red light.
<LI>Either make the cord longer, or use a curly cord. (I would opt for a longer, straight cord). At 3 feet from plug to keyboard, the existing cord is simply too short without finding & using an extension, especially if you're one of those who keeps the computer on the floor or under the desk.
<LI>Make short black "chimmneys" for the two LEDs under the space bar, so they aren't visible between the space bar & the case at near-normal (not bizarre or impractical) viewing angles. [/list]
The fact that you can see many of the LEDs when you hold the keyboard backwards (top row of keys towards you and then tilt it at a shallow angle is insignificant; as *nobody* uses, or even could use, a keyboard from that angle. Even at full intensity, the total amount of light escaping from this narrow angle is inconsequential and inoffensive (IMO).
I pried off one of the keycaps to see how the LEDs were mounted, and they're actually incorporated into each individual switch housing. No mickey mouse job here. (Oh great, I've just pissed off a disney character!
) Only the two under the space bar and the green CAPS LOCK light are mounted right on the PCB, and the green one isn't directly visible. So the chimmneys only need to go on the two spacebar LEDs.
Although their website says the keyboard lights turn off automatically after 10 minutes, mine stay on all the time. (Which I
really like, BTW). If I really must "can the lights" for whatever reason, I can easily do it by holding down the "FN" key and using the arrow keys to change the intensity or turn them off altogether; this activity is totally transparent and no keyhits are registered by the computer. The total power draw is just over 1 watt at full intensity, and nobody is going to see that on their electric bill.
Visibility of the backlit keytops ranges from "visible in normal room light if you look" at maximum intensity to "very dim, but visible in total darkness" at its lowest setting. At maximum brightness, they're not offensively bright (to the point of wrecking night vision) even in total darkness, but you can see some glow coming from the thin spaces between keys and reflecting off the PCB. For this to become offensive though, you have to position your head directly over the keyboard and look straight down at it, the way Peanuts character Schroder leans over his piano keys. Most people I know of don't type this way, so I don't believe this will become a serious issue.
These keyboards come with red, yellow, or yellow-green LEDs; and can have either black keytops with backlit legends, or transluscent white keytops with black legends. They come with or without splash guards, and either analogue style (256 level) or digital (8 level) brightness controls. They have multiple voltage options depending on the individual application; and also come with standard PS/2 and USB connectors to use directly with your computer with no other wires or power necessary (such as the model I'm testing).
I guess I don't even need to put up a web page now that I've typed all this into CPF.
