Das Keyboard II: Blank Keyboard With Mechanical Gold-Plated Key Switches (Link)

Daniel Guermeur, founder of Metadot Corporation, an open source software company, has invented Das Keyboard. Why? He felt the only way to improve his typing was to stop looking at the keys thus having a blank keyboard would be the ultimate answer.

Each key od Das Keyboard II is supported on top of a mechanical, gold-plated switch, which, when typed on, creates a very clicky sounding keyboard, much like an old IBM Model M keyboard. This type of high-end tactile feedback may be comfortable, but the noise may be a nuisance to you or those around you.

The Das Keyboard is also unique in that it has five weight categories for different keys that require different amount of pressure to press depending on the finger that accesses that key. For instance, the force at which we press the Spacebar is much greater than the force we use to press the Q key. Five categories of key pressure range from 35 grams to 80 grams, with the Q requiring 35g and the Spacebar requiring 80g.

These high-end keys are built to withstand up to 50 million keystrokes, compared with 10 to 15 million keystrokes for standard membrane keys, according to Metadot, the company that manufactures the Das Keyboard.

Metadot claims that your typing speed will improve up to 100% within a few short weeks. Das Keyboard is a USB keyboard, compatible with Windows, MacOS X and Linux. Das Keyboard has a Windows menu key that also works under Linux.

"Das keyboard doubled my typing speed and makes me way more productive. I probably save dozens of minutes per day. Just imagine how much more productivity and free time I get in a year!", said Daniel Guermeur.


Read Also:
DAS Keyboard II Review (Extreme Tech)
Das Keyboard II with blank keys reviewed (Engadget)