NeoTeo readers know I have a certain "preference" for mechanical keyboards, and I try to recommend them despite their high cost (compared to a conventional keyboard, of course). Metadot, better known for its Das Keyboard series, launched a Kickstarter campaign to promote its upcoming Das Keyboard 5Q, which in addition to offering mechanical switches and customizable RGB lighting, also connects to the cloud as a kind of "Dashboard" that reports and manages notifications. The question is: do we need something like that?
In essence, my desperate search for mechanical keyboards stopped once I got an IBM Model M and started typing with a noise similar to a bombardment. Luckily, the rest of the people in my house are very tolerant, but complaints about the "noise" of the Model M are repeated over and over across the Web. Now, "retro" mechanical keyboards are nothing more than a personal taste, and whoever wants a modern and/or silent variant should be able to find it without much difficulty. One of the most appreciated series is the Das Keyboard with several models that incorporate extras like a USB hub a potentiometer to modify the system volume, and complete compatibility with Apple systems, something that not all manufacturers offer. So, if Das keyboards are so well known, why did its makers start a Kickstarter campaign?
The Cloud-Connected Keyboard
The reason is the new Das Keyboard 5Q. The "strong point" of the keyboard (so to speak) is its connectivity with the cloud. Through dedicated software, the user can assign different keys and lighting types to a certain type of action or status. For example, if someone outbids you in an eBay auction, the keyboard will let you know by modifying the color and brightness of a key. The idea is that the keyboard stops being a simple input device and at the same time functions as an output device, a pseudo-monitor if you will. The API for programming the keyboard will be completely open, and anyone with sufficient JavaScript skills can create their own hacks, widgets and light patterns on the RGB lighting.
Mixed Reception
If we try to define the reception of the Das Keyboard 5Q, I think the best word for it is "strange". On one hand, its Kickstarter campaign surpassed the original goal by 400 percent and offering a mechanical keyboard at $139 when its final price will be $229 on the market cannot be taken lightly. On the other hand, the enthusiast community has had no mercy with the keyboard. The RGB lighting is not that attractive, the use of "Omron Gamma Zulu" switches has been seen as a trick because they are the same "Romer-G" switches used by Logitech (in addition to being inferior and incompatible with custom "keysets") and what bothers me personally: A cloud-connected keyboard is a bad idea. Anyway, the Das Keyboard 5Q will hit store shelves in January 2017.
