Lets be honest, the first company to make a keyboard like this will bank:

[cosmonauti]

Some company needs to make a tenkeyless backlit mechanical. Doesn't even matter what switches they use at first.

I'm talking about a normal form factor though. Not like a deck, tk or vortex. Straight tenkeyless. Backlighting, at least in my mind, equates to (or at least parallels) gaming. I know I speak for a lot of gamers when I say that if a company made such a board (obviously it'd need to be quality), they'd get snatched up in an instant.

Expanding options later (LED colors, switch choice etc.) would only increase revenue. Why hasn't anyone made this yet?!
I would have expected a company to realize this by now..

[Halverson]

Currently you can buy Ducky Year of the dragons. All switches, LED backlit with quite a few different functions. Solid as a rock, and currently at a good price.

[IvanIvanovich]

Both Ducky and Keycool already have this.

[Halverson]

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=36090.0 The dragon


http://www.vendio.com/stores/E-sports-Gaming-equipments/category/cateogry1-name/catId=4190075 Keycools

[fohat.digs]

I don't game, but a lighted keyboard would make me absolutely insane with distraction.

The brightness of the 3 LEDs on many modern keyboards is more than I can bear.

[sth]

let's be honest, these boards exist and they're tacky as hell

[Binge]

TKL are only for some people.  There's a lot of people like myself who really need the TK.  It makes life a lot easier.

[Lethal Squirrel]

Can't play Garry's mod without a TK!

[rowdy]

I don't find the backlighting too bright - the lowest setting is farirly dim, and I usually use the second or third setting on my Ducky Shines (where the highest setting is waaay too bright.

For a new game or one with many keyboard controls, having backlighting means that I can glance down for a second to see where they key us, as my fingers are usually poised over the wrong side of the keyboard for touch typing, so until muscle memory sets in I can easily find the keys.  Gaming in a dark room, btw, where the legends are all but invisible without backlighting.

[metalliqaz]

let's be honest, these boards exist and they're tacky as hell

Okay maybe some of them are tacky, but there is something to be said about being able to easily read the keyboard in the dark.  I'm getting to the point where that feature is a must-have on my laptops.

[dreamingftw]

You've been in space too long.

[cosmonauti]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I'm an idiot.

[cosmonauti]

can anyone attest to the quality of the key cools?

[Lethal Squirrel]

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=36115.0 ;P

[cosmonauti]

Oh man... I only have so much money...
Too bad they're around 115-120 shipped.

I really like the look of the green and white ones, maybe I should pick one up. Christmas isn't so far away right? ..right?

[sth]

let's be honest, these boards exist and they're tacky as hell

Okay maybe some of them are tacky, but there is something to be said about being able to easily read the keyboard in the dark.  I'm getting to the point where that feature is a must-have on my laptops.

stop looking at your keyboard and in a week you won't NEED to look at your keyboard.

seriously weird how many geekhackers can't / don't / won't touchtype.

[cosmonauti]

I don't look at my keyboard 85-90% of the time and never at work (was thinking about a leopold otaku but that's another story). My room on the other hand is DARK. Like void of light. To the point where my walls mute and absorb it. My desk is setup such that no glare from my screen hits my keyboard/mouse. I wouldn't even be able to see it on my desk if I didn't have illuminated keys.

Trust me I did it for years - it sucked - and I don't think I could go back.

[Lethal Squirrel]

I can type without looking but it's a really weird style/technique. It's basically word based and not letter based. I can type mostly every word without looking, but once and a while there's a word or captcha that I have to type and I need to see the letters. that's about the only use I would get out of a backlit keyboard.
It's really annoying though and I want to change my typing habbits into actual touch typing so I can finally have blank keys. : /

[sth]

yeah... just switch to blanks and you'll be fine

[cosmonauti]

I can type mostly every word without looking, but once and a while there's a word or captcha that I have to type and I need to see the letters

Exactly this.

[sth]

that just means you have a goal to work toward!

[dippingriz]

Back lighting was really cool for about 15 minutes.  I can't stand it any more.  They need to put Pokers back into production.  I would buy 3 to make sure I don't run out. 

[FoxWolf1]

Back lighting was really cool for about 15 minutes.  I can't stand it any more.  They need to put Pokers back into production.  I would buy 3 to make sure I don't run out. 

I'd never buy a keyboard where you've got to get three to make sure you have one that works .

[nullstring]

stop looking at your keyboard and in a week you won't NEED to look at your keyboard.

seriously weird how many geekhackers can't / don't / won't touchtype.

I agree completely.
Why would you even need a mechanical keyboard if you can't / won't touchtype.

[alaricljs]

How nice a mechanical feels has nothing to do with the ability to touch type. 


On the other hand I typed for so long before I even thought of not looking that when I DID not look all that happened is I got faster.

[nullstring]

How nice a mechanical feels has nothing to do with the ability to touch type. 
On the other hand I typed for so long before I even thought of not looking that when I DID not look all that happened is I got faster.

Thats true, but I can't imagine anyone who doesn't type enough to be able to touch type to require one of these.
Perhaps people get things they don't need all the time though.

I have no idea when I stopped looking at the keyboard when typing.
I am imagine it's a natural progression though..
You need to look at the screen to see what you're doing, if you don't touch type you would be switching back and forth.
As you get better at typing you start looking at the keys less and less until you don't look at them at all.

[stingrae]

I automated typing badly before learning the proper technique. I could type without looking but it was not efficient and error prone. Eventually if you do something enough it becomes muscle memory so you can develop wacky and sometimes better techniques (e.g. sean wrona).

When I bought a mech board first my goal was to learn to type properly to justify my expense. I have no regrets and it was worth doing it as it spread the work load more evenly across my hands.

[MissMurd3r84]

Your location makes more sense now, you must be in Space to have missed the TKL backlits
I have one, but I also have blank keys on mine, which I find to be an odd thing to do, because why have backlit if you can't even see what keys are what?

[Shuki]

I think people misunderstand the point of backlighting. No one actually needs a backlit keyboard to be able to read the keys unless they are destitute due to their keyboard addiction and can't afford to pay the lighting bill. The point of a backlit keyboard is that males are genetically hardwired to think flashing leds are awesome.

[MissMurd3r84]

Umm and what about females? *cough cough*

[alaricljs]

Females?  Well that's a conscious choice in style/fashion/whatever. 

[Saturn]

I tend to shy away from backlit mechanical keyboards.  Typically those boards use translucent keycaps with some sort of black coating, with the key lettering etched away so the backlighting can shine through it.  Eventually, won't the black coating will wear off, resulting in a keycap that looks like a hideous mess?

Besides, if you really want your KB to be blinged out, you also need to have it emit a *beep* or *boop* sound whenever you press a key, so your computer always sounds like the ones from CSI. 

[Skull_Angel]

People have successfully replaced them with light colored PBT caps, doesn't look bad.

[FoxWolf1]

Eventually, won't the black coating will wear off, resulting in a keycap that looks like a hideous mess?

Yup.

AFAIK Deck are the only ones who make backlit keys by a different, more durable method.

[wcass]

back lighting opaque keys in a poorly lit room would make any keyboard otaku. light would spill around the keys - accenting the shape and textural art of the keyboard. much less direct light - enough to see where the home row is but not what the home row is.

that will be one of my next projects - a buckling spring board with this kind of lighting.

[TheProfosist]

Umm and what about females? *cough cough*

females use mechanical keyboards, much less be on geekhack, unhead of!   

Backlighting is fun and all but you should be using a computer in the dark as the contrast is horrible for your eyes unless that is you have a backlight for your monitor, it by the way does wonders!

[cosmonauti]

Backlighting is fun and all but you should be using a computer in the dark as the contrast is horrible for your eyes unless that is you have a backlight for your monitor, it by the way does wonders!

Should or shouldn't be? my eyes seem to be holding up alright in the dark

[davkol]

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum

[furosuto81]

let's be honest, these boards exist and they're tacky as hell

Okay maybe some of them are tacky, but there is something to be said about being able to easily read the keyboard in the dark.  I'm getting to the point where that feature is a must-have on my laptops.

stop looking at your keyboard and in a week you won't NEED to look at your keyboard.

seriously weird how many geekhackers can't / don't / won't touchtype.

Seriously weird how many geekhackers feel the need to attack others because they may glance down at the keys from time to time. I guess every internet forum has members with superiority complexes though. Here's a thought: I don't spend much time actually typing on my home keyboard. 90% of the time, I use it for gaming, in low-light situations. I don't have my fingers on the home row most of that time. Sometimes I move my hand around the keyboard. I these situations, I like to have a little backlighting to reorient myself when that happens. Not that it should really matter how I use MY keyboard.

Secondly, I guess it's a matter of taste, but I don't think a white-LED keyboard looks "tacky" at all. Blue or Red...maybe a little. But white is pretty neutral.

I think people misunderstand the point of backlighting. No one actually needs a backlit keyboard to be able to read the keys unless they are destitute due to their keyboard addiction and can't afford to pay the lighting bill. The point of a backlit keyboard is that males are genetically hardwired to think flashing leds are awesome.

Or they use it in a gaming context, as I explained above. And not all gaming rigs are "blinged out". Which is kind of funny, since a lot of members on here "bling out" their keyboards with blank or multi-color keycaps. More power to them.

[Skull_Angel]

And not all gaming rigs are "blinged out".

The bling on a gaming rig is what ends up on the screen 

[sth]

let's be honest, these boards exist and they're tacky as hell

Okay maybe some of them are tacky, but there is something to be said about being able to easily read the keyboard in the dark.  I'm getting to the point where that feature is a must-have on my laptops.

stop looking at your keyboard and in a week you won't NEED to look at your keyboard.

seriously weird how many geekhackers can't / don't / won't touchtype.

Seriously weird how many geekhackers feel the need to attack others because they may glance down at the keys from time to time. I guess every internet forum has members with superiority complexes though. Here's a thought: I don't spend much time actually typing on my home keyboard. 90% of the time, I use it for gaming, in low-light situations. I don't have my fingers on the home row most of that time. Sometimes I move my hand around the keyboard. I these situations, I like to have a little backlighting to reorient myself when that happens. Not that it should really matter how I use MY keyboard.

Secondly, I guess it's a matter of taste, but I don't think a white-LED keyboard looks "tacky" at all. Blue or Red...maybe a little. But white is pretty neutral.

you're totally allowed to be lazy and have bad taste bro. no one can't take that away.

[furosuto81]

you're totally allowed to be lazy and have bad taste bro. no one can't take that away.

Indeed, and no one can take away your insistance on being a jackass, "bro".

And not all gaming rigs are "blinged out".

The bling on a gaming rig is what ends up on the screen 

That's the idea

[cosmonauti]

bro can you believe that jackass bro?

[swagpiratex]

All I gotta say is that the people that still need to look down when they type should play more Mavis Beacon...

[cosmonauti]

hahaha did you bring me any ice for that burn?