$1850 keyboard

I'm a bit mystified. This is the first time I've heard of it. Anyone know why the manufacturer went out of business? Was it low demand or just bad marketing? Sounds like there's still a strong demand for it if people are willing to pay that high for a used one. If it's good for carpal tunnel then there's probably a market in employers. Maybe they just didn't tap that market rigorously enough. A Google search shows two companies selling it on their website for $400 and $285. They must actually be sold out, I'm assuming. Seems like it's an item another, larger manufacturer would want to pick up. No rumors of that?

What the heck? I mean it looks cool, but really, what the hell?

Im with him ^^ on this one, What is that used for?

Kids, let me tell you, if you have a debilitating condition, you'll pay anything to get your functionality back. And rightly so.

$2000.00 is NOTHING, in terms of medical rehabilitation expense. These are your hands we are writing about. Think about it. Try to live without the use of your hands for one day. Let me know how it goes.

Mutant_Pie

It's officially a secret, but google and ye shall find.

But check this out, a (NLA of course!) replacement keyboard for iBooks/PowerBooks! Very cool!

It looks like the new ApplePhone uses the same or a very similar technology. It appears the two most important developers of the technology are now working for Apple.

dan k

Exactly. My sister is a dealer for a casino. She's had surgery to both wrists and forearms to the elbow. She's got permanent muscle atrophy in her thumbs. She went to a trackball to save her arms while using a computer. She'd love to find a good keyboard, but until she settles with the casino, she can't afford anything like this. Since it's a well known work related injury for the field, she is expecting a settlement in the neighborhood of $100k+ on top of having all medical expenses paid. Carpal tunnel is an expensive, lifelong, condition. Dropping $2k to keep you functional in the modern world is a drop in the bucket.

Funny how their product photos are just pics of PowerBooks with their product (poorly) Photoshopped in.

Wow. I bought one of those about two months before they closed shop. I was really disappointed I wouldn't be able to get spares/upgrades, but at those prices, I just may sell it. Anybody recommend a nice replacement keyboard?

Nothing fancy or way out of the ordinary, but I bought a Macally IceKey USB Slim Keyboard last month and I'm still loving it. Best keyboard I ever owned and it's pretty to look at too. I've never typed so fast before. Here it is:

Macally IceKey

Ironically if you Google for reviews of this keyboard the opinions are really mixed as to whether it's really that good at helping with carpal tunnel syndrome. (One in particular basically boiled down to "My hands don't hurt when using it, but it's so slow and error prone compared to a real keyboard I can't stand to type on it for any extended period of time.") I guess the people who like it must really *like* it, though, to pay six times the original list for one.

Having gone through a brief bout of RSI myself I found the most helpful aid to recovering was to lay off using laptop keyboards for heavy work. They're absolute murder on the wrists, particularly since they encourage non-optimal typing postures. (Crouched over your lap is *not* ergonomic.). Switching to a nice roomy split keyboard like a Microsoft Natural for programming seemed to do the trick.

Of course for people who've really blown their wrists more radical measures are necessary. I've known people that had to switch careers because of the damage they'd done to their hands thanks to a few years of machine-gun-fire-speed typing. (Which they were very proud of until their hands started falling off. Sometimes slower is better.) I sort of doubt the Fingerworks board would help someone that far gone.

--Peace

That's weird... you (dankephoto) posted this comment about the price etc. and on the front page of today's local newspaper (Delaware News Journal) it has an article about the two guys and their keyboard. They are local from The University of Delaware. It talks about how Apple bought the technology for the iPhone etc

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070119/NEWS/701190357/1006/NEWS.

MaxTek

I ended up searching for these keyboards on eBay after reading a reference about the company at the time the ApPlePhOnE was introduced. I'm sure the article in your paper appeared for the same reason. So it's not really a coincidence at all.

dan k