Posts filed under 'Keyboard'
By: Jeff Bordeaux
I always make my chain-smoking roommate wash his hands before touching my Xbox 360 controllers or to share a bowl of popcorn with me. I guess I’m a little OCD like that. Though I had no data to support these requests, I knew it was dirty. Recent studies have proven that Hospital Acquired Infections are on the rise and much of it can be attributed to keyboards and other related computer equipment that are in heavy use by multiple people. Along comes Seal Shield
to help quell the epidemic. Seal Shield makes a number of Antimicrobial products such as pens, mouse pads, mice and keyboards. I had the opportunity to test one of their keyboards and see how it performed.
So what is it?
The Seal Shield Waterproof Keyboard is a fully washable, submersible, antimicrobial keyboard. You can even put it in the dishwasher and clean it using standard dish washing detergent! How cool is that? After doing some additional research on this product I discovered that the average workplace keyboard contains up to 400 times more bacteria than the average workplace toilet seat. Makes sense, I guess, just never thought about it that way, as I’m sure most people don’t. You’d also never see signs about washing your hands after using a keyboard either. I also didn’t know that Hospital Acquired Infections are among the top ten killers of Americans each year. To combat the spread of germs, the Seal Shield utilizes silver ions embedded in the plastic, heavily preventing the presence of bacteria. There in lies the aim of Seal Shield, to prevent the spread of bacteria through a fully functional medical grade waterproof keyboard that can be cleansed and washed on a daily basis.
Besides the obvious, what are the Seal Shield’s features?
The Seal Shield connects to your computer via USB or the supplied USB to PS/2 converter. It doesn’t contain any USB inputs for additional devices such as a mouse or a Bluetooth attachment. Those used to the Apple keyboards may find this annoying as all current Apple keyboards have two USB inputs, though I’m sure it was an easy design decision as these keyboards were primarily built for PC usage. It also has a rubber cap to seal the USB attachment for washing. Beyond that, it has the full range of keys and options you would expect out of a PC keyboard including: adjustable two position height risers, sleep and power buttons, number lock, etc.
Well then, how was your field test?
The first thing I did was get this thing wet. I poured a pitcher of water on it and watched the beads of liquid gather. Next I fully submerged it in a tub of water, which just looked odd. Taking it out of the water, the keyboard drained itself from specific drainage points until the bulk of the water was gone. From there I left it out for the night to see if it would dry on it’s own. The next day it was about 95% dry with some water still collected around the base of some of the keys. The night after that I soaked it again and let it dry upside down for the evening. To my surprise it was actually less dry at around 85%. The day after that I dried it sitting on it’s side, which ended up also being around 95%. The instruction card provided had nothing in regards to a drying method so your guess is as good as mine. Fortunately, the residual wetness didn’t affect typing so who knows, it might not matter anyway. The Seal Shield felt a lot nicer than any keyboard you’d find in a public place (e.g. unemployment office, department store, etc), and it had a functional and ergonomic feel, complimented by smooth keystrokes.
Any Last Words?
Absolutely. The keyboard was designed for the medical workforce right? Wrong. It was designed for dirty environments, and who better than beer spilling college students to take advantage of such a device. In fact, anyone in close proximity to beer and alcohol could make great use of this keyboard. My roommate replaced two keyboards in college due to beer flooding. I’m sure the executives over at Seal Shield have already thought of this and are bringing a plan together, or at least I hope so after this review, to target high alcohol consuming households. In the end, a keyboard that you can put in a dishwasher, and clean on a daily basis should easily outlive any normal keyboard of comparable functionality.
Buy it here starting at $49.
Related articles:
Seal Shield Keyboard
April 28th, 2008
Starting May 1, 2008 Alltel will begin selling the Blackberry 8330 (aka Curve). Expect everything the Blackberry name has to offer in addition to high-speed EVDO Internet, a 2MP camera, GPS capability, USB 2.0 connectivity, microSD memory card expansion, a 3.5mm headset jack, Bluetooth 2.0 and more. Alltel’s Blackberry Curve will go for $229.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and a two year contract.
April 21st, 2008
As you know, Art Lebedev finally started shipping the
first Optimus keyboards a few weeks ago, but only to customers that ordered over a year ago. The original Optimus is in fact a bunch of mini OLED screens jammed into key sized boxes. Well, their newest concept, the Optimus Tactus, simply removes the keys and just goes all screen. In fact, one could argue that it’s a touch screen in a
keyboard shape, right? Tactical feedback will be lost, but manufacturing should be more straight forward - not necessarily cheaper - than the original Optimus keyboard.
More pics after the ‘leap’
More info here.
On a side note, I love the shoutout they give Engadget by placing their logo on the keyboard.
[Gadgetell]
March 5th, 2008
After endless delays and vaporware rumors, the Optimus Maximus
keyboard is finally shipping, but only to those who ordered last year. In case you forget, the Optimus Maximus keyboard is in fact 113 mini OLED displays. The included software (just made available) allows its users to customize the keyboard to any language and assign any key with any function. It’ll cost you, though: $463.
Available here.
Via Gadgetell
February 22nd, 2008
An unknown computer techie is reporting that Dell shipped a keylogger device (
Keyghost) preinstalled in his
laptop’s Ethernet board. When he called Dell and asked them about the suspicious device, they told him that “The integrated [sic] service tag identifier is there for assisting customers in the event of lost or misplaced personal information.” The man quickly called the police and was connected with Homeland Security. Based on the scanned letter (on the ‘leap’) it doesn’t look like he had much success reporting Dell for spying. Does Dell include these on all laptops? Did Dell succeed AT&T and hence Homeland Security’s lax response?
More info here.
Via Hacknmod
February 21st, 2008
The Silver Seal
keyboard prevents the transmission of germs by using pure silver ions, which are embedded in the plastic. Not safe enough for you? Well, just give it a run in the dishwasher - it’s a fully washable ‘medical grade keyboard’ (not sure what a medical grade keyboard is, but it sounds official). Looks like there is a complete rubber roll up version of the device, in addition to a standard looking keyboard. They plan to target schools, hospitals and other ‘shared user environments’.
More info here.
Via Press Release
February 12th, 2008
The Buffalo BKBU-SKJ109/SV is your standard USB keyboard (109 keys) but includes a mini phone (yes, the pic looks ridiculous) for Skype or other VoIP calls - it’s apparently Skype certified. According to Gadgetell is won’t be available until October and cost $65.
January 27th, 2008
This bad boy will seamlessly fit onto your
Xbox 360 controller, includes the wired headset and cost you $30 before tax and shipping. I am guessing that it will throw off your game since you won’t be able to wrap your fingers around the controller (it will block the inner portion), especially for those with big mits. But what’s ‘play control’ when you have IMing at your thumb tips….
More info here (its officially called the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit).
Features:
- Chat on Xbox LIVE with ease featuring dedicated keys to letters and characters.
- Don’t hamper your style—the Xbox 360 Chatpad attaches seamlessly to your Xbox 360 Controller.
- Backlit buttons allow you to accurately type words even in dimly lit environments.
- Messenger Kit includes the Xbox 360 Wired Headset for the ultimate communication bundle.
July 10th, 2007
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