Any update on the new Rosewill keyboards ?

[sordna]

That said, I think it's not so much that the logo is a real deal breaker for me - if I didn't already have too many keyboards it would definitely be under consideration.  It's one of those things like finding a Porsche with an automatic transmission - it's still a great car, but with this one glaring flaw that is going to annoy you every time you get behind the wheel

 

I never really got the Rosewill logo hating.  Won't say I love it but more ambivelent, don't hate it.  Could it be better? Sure, lots of things could but...

I agree with TexasFlood. Most of us touch type anyway, and even those who don't, won't stare at the top right corner of the keyboard while hunt and pecking.

N8N your metaphor was exaggerating, having a bad logo is not nearly as bad as having an automatic transmission. You might say it's like having a Porsche with mismatched logo on the steering wheel. It doesn't affect performance, feel, etc. Just the looks of a part you are not looking at while using.

[fluxrez]

I just scratched the logo off with a pocket knife... It looks a little rough... but I rarely shave, so so do I.

[hyperq]

Rosewill's big block of ugly isn't consistent with the minimalist design of the keyboard.  A nice suit doesn't need a flashy logo on the outside, neither does this kind of keyboard.  Leopold's TenKeyless version has no visible logo at all, truly adhering to its design principle:  elegant and clean.  

There is nothing elegant or clean about Rosewill's logo.

[itlnstln]

Rosewill's big block of ugly isn't consistent with the minimalist design of the keyboard.  A nice suit doesn't need a flashy logo on the outside, neither does this kind of keyboard.  Leopold's TenKeyless version has no visible logo at all, truly adhering to its design principle:  elegant and clean.  

There is nothing elegant or clean about Rosewill's logo.

Well said.

[Oqsy]

In dark red on some of their other products, it's ignorable, which is fine. If you can't afford or come up with a unique and interesting logo to be a focal point, then make it as unintrusive as possible. There is no rule that says you have to have a bigass logo front-and-center on all of your products, so why hurt your sales by slapping a huge ugly logo on an otherwise great product?

I want to do a couple more things and some pricing research before going through the details of removing it safely. For those with auto finish / detail experience, this might come as a "duh" moment. There is no chemical or solvent involved. 100% mechanical removal.

[keyboardlover]

As resident hipster I like rosewill's look. And I will still like it years from now when it will inevitably be "cool".

[N8N]

There is no rule that says you have to have a bigass logo front-and-center on all of your products, so why hurt your sales by slapping a huge ugly logo on an otherwise great product?

That was exactly the point that I was trying to make.

That said, at least the main quibble with the product seems to be the logo, not something functional or fundamental - which is a good thing.

[minhtri]

sorry, can someone ask me, Rosewill use Costar stabilizer or Cherry stabilizer?

[itlnstln]

sorry, can someone ask me, Rosewill use Costar stabilizer or Cherry stabilizer?

Minhtri, do the Rosewill keyboards use the Costar or Cherry-style stabilizers?

[N8N]

Costar.  I haven't handled one, but from all the pics I've seen, it's very, very similar to Filco in pretty much all respects.

[minhtri]

Minhtri, do the Rosewill keyboards use the Costar or Cherry-style stabilizers?

 
oop, i mistype "answer" and "ask"

they said rosewill is filco rebranded so i think it is Costar stabilizers
but i just want to make sure

i got filco red, and i want another at my office but filco red is limited, that makes it is expensive
so i think i will get rosewill red when it comes out

[Oqsy]

Ripster speaks facts. Everyone hide!

[Oqsy]

No dongle, 2 separate cables.

[itlnstln]

Ooh.  That's special.  Cheap they are not.  Screw a dongle, they just throw the whole cable in.

[N8N]

Other than the case, controller, keys, firmware, pcb and logo it is QUITE similar to the Filcos.

 
I thought that the controller was the same as Filco, did they change that for V2?

[hyperq]

Other than the case, controller, keys, firmware, pcb and logo it is QUITE similar to the Filcos.

Yup, they are not too different after all.

[Oqsy]

All proof that filco dun goofed and could have had detachable USB and better keycaps by now

[itlnstln]

Mine's still bigger.

The keyboard at least.

[Oqsy]

Yes. The keyboard. What else would you mean?

[sordna]

Also the most awesome keypuller they throw in the Limited Edition boxes

How does the Filco keypuller compare to the Leopold one? The Leopold puller has better looks, but I have no idea which of the 2 works better in practice. Has anyone tried them both?

[hashbaz]

If you can't afford or come up with a unique and interesting logo to be a focal point, then make it as unintrusive as possible. There is no rule that says you have to have a bigass logo front-and-center on all of your products, so why hurt your sales by slapping a huge ugly logo on an otherwise great product?

What makes you think they didn't spend time/money designing the logo, other than the fact that you don't like it?

[Oqsy]

What makes you think they didn't spend time/money designing the logo, other than the fact that you don't like it?

I've seen the Rosewill logo.  After asking that question, I'm assuming you haven't.

[soymilk]

if it was simply "Rosewill" in a normal font like this it would look better than the current one :/

[Oqsy]

Luckily, it comes off

[crazing]

Luckily, it comes off

http://www.scraperite.com/ Amirite?

[Oqsy]

no, but that is a very interesting idea.

[Oqsy]

This is my tool of choice.  I will post more later, intended to do a full step by step with pics, but I haven't had time recently, and I don't want to be a **** and leave everyone hanging about how I managed.

[crazing]

Oooooh.  That way looks much more fun.

[N8N]

Is that a pinstripe eraser?

[Oqsy]

N8N got it  
Yes, a pinstripe eraser.  
For those not familiar, it's a rubber "wheel" on a drill spindle.  You put it in your power drill, and use it to rub away pin stripes, stickers, adhesives, etc.  But it does work in this application.  A word of caution, brace your case well so that it doesn't slide around, and only use the minimum pressure / speed required to get the logo to start coming off.  Too little and you'll just sit there shining the logo, too much, and you'll eat into the plastic (heat as much as friction).  It works, but must be done with caution.  I did not want people snapping their cases or eating into the plastic by using it without a proper primer, but alas, I haven't had time yet for a full "Pinstripe eraser on Rosewill logo for Dummies" article yet.  I'll put it next to my "ALPS restoration" article on top of the geekhack "to do" list.

In other words, YMMV depending on hardness of your specific pinstripe eraser's rubber (should be pretty similar if not identical, but I've only used a couple over the years, they last FOREVER), your drill speed and/or torque, how well secured the case is, and the amount of pressure you apply.  If you've never used one before, PRACTICE on some not precious bit of plastic.  Maybe put a sticker or two on it just to get an idea of how it works.  It won't be exactly the same results as with the "paint" of the case, but it will get you closer and help you understand what works, and what just eats up the plastic before you ruin your case.

*I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGE OR INJURIES INCURRED BY USING THIS METHOD!*

[sordna]

Cool! By the way, has anyone tried the Magic Eraser on the Rosewill logo? It reportedly works for de-shining spacebars, but it might be effective here too. Worth a try anyway.

[crazing]

Just to give a sense of how fun/crazy this is, those things aren't bottle cap sized.  They're like, bread plate sized.  Maybe something between a bread plate and a saucer.  (I eat out a lot.)  It's not like a little thing for your Dremel.  It's ham-hock man-sized, and it goes on a real drill, and I'm actually slightly giddy about taking one to a keyboard.  Good show, governor.

[Oqsy]

haha right, they're roughly saucer sized...

serious business, but with a soft rubbery aftertaste

[JustCallMeCrash]

I wonder if they would fit on (or have a different version for) a bench grinder.  I would think that'd be a bit easier to control than a drill.

[crazing]

It really is more of an eraser than something gritty, though? It's more heat-and-rubbing, since it's made for like 2000 wpm, as opposed to the elbow grease Magic Eraser. Plus snapping the case off for sandblasting sounds like more work than popping a key off for blasting.  But I could see myself being almost as annoyed with a weird splotchy finish in that spot, as with an ugly logo, so I'd likely end up doing it..  Tho the couple of pics Oqsy's put up didn't seem to have much at all there anymore. I dunno. I'm looking forward to the closeups in his guide.

[sordna]

How about shaprie-ing the logo to make it black, blue, or red ?

[crazing]

Oqsy's making it sound like it's not etched and filled or recessed at all.  Just slathered on top.  So a sharpie job would probably look like a sharpie job, since the edges of the letters would if anything make the sharpie tip slide off, not keep it on track.

[hyperq]

The idea of removing paint from plastic is really bugging me, so I did a little experiment.  

I put a drop of 3-in-one on a plastic luggage tag with a painted logo.  The plastic used in the luggage tag may not be the same plastic used in the Rosewill keyboard, but they certainly look alike.  After soaking it and stirring it for about 10 minutes.  Most of the paint is gone.  3-in-one is all I can find right now, you may get better/worse results with Dot 3 Brake Fluid, WD-40, gasoline, or alcohol.  BTW, 3-in-one smells very close to WD-40.



Please note:
* Test a small drop in a hidden area on you keyboard first!!!  To make sure the agent is safe for your keyboard.
* You may want to remove the top keyboard cover to avoid getting the oil onto keys or LEDs.
* When stirring, use a soft, dull object, such as a Bic pen cap.  I was using the tip of a screw driver, and that scratched the plastic a lot.  Bad idea.
* One drop of 3-in-one can cover about one square inch.  So use sparingly.
* Wipe dry afterwards.  Then wash with dish detergent.

[N8N]

DOT3 is actually a great idea.  I remember using it to strip paint from plastic model cars if I messed up spraying.  Don't have a rosewill to try it on though...

[fluxrez]

Somebody NKRO test this sucker.  If the controller is new they might have changed something.

Also, DOES the PS/2 dongle come in the box?

(WD-40 does nothing to Filco spooge btw).

NKRO works great.  I held about 60 keys down at once.  The keyboard comes with two sperate cables.  PS/2 and USB.  No dongle.

[alaricljs]

Ummm, not a complete answer there.  Is that PS/2 or USB?  We'd really like to know both.

[kaiserreich]

The Filco wire portion is longer, allowing you to hold more keys at one time.  I can get four keys instead of just three at a time.   Important when key pulling.

OK, not THAT important but Richard Gere appreciates the extra reach when pulling Gerbils.
(Attachment Link) 26087[/ATTACH]

I prefer the Leopold keypuller.
Who needs to hold more keys when the keys just fall out after every key pull

[minhtri]

when will new rosewill be availabe ?
GK's wiki said "winter 2011" so it is Oct, Nov and Dec ?

[fluxrez]

when will new rosewill be availabe ?
GK's wiki said "winter 2011" so it is Oct, Nov and Dec ?

The "new" features are already available.  I think that's just the switches other than blue.

[minhtri]

What's GK?

Oh GEEKHACK!  I said Winter.  Although I may have 99% track record in my 2011 Keyboard Predictions I am NOT the Keyboard Oracle.

sorry to piss you off

GEEKHACK

The "new" features are already available.  I think that's just the switches other than blue.

yes, i care about red. rosewill red is absolutely cheaper than filco red.

[keyboardlover]

Ping!

[hcry4]

I only get pissed when people say TKL.

Why do people keep talking about The Keyboard Lover?

[Oqsy]

I prefer TKL to TLK.  I"ve seen that more than once, and repeated several times throughout the threads, so it's not just a typo.  TenLessKeys?

The wheel IS abrasive, lest it wouldn't work at all.  But, it's gently abrasive, such that it does NOT scratch automotive finish at all, yet removes stuff stuck to it or on top.  Uncured paint (ie accidents, oversprays, etc) can *often*, but not always, be removed with a pinstripe wheel if you move quickly and know your stuff.  If the solvent in the paint starts to eat into your factory finish tho, you're just wasting time.

Wrong topic.  Rosewill.  Magic Eraser will work eventually, but it shines the snot out of the case (I tried it on the Lock labels last night, had to equally shine the rest of the case to get it uniform, mistake.)  So, as long as you don't mind your case looking like a Das Keyboard, go for it.  Otherwise you'll have to sandblast after the fact to get it back to the more "satin" factory texture.  It seems that is going to have to be my next step, since I was too bold with Mr. Clean's texture eraser.

[Oqsy]

I wish I had about 5 more Rosewill cases to practice and perfect the method.  Alas, I'll just have to live with my shiny otaku case.

Perhaps I'll consider a Rosewill Logo removal service at some point in the future, after I acquire a decent sandblasting setup.  Another thing to consider as the first step is soda blasting.  Used in auto body to remove paint without affecting the texture of underlying surface (so that you can knock paint off a panel without pitting or marring the hell out of it to the point that you make it more work to get it back to a paintable state again).  This works amazingly well on auto body panels, but requires equipment that can handle the fine baking soda and respirator, etc are a MUST, even if your working area is "enclosed"  It won't be airtight, and the large amount of very fine suspended baking soda dust will choke you out, ahem, "like a boss".

Anyway, I've never heard of anyone using it on plastic, and don't know that it would work at all in this scenario, but might be worth a shot.

[crazing]

But, that's not to say you feel like you have to blast after the wheel?  Or is it?