alexander Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 OMG, so last year i posted on the concept of a keyboard that houses an OLED display in every button, is easily programmable and esthetically just looks awesome... It has now gone in production, for $463, you can preorder your own! But their new concept is just mind boggling, and i want it even more. They call it Optimus Tactus Optimus Tactus keyboard pictures will say a 1000 words: Beautiful Tormod 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhysBang Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 If it's got Tatu, I'm in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeztar Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 That would be absolutely awesome for specialty tasks such as music and video production! I'm getting tired of programming shortcuts, or having to deal with a limited set. But at $463, I think I'll stick with shortkeys for now... I have some reservation about the tactile qualities as well. I like springy keys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tormod Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Sorry but what's the point of having the video show on the keyboard? Other than that, wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffy Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Proof once again that "everything I know I learned from Star Trek"... Freezey: You still have to program the shortcuts, but now you need to actually write code! :) On the downside, I know I have trouble with "keyboards" that don't have "keys": I have to *look* at my iphone to type, and after 2 months my accuracy is still quite low (damn fingernails!), and without the instant, correctable feed back you get with say, playing a violin, I actually don't see myself enjoying this cool new gizmo anytime soon.... Sacrificing typing accuracy for style, :)Buffy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander Posted January 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 for quick reference....You can have a video playing in queue on the screen, and then if you say wanted to cut to a next scene, you can just cut precisely where you want on they keyboard for example and then tap and cut right over to it :) or if you are playing video clips, you can preview which one you are playing next :) its just pointing out limitless possibilities :) Free, 460 for the older model that looks like a keyboard... apparently apple is working on a version of their own though, so, if they mass produce it, the price tag is so going down :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander Posted January 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 You still have to program the shortcuts, but now you need to actually write code! On the tactus, yes, on the optimus, no :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikgod Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Honestly, as an amateur sound engineer - I don't find this particularly useful. Even for special applications. I mean it's true that a keyboard is essentially useless when you're recording/mixing/editing - it's mostly mouse driven. That said, this doesn't help a whole lot. Sure, I could put a whole lot of faders on there for every channel, but without something physical there to tell me what I'm moving and to where, it doesn't help much. But, most importantly, I can get a specialized DAW (digital audio workstation) controller for a hell of a lot cheaper. Nice flash, but not particularly useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander Posted February 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Crash, i know you won't disagree, but there is more to computers then music applications :) Yes, for anyone who is just typing in stuff, it will not be particularly useful, yes you can get controllers for a hell of a lot less, i have a few, well one, but for applications with lots of shortcuts, or self-defined OS shortcuts, and games, this keyboard is simply epic. Especially for graphics people that have to know shortcuts for hundreds of tools, animators, modelers, etc, you know what i mean... and that is who would use this keyboard; musicians, probably not-so-much, though it would be useful if you use with a lot of software mixing apps, you could for example put song-selection tools on the keyboard, with quick scrolls and buttons to load into virtual tracks on your system, so you don't have to use mouse, and then a combination, or click and drag, ipod-like selectorscroll, point, select track to load into, done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikgod Posted February 17, 2008 Report Share Posted February 17, 2008 I could see a limited use in graphics applications, as the keyboard becomes largely useless (or rather not useless, but less intuitive). However, even then a specialized hardware controller for Photoshop or Illustrator (or both - as most of the Adobe products have similar tools in similar locations) would be a more attractive - and cost effective - application. The only application where this interface would be both more intuitive and more cost-effective would be on the desk of the artist/sound engineer/videographer/programmer - and while some of us may do all of these tasks (actually, I do), we do some more than others, so the importance of a specialized interface for each and every task is not very important at all. In my case, I do a lot of different tasks that could make use of a lot of different inferfaces, but I only really care about audio editing (my main hobby) and programming/administration (my livelyhood). I do some graphic design and gaming and countless other activities, but I don't do them often enough or care about them enough to find the keyboard overly-inefficient. I can put up with the general-purpose interface (although if I had a million dollars I would probably buy a tablet ). On another note, in my music creation - I have about 4 pc interfaces that I use at any one time (mixer, my MPC, keyboard, and mixing interface). The only interface that would make a somewhat-usable transition to this product would be the MPC - but even then I don't know if it can take in velocity data. My point is that most specialized applications require multiple interfaces, not just one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeztar Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 On another note, in my music creation - I have about 4 pc interfaces that I use at any one time (mixer, my MPC, keyboard, and mixing interface). The only interface that would make a somewhat-usable transition to this product would be the MPC - but even then I don't know if it can take in velocity data. My point is that most specialized applications require multiple interfaces, not just one. I agree. It's cool that you mix music nikgod, I do as well. Do you have a website with some tunes? :shrug: Have you seen the Tranzport? It looks a lot more functional for audio mixing than this keyboard could be, and about half the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikgod Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 Actually, I don't mix myself much anymore, mostly I record other people, do recording for some of my friends with bands, and I've been known to throw an occasional outdoor concert during the spring/summer months. As far as control surfaces go - I've been itching to get me one of these Mackie - Mackie Control Universal Pro - but it's a tough purchase to justify, as I already have an Onyx 1640 mixer with firewire card. I think my next big audio-related purchase will probably be a new PA system - but now we've gotten completely off-topic. :shrug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexander Posted February 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 whoah, noone ever said that this keyboard is designed for audio application, i merely assumed that it could be used as a universal controller for musical applications, no need to attack, i would not get this KB for music either... I agree that some people would find a lot more use out of this then others, as to specialized photoshop controller being a more cost-effective solution, i would digress, knowing that only adobe could implement such a solution, and just how much adobe charges for their various things, the controller would probably cost you over a grand. And as a person that used to do a lot of graphics work, don't claim to be a pro, but i have used PS since the first day 5 came out; i can tell you that shortcuts in any graphics software can save you tons of time, knowing shortcuts decreases the amount of mouse moving you have to do to select proper tools and streamlines you work. I can see this kb as a tool for that. And also as a person who knows a lot of people that do modeling (3d obviously), knowing shortcuts cuts down on time of model creation sometimes by hours, never mind the frustration that comes with only using a mouse. Lastly yes they may make specialized controllers for those applications, but then there are people that texture, and create models and stuff, that have to deal with a multitude of applications, and application plug-ins, where each has its own set of commands, and would require a different interface so i can see this as a helpful tool in those lines of work, music, not-so much, generally one tool can cover a wide area of application. I myself have an Akai MPD 24 (though i need some software to for beat making that is a bit better then the default stuff), M-Audio XSession Pro, and a usb 4 channel audio card all for the very purpose of mixing, beat making, sampling and all that fun stuff. And although i am still learning and playing with this stuff (Crash aka nikgod would be a better person to ask as to whether or not i am making progress or whether the music i make is good or not), a keyboard would not replace it. Though an extensive interface is not generally absolutely needed. I have posted about the Pacemaker portable music player for djs, and it is a good example of a simple, yet musically effective interface (generally for practicing sets) Crash, that universal control is sick, pricey though and your mixer is sick.... i wanna get a cdj setup... but it costs lots of money that i dont have... but i will get the setup, wanna have proper equipment that is not reliant on my laptop/software in general... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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