Logitech G19

[adamrice]

This thing is ridiculous. A keyboard that happens to have a QVGA screen and embedded Linux for…I'm not sure what. It also has a metric ****load of keys, a knob, and a D-pad. Truly the anti-tenkeyless.

How much of the price do you suppose is going into the keyswitches though?

[adamrice]

Hey look, my PG vocabulary got asterisked-out!

[D-EJ915]

for such terrible keyboards too...now if there was something good with nifty gizmos like that then we'd be talking

[huha]

Rubber dome? Next, please!

-huha

[bigpook]

Whats with the display?

awful, simply awful

[itlnstln]

It's got a knob.

[bigpook]

It's got a knob.

Actually, all it needs now is a microwave oven (to make popcorn) and while we are at it lets wedge in a trackball. I didn't look close enough, but can only assume it has lots of led's too. Maybe a train whistle?

I bet the typing feel is awesome.

[itlnstln]

Maybe a train whistle?

LOL, that was so random.  I'm trying not to look like an idiot at work right now.

At least not more so than I normally do.

[itlnstln]

I bet the typing feel is awesome.

Type???  Dude, it has a screen... and a knob!

[lam47]

This has been posted I'm sure.
Didn't someone post it with pictures of the design process?
I think I would have liked it when I was 14.

[Viett]

Logitech's keys are a perfect balance of punchy and squishy and just really feel fantastic—it's why they haven't messed with the formula in a long time.

What makes it impressive is the fact that it's its own mini-computer, so matter how intensive the game you're running is—Left 4 Dead, for instance—you can pop up a YouTube video or your rip of Dawn of the Dead with no slowdown at all, and every applet runs quickly and smoothly. They're all pretty to use and configure as well.

I've lost all faith in Logitech.

[itlnstln]

This has been posted I'm sure.
Didn't someone post it with pictures of the design process?
I think I would have liked it when I was 14.

Yeah, it was something like pics of the prototype, or something.  It's just amazing the amount of excess in this thing, and exactly zero of it improves the "main" functionality of the keyboard, typing.  Amazing.

[keyb_gr]

It's just amazing the amount of excess in this thing, and exactly zero of it improves the "main" functionality of the keyboard, typing.  Amazing.

Typical case of "consumer crap" (technical term). All bling and no meat. It's not like it would be entirely surprising, given the way consumer keyboards have been going in the last 10 years or so.

It's certainly kinda neat that one can do something like that, but the actual usefulness is highly debatable. Cool stuff for a 14-year-old, that may be right. Maybe Logitech figured that if the 1337 g4m3r2 have pockets deep enough for other kinds of state-of-the-art hardware, they might want a keyboard to match as well.

[bhtooefr]

At least they didn't mess with the layout.

[itlnstln]

At least they didn't mess with the layout.

Ah, the silver-lining approach.  Well done, sir.

Too bad the rest of the 'board has seen a great deal of excess in the use of silver lining.

[CX23882]

At least they didn't mess with the layout.

Well that's something.

Not related to the G19, but Logitech in general - I wonder what genius decided that it would be a good idea to produce keyboards with:
- No scroll lock key
- Double height Delete key
- Multimedia keys instead of F-keys by default
I can understand why there are ISO and ANSI layouts, but this mangling of layout serves no purpose whatsoever. I stopped buying Logitech and Microsoft keyboards when they started playing that game. Now they produce keyboards with normal layout but instead tack on a whole heap of useless crap that nobody will ever realistically use.

What is the bloody point of being able to see a selection of YouTube videos WHILST PLAYING A GAME!?!

I'd really like to get a bag of whatever modern keyboard designers are using.

[adamrice]

What is the bloody point of being able to see a selection of YouTube videos WHILST PLAYING A GAME!?!

I was really trying to figure that out myself. Perhaps there are video games out there I'm not aware of. I'm reminded of Tai Chi, which is basically the same as martial arts, but reaaaaaaaaally slooooooooow. Perhaps there's an equivalent to the first-person shooter where the game operates at a more leisurely pace that encourages reflection, or at least multi-tasking.

[Etinin]

Bunch of idiots. $200 on that piece of crap. You can actually buy several keyboards that actually feel good to type on with that money.

[ch_123]

I'm confused. Is that thing meant to be a keyboard, or a laptop?

[D-EJ915]

- No scroll lock key

What is that supposed to do anyway...I use it as a windows key for keyboards without windows keys.

- Double height Delete key

You a fan of accidentally hitting Insert all the time?  That's why they did that, people complain about that all the time.  Insert is dumb anyway I bind it as a compose key.

- Multimedia keys instead of F-keys by default

Must have used Apples and Nexts a lot.

[Viett]

The only real use for Scroll Lock these days is Excel. You can use it with the arrow keys to scroll instead of to change cells.

And for me, the insert key is essential. I use it to paste in terminals and in Dvorak (shift+insert).

[Hak Foo]

You a fan of accidentally hitting Insert all the time?  That's why they did that, people complain about that all the time.  Insert is dumb anyway I bind it as a compose key.
Must have used Apples and Nexts a lot.

Many editors use it to toggle insert/overstrike mode.

I personally got myself wired to the old (Win31/Motif/OS/2) style "Shift-Insert" paste keystroke.  So I usually type that instead of Control-V, which makes it great fun when I can't find Insert.

If you're missing delete THAT often, the keyboard may not be your problem

[CX23882]

What is that supposed to do anyway...I use it as a windows key for keyboards without windows keys.

It's used on most KVM switches as the hotkey to switch between computers. It beats grovelling behind a desk to switch using the buttons on the KVM and it sure as hell beats having to buy a stupid KVM that uses CTRL or SHIFT to switch computers.

You a fan of accidentally hitting Insert all the time?  That's why they did that, people complain about that all the time.  Insert is dumb anyway I bind it as a compose key.

I don't think I've ever hit Insert by mistake when going for delete or vice versa. What about applications where you have to use SHIFT+INS instead of CTRL+V? Rather than two keys next to each other you now have to reach up to the top of the keyboard for the INS key. It's stupid, and frankly if people have such difficulty with that day to day, then it's as good a justification as any that everyone should have to take a computer driving licence before being allowed anywhere near a computer.

Must have used Apples and Nexts a lot.

I would rather have F1, F2, F3... F12 than some stupid multimedia key mapping. What about BIOSes that require you to press F2 to enter? Some of these keyboards "forget" the F-Lock preference after being powered off. The Cherry approach of having an additional modifier key (as on the Cymotion range) makes more sense.

[pex]

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/keyboards/keyboard/devices/4956&cl=us,en

Multi-key input: Use up to five keys at once to perform multiple complex actions.

Really, Logitech? Really?

Why does it always feel like keyboard technology is regressing instead of progressing?  Where available, we go from n-key rollover to 6-key rollover.  Sometimes that happens with 'progress'.  Now they want to sell 'gamers' 200 dollar keyboards with 5-key rollover?

By now, we should see premium keyboards that do 6-key rollover on USB no matter what, with a driver that enables n-key rollover.  Does this keyboard need a driver installed for the other shenanigans?  I've never seen something so ridiculous...

Package Contents
Logitech® G19 Keyboard for gaming
AC power adapter
Software CD-ROM
User documentation
1-year limited hardware warranty

[huha]

By now, we should see premium keyboards that do 6-key rollover on USB no matter what, with a driver that enables n-key rollover.

Which ones precisely?

-huha

[bhtooefr]

He said we should see them. We aren't.

Anyway, it needs drivers to feed the LCD. But, most multimedia keyboards need drivers, actually.

[cchan]

Package Contents
Logitech® G19 Keyboard for gaming
AC power adapter
Software CD-ROM
User documentation
1-year limited hardware warranty

you had the wrong thing bolded. What kind of keyboard needs a flipping power brick?

[huha]

Package Contents
Logitech® G19 Keyboard for gaming
AC power adapter
Software CD-ROM
User documentation
1-year limited hardware warranty

you had the wrong thing bolded. What kind of keyboard needs a flipping power brick?

You, too, had the wrong thing bolded. What kind of keyboard needs user documentation?

-huha

[cchan]

You, too, had the wrong thing bolded. What kind of keyboard needs user documentation?

-huha

Hey, even my G80-3000 came with a doc sheet.

[FKSSR]

Doc sheets aren't entirely necessary, but they are nice.  It makes the consumer feel better about the purchase.  That's why it has been so hard for PC game publishers to move away from the old cardboard box & big manual packaging.

[tamasrepus]

I would have liked my HHKB2 to have come with doc sheets. I had trouble figuring out what the different DIP switches did (what does "HHKB Lite layout" mean precisely, for example)

[FKSSR]

why don't you just look for the docs online...you can read Japanese, right?  No problem.

[bigpook]

I would have liked my HHKB2 to have come with doc sheets. I had trouble figuring out what the different DIP switches did (what does "HHKB Lite layout" mean precisely, for example)

Check this out

[tamasrepus]

Check this out

Yah, I found all that already... but it was a lot more work than it should have been. PFU's website (both America and Japan) is not organized well.

[bigpook]

Yah, I found all that already... but it was a lot more work than it should have been. PFU's website (both America and Japan) are not organized well.

Kind of like Unicomps....

[bhtooefr]

Unicomp has a website?

(A Yahoo store is not a corporate site. )

Anyway, the manual isn't at all a concern, any keyboard with multimedia keys needs a driver CD, and there are other keyboards with power bricks. (Besides, if you want the keyboard's internal USB hub to be powered, then you're gonna need a power brick.)

[bigpook]

Unicomp has a website?

(A Yahoo store is not a corporate site. )

Anyway, the manual isn't at all a concern, any keyboard with multimedia keys needs a driver CD, and there are other keyboards with power bricks. (Besides, if you want the keyboard's internal USB hub to be powered, then you're gonna need a power brick.)

True, but I guess it shows how sad the Unicomp situation really is. Their keyboards are still mighty fine though.

[FKSSR]

I think there is a "chicken/egg" thing going on with Unicomp's website.  It saves them money by not building a fancy website - savings they can pass on to the consumer.  However, by not having a nice website, they may lose business that could help pay for the website.

All in all, as was discussed a few weeks ago, Unicomp should have an updated website (and logo) to reel in more buyers.

[cchan]

there are other keyboards with power bricks

wait, WHAT? I can understand having an internal USB hub, but can't fathom what else a board would need a brick for

[itlnstln]

wait, WHAT? I can understand having an internal USB hub, but can't fathom what else a board would need a brick for

I like to throw bricks at crappy keyboards.

[bhtooefr]

The Optimus Maximus needs one to power all the OLED displays.

[Ski11z]

The logitech gaming keyboards always feel like toys, i just sold my G15 v2 and I'm glad its gone.

[Manyak]

The logitech gaming keyboards always feel like toys, i just sold my G15 v2 and I'm glad its gone.

I know exactly what you mean. My girlfriend has one and I can't stand to type on it. It actually feels worse than their own $6 budget keyboard.

[IBI]

The only real use for Scroll Lock these days is Excel. You can use it with the arrow keys to scroll instead of to change cells.

And for me, the insert key is essential. I use it to paste in terminals and in Dvorak (shift+insert).

Yes, but why does it have to be in such an awful place? Many times I've hit insert when aiming for delete and ended up overwriting half a line instead of just deleting a single character. I'd personally like it to be the mirror image of the backspace key and on the same line (or replacing the `¬¦ key), insert would be much better at the other side of that cluster.

Doc sheets aren't entirely necessary, but they are nice.  It makes the consumer feel better about the purchase.  That's why it has been so hard for PC game publishers to move away from the old cardboard box & big manual packaging.

That and the fact that some games use the manual a lot (my NWN manual is so crinkled half the front cover can no longer be made out).

Personally, I quite like the G19. It's kind of a modern-day anykey/omnikey. It's major problem is that logitech's key feel and general choice of materials isn't very nice.

[rnak92a]

I'd love an Optimus Maximums (gluteus maximums?  either way, the thing's assy) and one of these Logitechs.  I'd carefully unbox them, set them side-by-side, and weild my '86 1390120 to break each of them in half.  One swing apiece would do the job, and the world would be a better place, for two POS--and I don't mean point of sale--'boards will fly to the silicon netherworld.  

I like Brandon's take on modern keyboards and why none of them can ever be mentioned in the same breath as an M:

No extraneous function keys for "Windows", or "sleep", "check mail", "hibernate", "more lotion".

No shiny shiny plastic that needs constant cleaning and polishing to remove fingerprints. No clear plastic to trap and collect lunchtime crumbs and hair and to grow science experiments.

I'll say it again:  everyone can have all these other 'boards; nothing approaches a Model M.

Cheers,
~rn

[rnak92a]

LOL. If you ever win the jackpot and can afford such luxurious entertainment, be sure to post the video!

Sure thing.  Just before the death blow to each of these things, I'd shout, for geekhack! :lol:

[IBI]

I'll say it again:  everyone can have all these other 'boards; nothing approaches a Model M.

Cheers,
~rn

That's true, for stupid layouts nothing approaches IBM's design in the Model M. Who's bright idea was putting caps lock on biggest key on the right side of the keyboard? And what on earth is ¬ supposed to be?

[IBI]

I'd love an Optimus Maximums (gluteus maximums?  either way, the thing's assy) and one of these Logitechs.  I'd carefully unbox them, set them side-by-side, and weild my '86 1390120 to break each of them in half.  One swing apiece would do the job, and the world would be a better place, for two POS--and I don't mean point of sale--'boards will fly to the silicon netherworld.  

No, what you'd do if you had that sort of money would be to employ someone to correct the stupid mistakes IBM made with the Model M, especially with it's layout.

[Rajagra]

The best use for the screen would be for diagnostic purposes:

[o2dazone]

lol ^