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Das Keyboard Professional
Introduction
When talking about it, you're allowed to call it "the Das Keyboard." Even though 'das' and 'the' bear striking resemblance to each other when things like "English" and "German" are taken out of the equation, the Das in Das Keyboard is part of its name. Besides, all the Das Keyboard guys are doing it. A little while before I reviewed the keyboard, I broke my left middle finger. On a criminal who didn't survive the confrontation, yeah. I didn't crush it under my own foot trying to scramble out of a creek, that's for damn sure. Besides, it--I mean, he, the criminal, was this scummy drainage... thug. Long story short, the pain was nonexistent while I was sleeping. But typing, that's sort of what I do, you know? When a slight breeze makes new bruises show up, the last thing I really wanted to do was to review a manual input device. So in a way, in a very real, palpable, tooth-clenching way, I was hyper-sensitized to this device. And lemme tell you, this article-rich keyboard sure does make a nice sound when you type. Wait, that makes no sense.    First Impressions The Professional, or its letter-barren counterpart, the Das Keyboard Ultimate, will turn heads. Whether you go for the sensible keyboard with paint on the keys or are a pitiless self-aggrandizing touch-typist (masochist) people will be drawn to your keyboard, with its familiar IBM layout mutated, nay, evolved. And glossied. (Seriously, who can touch-type break and page down? Which keys go where around the numpad? I propose that there are no such people, just those who don't use them and liars. Cool liars, no doubt.) (You'd have to think that typing was cool for them to be that way, but I digress.) If you're not familiar with the intricacies of the one-hundred thirty dollar keyboard, surely the price lends some insight. I mean, it's not like they're scrimping on decals. Each key has its own mechanical switch. That sounds like a gimme but the truth is, most keyboards just press down on really sturdy bubble-wrap, and it can wear out and it also feels pretty lame once you've spent good time with real keyboards.       The weight of the keyboard alone might convince a few that its expensive; at 2.6 pounds, it's almost as heavy as my laptop. They even make the underside look good. The feet are wide and stable (of course, they'd have to be to handle its mass). With a six foot long USB cable, you're not likely to need an extension. And it can detect twelve simultaneous key depressions, great for the polydactal? It's overkill, but no one's complaining. The keys are your standard matte-finish black affairs, but what they're set in is liquid. The body of the keyboard is highly glossified, and comes with a shammy to wipe it down. To the right of the keyboard, beneath the function lights, there's an unpowered two-port USB hub. On the Professional, even the font is tweaked; the Das Keyboard has a sleek sans-serifed typeset. Some of these changes are cosmetic, some of them fundamental. One thing you won't find on this keyboard are any multimedia buttons. I don't think they're going to lose customers over this.
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Add Comment
11 User Comments 1 - Posted by
Topheron
on October 16, 2008 - 6:17 pm I too, have the Das Keyboard bug. I bought the one with no letters or numbers on the keys, for a lot more money than my significant other could possibly understand a year ago. Love it. Love it beyond reason. I thought I'd like it, that it would be nice, but when I have the chance to do some extensive typing I'm grinning like a madman, a slight hint of drool coming from the corner of my mouth. Typing is an absolute joy on a Das Keyboard. Worth every penny. I plan to use this keyboard for the rest of my life. 2 - Posted by
Kurtis
on October 16, 2008 - 6:26 pm Makes you want to change professions to Data Input Specialist, eh? :-p
3 - Posted by
MichaelHarper
on October 27, 2008 - 7:56 am Max, i am writing to convey the dismay of your employers. It was thought that you had the discretion to keep the nature of your employ secret, but even this hyperbole-laden recounting is beyond the pale for those in our line of work. Your situation shall shortly change, and drastically, and not for the better.
4 - Posted by
phototristan
on November 7, 2008 - 3:55 pm This is a good keyboard but the lettering on the keys is already staring to wear off and I've only had it a couple of months!
5 - Posted by
iMav
on November 8, 2008 - 7:56 pm The folks over at geekhack have identified a significant flaw in the Das III's design. Check it I hope the folks at Metadot step up and make it right. 6 - Posted by
Kurtis
on November 9, 2008 - 12:57 pm Thanks for the feedback, phototristan and iMav.
7 - Posted by
chris_
on June 11, 2009 - 12:11 am The "Das Keyboard bug" is an unsubstantiated viral meme on Geekhack, stemming from a lack of testing of other keyboards (which produce the same result) and a lack of data regarding the proper range of sample rates for a keyboard. Without hard data these claims should be disregarded. I type over 100 words per minute on mine.
8 - Posted by
typist2000
on June 20, 2009 - 1:12 am chris_ = troll or fanboy, take your pick. Metadot themselves admitted the problem that geekhack folks talked about.
9 - Posted by
Rajagra
on June 20, 2009 - 1:21 pm Chris_, daskeyboard com is marketing the DAS III as "The best keyboard on the planet. Period." Some good typists noticed it gave key transposition errors that similar grade keyboards did not. And not completely random errors - there was a pattern. They devised a simple test that proved the nature of the problem. When the manufacturers were confonted, they (to their credit) admitted the problem and gave details - the DAS III does indeed scan the keyboard matrix slowly. This is a design flaw. It is still a great keyboard, I have one and love it, but people typing at 120wpm may find the problem annoying.
10 - Posted by
Rajagra
on June 20, 2009 - 1:43 pm For the record, DAS have said: "The detection time of the current version was designed as 100ms." So two keys pressed within 1/10 of a second of each other might get transposed, though 1/20 of a second is the average inter-keypress delay that will cause problems. 120wpm = about 10 keys pers second on average, ball park figure, but faster in bursts. Now can you see why fast typists suffer from the flaw? 11 - Posted by
smith
on June 20, 2009 - 2:00 pm http://www.daskeyboard.com/blog/?p=82 And I get transposition errors at 60wpm...not 120 Add Comment To add a comment without being a member, you may omit the password field, but you must enter your name (or nickname) along with your comment. * Denotes required fields. |
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