New keyboard mockup

[pscates2.0]

A couple of quick things:

- Since having this new iMac - where my keyboard is far away from the screen now (and actually on a lower, pull-out shelf, mostly blocked from the glow of the display) - I've found myself really wanting a backlit standalone keyboard. Seems like it would make so much sense in low/no-light situations (I like to work in the dark, but I'd love to be able to glance down and see what I'm hitting from time to time).

- With the new MacBooks and display (as well as the iMacs), Apple seems to be riding this "aluminum and black" train. I wish the standalone keyboard for this iMac did have black keys because it just looks a bit mismatched or "left over" or tacked-on...there's nothing white on the this aluminum iMac. A small point, but just one of those small things I'd like to change if I could.

:p

So, with all that, I thought "take the existing iMac/standalone keyboard, make the keys black (both for aesthetics and to make the backlit lettering/symbols "pop" more in low light), reconfigure a few of the secondary or modifier keys a bit (borrow from the notebook keyboard in terms of size and placement of a few keys) and stick a Multi-Touch Trackpad, like on the new MacBook models, on the keyboard. You could, just as you would on a notebook, go through photos quickly in iPhoto, rating and rotating them, with both hands on the keyboard. It might come in handy in quite a few scenarios?

I don't know the power requirements or tech involved in such a thing (but but other companies make them, so it's not that far-out of an idea). Would it get everything through the USB cable, or would it need a battery? I don't know that sort of stuff. I do know that if Apple did something like this, they'd charge $169 for it (with a straight face, no less).

:D

So anyway...here's my "I wish Apple did this keyboard" idea. And no, that's not my hand/finger...

:)

http://homepage.mac.com/pscates/mockups/lightboard_small.jpg (http://homepage.mac.com/pscates/mockups/lightboard.jpg)

Click thumbnail for teh more bigger (I've always wanted to say that). :p

...and thanks for the quick thumbnail/linking lesson, Brad.

[PB PM]

Mmmm, let me know when you start shipping that bad boy! :)

[Brad]

Top notch work from Paul, as usual. :) It's even got those kitschy Apple-esque tag lines. Sign me up for a pre-order!

And if someone would be kinda enough to give me a quick lesson the the "clickable smaller thumbnail links to larger, full-size image" thing, I'd really appreciate it!
Simply create two images and wrap the small one with a link to the big one like this:

http://path/to/thumbnail.jpg (http://path/to/fullsize.jpg)

http://i37.tinypic.com/29bzqjm.jpg (http://homepage.mac.com/pscates/mockups/lightboard.jpg)

[qpeighty]

It is a beautiful mock-up, but I think that if they were going to make it, it would have a track pad in landscape not in portrait.

I think I would buy it either way, just for the back light and the number pad.

[chucker]

Hmm. Looks stunning, but I think the trackpad makes more sense below the space bar. Having it to the right just requires a lot more hand movement.

[curiousuburb]

I especially like the fact that there are two copies of the 6 and 9 on the number pad instead of operators. :D ;)

It's the New Math™. :p

[adamb]

I would certainly consider buying a backlit keyboard after having my first experience using one on my MacBook. Im not sure how useful the trackpad would be on a wired model but if it was wireless it would be great, removing the need for a mouse whilst lounging around with keyboard on your lap.

Granted you can do things on a multi touch trackpad you cant do with a mouse, but I couldnt see myself using both a mouse and trackpad if sitting at a desk.

It does look great though. Im pretty sure a black keyboard and mighty mouse will be available pretty soon (next iMac update perhaps) and hopefully a backlit version too.

[pscates2.0]

I especially like the fact that there are two copies of the 6 and 9 on the number pad instead of operators. :D ;)

It's the New Math™. :p

WHAT?! Oh man...

:D

Fixing it right away...how embarrassing. I checked everything like that, over and over, because I made the keyboard from scratch, from a template, so I wanted to make sure all the F keys and others were right. And I go miss the obvious ones...

:o

:p

EDIT: Okay, it's fixed... (http://homepage.mac.com/pscates/mockups/lightboard.jpg) Hopefully those were the only two. Let me know if you come across any more.

[ezkcdude]

I like the trackpad idea, but it should be 16:9 to be proportional to the monitor.

[dmegatool]

Nice job Paul !

But as everyone pointed, I would make the trackpad bigger. I think I would make it start where you did and end it where the keypad ends. The keypad would be superslim (like the functions keys just besides it). I guess you would need to work a little bit with keys to make it work but it would be nice. Or maybe even just remove the keypad... so we could complain like we did the F word. :)

[Capella]

That looks gorgeous! I think it'd be great to have a trackpad on the keyboard.

[pscates2.0]

A few thoughts...

I definitely considered making a landscape-oriented trackpad like the one on the new notebooks, but I was also trying to stay within the dimensions of the current keyboard (right at 17x4.5"). If people didn't mind a slightly wider keyboard, to accommodate the trackpad size/orientation found on the new MacBooks, I suppose that's do-able.

I guess the way I saw it was this: I wasn't looking for the trackpad to be a true "screen-to-pad" match/mirror, but, rather, something you'd use in certain apps for quick viewing or assessment (a bunch of new photos imported into iPhoto or Aperture...you'd take your hands off the mouse and have them both on the keyboard and with your right hand, quickly "swiping" from image to image, performing a quick rotate or zoom as needed, etc.

In other words, I never imagined it as someone sitting there and using it for full trackpad navigation on a full, widescreen display (a complete mouse replacement).

Don't know if that makes sense, or helps my case any...

:p

But that's what I had in my mind as I was doing this. I wanted to keep the keyboard as is, but to add that function where it made sense in some apps (you could probably surf easily using just this keyboard too?). iPhoto, iCal, scrolling through or manipulating Address Book entries. Not a mouse replacement, just an add-on for certain tasks, if the user preferred the natural swipping, pinching and spinning provided by Multi-Touch. App-specific usage, I guess...vs. going from corner to corner of your Mac in the Finder.

Although, if I put the arrow keys back over where they usually are on these larger keyboards, that might "close the gap" and the area remaining would be more horizontal/landscape? It wouldn't be as large, though...

I even thought about having the arrow keys be a permanent part of the bottom of the trackpad (the four arrow symbols arranged on the bottom half-inch or so of the trackpad, always there. But I think people might prefer a physical, audible "click" of the arrow keys, while nudging things around in Illustrator, Photoshop, etc. (I know I do; not sure if doing it via a static, non-responsive trackpad would feel the same, unless, of course, there was an audio "hint" in the form of a soft click...like when you raise or lower your system volume and you get that feedback "click").

I don't know.

It sure it purty, though.

:D

Probably one of my favorites, just from a production/execution standpoint (drawn from scratch, all beginning as a perfect replica via line art in Illustrator, then the coloring, lighting, dimension, glows, etc. in Photoshop. The hand was a couple of layer masks and reduced opacity (for the "motion trail"), etc. Yesterday afternoon I saw, in my head, what I wanted to do and what I wanted it to look like and show; it was fun sitting down and actually doing it, starting with a blank page. I enjoy that kind of thing!

A couple of screenshots, for those fellow Adobe monkeys who like looking at this sort of stuff:
Illustrator rough (http://homepage.mac.com/pscates/mockups/lightboard_il.png)
Assembled in Photoshop (http://homepage.mac.com/pscates/mockups/lightboard_ps.png)

Even if the trackpad wasn't part of it (I got a little ambitious last night, it seems), and all Apple did was a) switch the keys from white to black, and then b) backlight them as on the new notebooks, that would be enough for me; working in the dark, or at night, as much as I'd do, I'd love to have such a thing. That lighting really pops off a black key, with the contrast provided. That was always one of my gripes about the keyboard on my old PowerBook...those silver keys didn't really provide a dark enough background for those glowing letters to "pop"; I didn't use it that much because, frankly, it was borderline useless to me. I had to lean up so close, and look almost straight down to the keys from above, that by the time I did that, I was using the light from the display more than the glow from the keys...why bother at that point?

:)

I do agree with a few posts above: I think a silver/black keyboard is on the way (perhaps even with this upcoming iMac update AppleInsider says is coming in a few weeks). Just makes all kinds of sense. I don't mind the white mouse, but these white keys bug me (plus they get smudgy and grimy-looking quite easily).

:D

But I'd take a black-keyed, backlit aluminum keyboard no matter what, Multi-Track Trackpad or not.

The irony is that last night, when I was putting this mockup together and bouncing back and forth between Illustrator and Photoshop, with several layers in each and using some key commands that aren't common, every day stuff, etc., I was really dying for this exact keyboard, more than ever! I was having to lift it up a few times, to put it in the light from the iMac display, just so I could make sure I was hitting the right key or whatever. If it just had backlighting...

So basically I was mocking this thing up for purely selfish, "me me me!" reasons.

:p

I really could use one of these puppies in the evening hours, doing some of the work I do (I always seem to get my "spark" after 10:00pm, and I like to do this stuff in a very dim, or completely dark, room).

[curiousuburb]

I really could use one of these puppies in the evening hours, doing some of the work I do (I always seem to get my "spark" after 10:00pm, and I like to do this stuff in a very dim, or completely dark, room).

I lusted for (and waited to afford) the backlit keyboard for many years.
The LED screen backlight on my MBP17HiRes does a decent job illuminating the keys on its own, but teh funkiness of fiber-optic key backlighting for night work makes it all the more fabulouser. ;)

I checked out the new 'Books in the Regent St Store in London on Friday, but I still dig the all-aluminium look to the new black keys and black bezel. :p

[Miko]

I love the idea! excellent work. You should create an animation going from light to dark for the true effect. With all the effort put in why stop at just the static image.

Let me know when they start shipping. ;)

[pscates2.0]

I don't know how to do that. I'd have to think about it for a second.

Could I make a "start" (brighter "room" and no backlighting) and "stop" point (the dark room/overlay and backlight at full strength), and then 'tween the two somehow? Is that something ImageReady does? An animated GIF or something like that? Does it generate the intermediate phases

:confused:

That seems the most straightforward, easy way (or do I have to manually create the "in between" steps? I'm happy to do it if it's not an all-day pain-in-the-ass...I think I've spent about as much time on this as I care to.

:D

[curiousuburb]

Yes. That's one way.

Might need to create the 'mid-point' lighting frame as well for a more accurate tween.

[Dorian Gray]

You're a wizard, pscates2.0! :lol: Looks like the PowerPC version of Adobe CS is working fine for you.

[Wrao]

That looks pretty great. I think that a trackpad would have to be horizontally oriented though to be most effective. I have seen a couple of PC laptops that have little mini trackpad/scroll wheel type things attached, and I always thought it was a pretty nice feature. Apple despises redundancy however, so I doubt we'll see anything like this. But it really would be neat. To be fair, I would be just as happy with taking the trackpad off the new macbooks/pros and making it into its own little USB peripheral. Maybe making it a little bigger. But then you start stepping in to wacam tablet territory, which, might not make any sense. Good job though Pscates!

[pscates2.0]

Well, I did just that. Started with a "totally lit, backlight off" position. Then created a new frame with the "darkened room/light slice" and glowing keyboard). Then I tweened the two (20 frames). I also whacked the file in half so it wasn't so large (working on a copy).

It looks neat in ImageReady...but now what? I'm not sure how to save/export it. I was hoping there would be something obvious like "Export as self-contained animated gif you can upload easily"...

:D

But no.

I've tried the Flash SWF and get compatibility errors, etc.

How do I export or save these 22 frames of "light to dark" animation to share?

I'm a web idiot, so answer accordingly (assume I know nothing about this side of things, because you'd be right).

:p



Thanks, Dorian! Yeah, it performs a skootch faster than on my PowerBook too. And the 3GB RAM probably isn't hurting. Right this moment I'm not aching for CS3 or 4 quite as bad as I thought I would. I'm doing okay for now...I might let CS4 get "on the street" for a good six or so months (and let others be real-world guinea pigs) and then try to get it in early spring '09?

[Jerman]

Nice mockup! I am an owner of the current wireless bluetooth keyboard myself, and love it. However, I have wanted at LEAST the darker keys.

Before purchasing this, I used a Logitech DiNovo keyboard, and loved it too. Thing I liked about it, was it was full size, but the number pad was separate. I think it would be so awesome for Apple to release a 3-piece set. (Wireless of course, and probably absurdly priced). So you would have the present keyboard, along with a num pad and the multi-touch trackpad.

As far as having lighting on the wireless version, it would be awesome if they could pull it off.

I will be happy as long as they at least release a black key version, but how I too long for a backlit version...

[pscates2.0]

Thanks!

I don't know the power requirements and whatnot, but I can't think of a reason they couldn't pull it off:

- They're doing it in their notebooks
- Other companies have backlit, standalone keyboards

Like so many other things with Apple, it's down to a matter of will and interest. Sadly, there are quite a few things they don't make that people would love (and that make all the sense in the world).

:)

If the power for the backlight couldn't come from the USB cable, then I'd have absolutely no problem paying for a double AA (or one of those watch or calculator batteries) a couple of times a year for the functionality such a device would bring. And I'd gladly give up the Multi-Touch idea/feature too. Just give me a slim, stylish backlit keyboard for my new iMac.

I'm surprised they haven't done this, to be honest. They've had backlit keyboards on products since January 2003 (the 17" PowerBook G4)...

[nikstar101]

USB should easily power a backlit keyboard. I mean you see fans, lights, batteries all charged by USB and even that MacBook Air Superdrive.

As much as i would like it (and this is something i have always wanted), i don't think it is much more than a gimmick. As its isn't often that you use a desktop computer is the dark (unlike a laptop where you could be in a lecture theatre).

Plus isn't it bad for your eye to use use computers for long periods of time in the dark??

[Robo]

I don't care for a trackpad, but I'd totally pay a bit extra ($20-30) for illuminated keys. Apple's keyboard line could look like this:

$49 Apple Keyboard
$79 Apple Illuminated Keyboard

$79 Apple Wireless Keyboard
$99 Apple Wireless Illuminated Keyboard

I would hope it would cost less to "illuminate" the wireless keyboard, considering it's so much smaller.

I could be way off base here, with regards to pricing, but I don't think I am. I've seen illuminated desktop keyboards for pretty cheap...under $50. Apple's would, obviously, be nicer and more expensive (well, maybe just more expensive).

And then, to make the illuminated keys really "pop," and to differentiate between the illuminated and non-illuminated keyboards, the illuminated keyboards could have black keys. :)

I think Apple would/should keep the regular keyboard around, just because it's expensive enough as it is. I think it's important that a Mac mini buyer, notebook buyer, whatever could buy a full-size Apple keyboard and mouse for under $100. And that would stay the same. Those of us who would want the illuminated keys would have to pay extra (I imagine the illuminated keyboard would be included on the 24" and higher-end 20" iMac...?).

And then, in a couple years or so, Apple could make it standard, and get rid of the white keyboard. (They won't keep it around at a lower price point...heaven forbid Apple offer a keyboard or mouse for less than $49!)

[pscates2.0]

That makes sense.

As long as the non-lighted versions also had black keys...it'll be weird with a white line and black one too. The only difference could be the backlighting. Because I'm betting any new mini that comes out won't have that white panel on top, and will join the iMac and MacBook in the "consumer stuff that used to have - or be - white plastic, but don't anymore" gang.

:)

Yeah, the trackpad might be pushing it. But you never know...Apple could do that and really charge a wallop for their keyboard!

In one of my completely nutty thoughts while doing the above mockup Saturday, I thought "what if there was a section below the typing keys, closer to the user, that ran the length of the keyboard and was actually more like the iPhone's Multi-Touch display...actually icons and images and animations?

:p

Sounds silly, but then I thought "well, in GarageBand it could become a virtual musical keyboard...enough to pump out a few chords or bass notes, and would keep the hobbyist/dabbler from having to invest in a standalone MIDI/USB keyboard).

:)

But then I smacked myself and realized it was almost a bit much...

Almost.

[T2dak668]

I just very quickly pulled PS2.0's mock up apart and moved some things around which I think make a little more sense design and use-ability wise...

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/5870/newlightboardwn8.th.jpg (http://img444.imageshack.us/my.php?image=newlightboardwn8.jpg)http://img444.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif (http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php)


You then wont have to worry about making finger gestures in the confine of buttons flanked on either side and it allows more space for a fuller track pad.

[pscates2.0]

That makes sense, having it out there by itself for the few times you'd use it. People will still say it's not horizontal though.

:)

But I like this. If/when I get in the mood and feel like fooling with it, I might re-work my file to reflect this...

[spotcatbug]

Needs a Firewire port.

[pscates2.0]

Or a thicker ABBA song. Beat it.

[nikstar101]

Needs a Firewire port.

:lol:

[ezkcdude]

I think in terms of portrait vs. landscape orientation, it would just need to be determined through user testing whether it makes any difference. I have a feeling some funny stuff could happen when attempting to "spin" things or resize, given the anisotropic velocity due to the lack of proportionality. I believe we had a discussion of this somewhere on this forum not too long ago. Don't remember what the consensus was, though.

[spotcatbug]

Sorry, couldn't resist the Firewire comment. :D

I really like the idea of a (separate) keyboard that has illuminated keys. I would totally buy that. My keyboard looks almost exactly like your mockup except for the trackpad (and illuminated keys, of course).

I have the same keyboard setup as you, pscates (keyboard in a tray) and I like it dark around my work area as well. I touch-type so it's not a big issue not to be able to see the keys 99% of the time, but every now and then (like just before this post), when I need to find a not-so-used key, I (seriously) wish I had a flashlight right here just for that. For others who may not be able to picture this: it's the keyboard tray that does it. Your keyboard is in kind of a "shaded" spot beneath the desktop. It's particularly bad for the keys at the "top" of the keyboard (like function keys), which happen to be the ones you use the least so you always need to use your eyes to hit the right one.

That trackpad is overkill, in my opinion. I think if I had that, I'd never use it - I'd just grab the mouse as usual. You have to move your hand over anyway to use that trackpad. May as well just move a little more and grab a "real" mouse. I do like trackpads in general, on portables. I never understood bringing along a mouse for use with a laptop. I don't just have a thing against trackpads. That one just doesn't seem correct somehow.

[pscates2.0]

That's my situation...on this lower pull-out ledge, the Q-row, the numbers row and F-keys are all "in shadow" once the sun goes down (and I don't like having my lights on all the time...after 10:00 or 11:00, I like the joint dark and cozy).

:)

I touch type as well, so - like right this second, typing this very post - I'm flying along, with no problem. But if I needed to access a funky key (or some sort of nutty key combo in Illustrator (option+command+whatever+an arrow :p), I'm up a creek. I'm leaning down, squinting and then (finally) lifting the damn thing to put it into the glow of the display for a second, so I can see.

Apple bringing the backlight thing over from the notebooks would instantly fix this.

We'll see. I guess they'd probably choose to do it during the iMac update (that's when these keyboards were introduced in the first place).

They might just make the keys black and leave it at that...

And they might not even do that, in which case I'm all wet, up a creek and suck as a mockup monkey/wish-maker.

:D

[thegeriatric]

Great idea Paul. But landscape the trackpad, do away with the seperate number pad, and Bingo I'd buy one to go with your Mac mini, now all we need is a decent mouse and we're set. :)

[pscates2.0]

Here's something I threw together to show all the "new" stuff together, in a set: the 24" LED Display (actual photo taken from Apple's site), my keyboard idea and my Mac mini 09 mockup (both of which I "3D-ified" in Illustrator's 3D/Dimensions thingie.

It gives a good idea of what a black-key keyboard would look like "in use", with the new display and what I think a new, updated mini might look like:

http://homepage.mac.com/pscates/mockups/MiniSet09.jpg

[morningstarrising]

Now that would be what every PC user would be envious of.


I don't know why, but I have a feeling that Apple will be releasing a touchscreen keyboard soon...

I know it wouldn't be good for keyboard, but there are things that Apple keeps doing that tells me that key boards and mice are so 20th century...

[Koodari]

I have the same keyboard setup as you, pscates (keyboard in a tray) and I like it dark around my work area as well. I touch-type so it's not a big issue not to be able to see the keys 99% of the time, but every now and then (like just before this post), when I need to find a not-so-used key, I (seriously) wish I had a flashlight right here just for that. For others who may not be able to picture this: it's the keyboard tray that does it. Your keyboard is in kind of a "shaded" spot beneath the desktop. It's particularly bad for the keys at the "top" of the keyboard (like function keys), which happen to be the ones you use the least so you always need to use your eyes to hit the right one.I find keyboard trays ergonomic disasters, anyway. It's much better to have the keyboard on the desk where elbows get supported by the desk surface.That trackpad is overkill, in my opinion. I think if I had that, I'd never use it - I'd just grab the mouse as usual. You have to move your hand over anyway to use that trackpad. May as well just move a little more and grab a "real" mouse.Agreed. Maybe I'm being thick, but I can't think of a use case where using the trackpad would be better than using the mouse or a key shortcut. Seeking to replace the mouse for lap use or other special purposes, like on Logitech' PS3 keyboard, is another matter.

[WrestleEwe]

I find keyboard trays ergonomic disasters, anyway. It's much better to have the keyboard on the desk where elbows get supported by the desk surface.

I totally agree with you. but on the other hand, Apple Keyboards themselves are ergonomic disasters as well, so the use of a keyboard tray is permitted here don't you think?

And while I really love the mock-up and the back-lit display. If there is one thing you can do to make sure your eyes hate you, it's computing in a room only lit by the screen. That is the nerd-equivalent of staring at the sun, seriously, it is very bad for your eyes. To make your eyes love you again you should at least put a diffuse light of about the same power as the screen behind the screen. But for optimal results you should only work in a well lit room. And then the back-lit keys, however cool they are, make absolutely no sense.

I get the idea for a laptop, because sometimes you don't have full control over your work environment when mobile, but it just isn't necessary for a desk-top setup.

OTOH, Apple isn't exactly known for its ergonomic designs, so I think they will probably create something very much like your mock-up.

[spotcatbug]

I find keyboard trays ergonomic disasters, anyway. It's much better to have the keyboard on the desk where elbows get supported by the desk surface.

It depends on the desk. Normally, I don't like keyboard trays either. My current desk has a higher desktop than I would like for typing. It's the perfect height for everything else, though (IMO). I like having my screens and such higher. I don't use my desk for writing on. It has all my computer stuff on it. The tray is at the perfect typing height when my chair is set at the perfect sitting height. Also, the depth of the desktop is perfect for my screens. However, if I put the keyboard up there, it'd be too close to the screens. It's obvious that whoever designed this desk understood what they were doing. I see a lot of desks with keyboard trays where it's obviously not thought-out well at all. You know, they just kinda were like, "Let's make this one into a 'computer desk' - put a keyboard tray on there."

I've never had my elbows supported while typing. I kinda have my forearms supported and I use one of those gel wrist rests. So far (after many years of keyboard use), I have no repetitive stress injuries of any kind in my arms, wrists, hands, etc. I'm probably just lucky, but I don't want to mess with my setup just in case.

[spotcatbug]

To make your eyes love you again you should at least put a diffuse light of about the same power as the screen behind the screen. But for optimal results you should only work in a well lit room. And then the back-lit keys, however cool they are, make absolutely no sense.

This is exactly what I do. During the day the room is well lit, at night I have a lamp behind the screen. My office is such that, if I were to turn on the lights at night, I would be blinded by the ceiling fixtures (the ceiling is slanted). The whole problem is not the darkness of the room. The single lamp does a good job, even though, yes, I like it a little darker than "well lit". The problem is the keyboard tray. It turns the desktop into a light visor, shielding the upper rows of keys on the keyboard from the light of (and behind) the screens.

[sebatlh]

Nice idea with the trackpad. That would be perfect for when you sit with your legs on the table and keyboard in your lap. No need to reach out for the mouse
:)

This is the perfect keyboard.
Ok, split it in the middle and make it more ergonomic while somehow keeping the trackpad in a good position, then it's perfect :)

[Boomerangmacuser]

Patent it!!!!

This is totally and Apple-esque product. Plug a mini into your television and stereo. Grab your fancy new backlit trackpaded keyboard. Drop yourself into your couch. Put your feet up on the coffe table and plunk away on teh interwebs. Ahhh, life. :cool:

It's wireless right? It better be wireless!