fabric

Fabricators descend on Maker Faire Austin

AUSTIN, Texas--If you've never seen a machine that makes 3D models out of sugar, you should.

But unless you're part of a relatively small group of people who went to the Maker Faire in California in May, or are one of a few other people who know the machine's creator, you probably have never even heard of the device.

Similarly, you may not be aware--or at least the general public probably isn't--that there is a whole movement going on right now to build advanced, digital, relatively inexpensive personal fabrication and robotics tools that can do or … Read more

A double-sided fabric keyboard: Why?

The people over at Eleksen are a sneaky lot. One can never tell when they'll have something new up their sleeves--literally.

The U.K. company specializes in "touch-sensitive interactive textiles," which translates to products such as the roll-up fabric keyboard we mentioned back in November. And now these magicians have surprised us again by flipping over that piece of digital cloth, revealing a second keyboard on the other side.

One surface of the double-sided USB fabric keyboard has a set of QWERTY keys for cell phones and other handheld devices, according to Red Ferret, while Side B … Read more

SideShow backpacks: Cheaters rejoice

Last week brought a slew of CES products demonstrating how the new Windows Vista SideShow would work, from media players to laptops. But the most practical application may not involve a traditional piece of hardware at all.

Eleksen, maker of the fabric keyboard, continues to weave their technologies into textiles with its "Wearable Display Module," according to Laptoping. This little gadget has a 2.46-inch color LCD and can store 1GB of data, controlled by a fabric interactive touchpad with seven buttons, that can be sewn into bags, backpacks or even your clothes.

Teachers, beware: This could bring … Read more

Bluetooth keyboard-stand combo works

We never quite understood the need for roll-up keyboards, especially those constructed to withstand post-apocalyptic conditions. For the most part, they just seemed more trouble than they were worth.

But there's something about this fabric keyboard from Just Mobile RoKy that struck us as different. It was this photo on Mobility Site that sold us: The keyboard's Bluetooth connection and accompanying universal stand for a smart phone or PDA make a lot of sense. Plus, the simple carrying case affixed to the end presumably would help keep the thing from unfurling in your pocket and onto the floor. … Read more

A fabric keyboard? Sure, why not

The idea of a fabric keyboard sounded kind of nutty to us until we saw the photos of this one on Engadget. jkOnTheRun reports that Glen Evans of PocketPC Solutions has tried out this working model from Eleksen, which doubles as protective case, and found it "very usable on a daily basis"--despite its decidedly weird look. It's not that we have anything against this concept, but what's with that electric lime color?

(Photo: jkOnTheRun)