Thursday, 12 November 2009

• Strange Peripherals: Keyboards

  
  

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  Pictured above: The Bluetooth Laser Virtual Keyboard
  

  
  Gamers are fickle creatures. We all have our favorite genres and series, and we crave our own personal gaming nook wherever we live, just so we can enjoy our passion in peace. But that isn't all there is to it. Being a gamer means having the right equipment, too. It means having devices that not only get the job done, but fit our personalities as well.
  
  There's a reason people are willing to shell out some extra, hard-earned cash for a black Xbox 360 Elite over the standard white one, right? There's motive behind buying wireless controllers over more reliable wired ones. It's convenience, and luxury. Today, I'm going to show you a few gaming devices that go past standard functionality and start getting downright strange.
  
  For example, the keyboard is fifty-percent of the controller equation for PC gamers, but it's an incredibly important fifty percent. A good, sturdy keyboard just cannot be beaten, but some people like everything to be fancy. Hence, the Optimus Maximus Keyboard.
  
  

   
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  I'm not sure whether this keyboard is a work of electronic art or complete and utter gluttony, but here's what it's all about. You see those 113 separate keys there? Well, under the clear plastic casing of each one is a tiny LCD screen. Yes, that's correct. Every key is an LCD screen. And that's not all. Every key is programmable, which means anyone who wants to do away with the QWERTY configuration is free to do so, at their own discretion.
  
  Not only that, but those screens are capable of playing video, displaying images, and showing just about anything you ever hoped an LCD screen could show (113 different pictures of Dead or Alive girls posing, maybe?)
  
  Okay, so it's not so much a gaming peripheral as it is an awesome one, but imagine assigning macros to those keys and being able to designate and display a specific tag for each of those macros on the key's screen. You'd have no excuse to hit the wrong key, ever, unless you just weren't paying attention. And that's just one possibility.
  
  Of course, at the low low, incredibly fair price of $1,599, you'd better be a gamer with deep pockets, or an extremely adept thief to get your hands on this one.
  
  Okay, so maybe the Optimus Maximus was overkill. But the newest addition to the Logitech G series keyboards is much more affordable (in comparison), and actually geared towards gamers.
  
  

   
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  Although the G19 (pictured above) can't boast 113 separate LCD screens, it does have one 320x240 (that's pixels, people) screen attached to the middle of the keyboard. The screen will display anything from game stats, CPU temperatures, all the way to YouTube videos and iTunes track information. It's all about versatility.
  
  Add to that a back-light system that can turn to almost any color of the rainbow, a few programmable macro keys, multimedia keys and two USB 2.0 ports and you have yourself one seriously feature-packed piece of hardware. Hell, it even sports a switch that turns off the Windows key so you never accidentally cause your game to lose focus during all those intense play sessions.
  
  It's currently running for $189.99 on NewEgg, and while that's certainly a little steep, it might make a good Christmas present, or a great way to piss away all the money from last week's paycheck.
  
  Some of you may be asking yourselves: why in the name of Gordon Freeman does this stuff even matter? A keyboard is a keyboard, right? If you're not picky, maybe. But for a discerning gamer such as myself, having control without having to sift through menus, or being able to string attacks together without a million clicks makes all the difference. Plus, it may help stave off my impending carpal tunnel.
  
  What other strange or cool peripherals have you come across in your gaming travels?
  

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