keyboard

Easy Keyboard v1.03 Review

Finding the perfect keyboard for your smartphone can be a challenge. Easy Keyboard offers a whole new way to look at texting on your phone. The only problem is that it's not one of the most convenient ways to text.

As with any other keyboard app on Android, your gadget tells you that the app can track what you type and more. During testing, there was no indication that Easy Keyboard was actually doing that, though. Once you get it up, it takes up almost half of your screen. To type anything, you need to touch the key you … Read more

Hack your old Mac's ADB keyboard to bring it up-to-date

If you are a longtime Mac user who simply could not bring yourself to throw away your old systems, then you may still have an old Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) keyboard such as the Apple Extended Keyboard II lying around. Despite being an older style, many of these keyboards were quite well-made and if only they had USB connectors instead of their ADB connections they could be put to good use on modern systems. It turns out, this is quite doable.

Recently tech hobbyist Scott Vanderlind found that by adding a small USB controller to the keyboard, he could tap … Read more

How to set up the ultimate home theater PC

At some point, you've probably considered hooking your computer up to your TV. Maybe you even purchased a video cable, only to realize that being hunched over your computer and tethered to the TV is far from the awesome setup you had in mind.

Hooking up your computer to your TV can be as simple or as complex as you want. A basic setup lets you stream the occasional Web video, while a more advanced rig lets you access movie and music files from computers across your home network.

But the most brag-worthy home theater PCs (HTPCs) include all … Read more

QWERTY Sofa: The comfiest keyboard you'll ever nap on

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Gee, I sure wish I could type with my butt?" No, we haven't either, but that hasn't stopped us from admiring the QWERTY Sofa by Italian firm ZO-loft.

Alas, you can't actually type with it (otherwise you'd probably get something that looked like your cat had been sitting on your keyboard every time you offered guests a seat), but it does look pretty sleek.

ZO-loft says of the sofa:

Shred your e-mails with a typing guitar

Having already conquered the complex process of separating the cream from an Oreo cookie, physicist David Neevel has turned his inventive eye to the issue of typing on a computer while shredding on a guitar.

Neevel connected together a Flying V guitar, an Arduino, a custom relay board, and a Roland GR-33 guitar synthesizer to turn the notes played on a guitar into a working keyboard recognized by his laptop as a typing input device. The Email Guitar lets the user rock out while getting work done.… Read more

Navigate your Facebook News Feed with keyboard shortcuts

Facebook doesn't have a large collection of keyboard shortcuts and many of them require browser-specific modifiers. Still, if you spend a lot of time in Facebook, using the keyboard shortcuts can be time-savers. The News Feed navigation shortcuts in particular, are convenient and easy to remember because they work the same in every Web browser (no modifier required).

To scroll through your News Feed, just use j to scroll down and k to scroll up. To comment on the selected story from your News Feed, use c. To like or unlike a selected story, use l.

Keep in mind … Read more

Learn about your typing with Keyboard Checker

When a rookie computer user first discovers keyboard shortcuts, it blows their mind. This program might help them discover dozens of extra keyboard shortcuts they probably didn't know about. Keyboard Checker is an okay program to show a new computer user, but it won't be much use for people with experience. It has some weird design hiccups, too.

This download gives you a blank space to experiment with multiple button presses to try to find keyboard shortcuts. Any time you hit a shortcut that doesn't work, you're greeted by an annoying beep. When the buzzer doesn'… Read more

Automate some tasks with Automatic Mouse and Keyboard

Repeating the same tasks every day on your computer can eat up a lot of time. But an app that helps you automate some of those things could provide welcome relief. Automatic Mouse and Keyboard has lots of options to do just that, but the resulting recordings don't always perform as expected.

The initial interface includes multiple icons bordering the top and left. Automatic Mouse and Keyboard opens with three example recordings displayed, but the first one we tried, which was supposed to draw a triangle in MS Paint, didn't work, and we simply got an error message … Read more

Logitech thanks science for new 'G' PC gaming accessories

Logitech has rebranded its gaming group division with six mice and keyboards, along with two new headsets that make up the company's latest "Logitech G" lineup. Using infrared technology and a bit of science to determine optimal hand position, the new G100s and G400s optical mice are both clues to the company's commitment to innovation, with a new sensor technology called Delta Zero that promises to improve accuracy at any speed.

The G100s, G400s, G500s, and G700s gaming mice are all equipped with a "hydrophobic" coating that repels palm perspiration to keep your hand … Read more

Hands-on with the ClamCase Pro iPad keyboard

It's the age-old question, age being relative in this case: Can a tablet take the place of a laptop?

Maybe yes, maybe no. But without an honest-to-goodness keyboard, the answer is a definite no.

The new ClamCase Pro joins the ranks of iPad keyboard/case combos like the Belkin YourType Folio + Keyboard, CruxCase Crux360, and Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover.

In case the name didn't make it abundantly clear, the ClamCase Pro provides a clamshell-style case for your iPad. Open it up and you'll find a decidedly MacBook Air-style keyboard, albeit one that's necessarily a bit narrower. … Read more