[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Star Trek KB and Mouse
May 25th, 2015 by Benj Edwards
Make it no, Number One.
I once lampooned a Klingon keyboard for a PC World slideshow back in 2009 (looks like the images on that slideshow are broken now — bummer), so I found it especially fun when I ran across this entry for a Star Trek-themed keyboard and mouse in a 1995 Things You Never Knew Existed catalog.
The year 1995 seemed like the height of TV Star Trek, with TNG ending not long before, Voyager starting, and DS9 still on a roll. So it was as an appropriate time as ever to market a keyboard and mouse like this. Sadly, neither one looks very comfortable to use. But if ergonomics were the point of novelty products, then Things You Never Knew Exsited would have never existed.
By the way, I love the extremely 1995 hairstyle. I think my hair looked like back then too.
Discussion Topic of the Week: What is the weirdest keyboard or mouse you have ever used?
May 27th, 2015 at 6:54 pm
The ObiTouch, beyond a doubt. The father of a friend of mine had one and he hated it, gave it to us and we hated it. I could see where some people might like it, but I never could get the twisting motions just right. My favorite keyboard is the original Microsoft Ergo keyboard. I still have it and a couple of variants that I use and love!
May 28th, 2015 at 9:05 pm
Wierdest keyboard I handled was one we had special ordered for a user that could not pivot his wrists. He had been in a bad car accident, and his wrist bones were shattered then somehow fused. The keyboard was split in two halves, and bowed in and down, the opposite of the MS natural keyboards.
The mouse device he used looked like a joystick, except it had an optical sensors instead of a base. It looked like something you would use to mash potatoes.
May 29th, 2015 at 12:41 pm
Moondog that is the Kinesis Advantage, weird lookiing thing but some people love them.
May 29th, 2015 at 5:12 pm
For a few years, I used the Logitech Marbleman FX trackball. I still have one, but I quit using it when I couldn’t find drivers for the auxiliary buttons after Win 98.
May 29th, 2015 at 11:48 pm
Weirdest mouse: Apple Magic Mouse. The lack of precision is astounding when it comes to scrolling, and if I had to use it in programs like photoshop and illustrator regularly, I think I might throw it across the room! It takes alot of time to get used to using what is effectively a mouse with a trackpad on top of it.
Weirdest keyboard: any membrane keyboard.
May 31st, 2015 at 8:46 pm
the weirdest mice i’ve ever use is the one that shaped like a car. it came complete with wheels and everything a toy sport car has, the 2 doors can even be open and close.
but its not comfortable to use. very uncomfortable.
good thing i borrowed it…
June 23rd, 2015 at 1:04 am
Thank you for this opportunity to understand the adventures of technology.