I am a programmer and I think this would be an awesome idea ... not only for the games and delete as mentioned in the article but you could also use it to pro=gram your keys to do multiple functions ... light press type a letter .. hard press run a script ...etc ...

Awesome!!!

I think it sounds like a fantastic idea.

I like the idea, but has anyone out there typed while angry? I'd hate to think that while coding that if I 'vent' a little I could wind up wiping several hours worth of work.

as someon who works with video editing, like avid systems, i can think of a hundred ways to make the keyboard more functional for the millions of commands we use..........

cool.........

as someone who works with video editing, like avid systems, i can think of a hundred ways to make the keyboard more functional for the millions of commands we use..........

cool.........

I can see it being awesome initially for novelty value, but like Dave.T says, anger or excitement could cause problems. Not just in coding either; what happens if you get overzealous while gaming, and accidentally set off the wrong function? I type at different intensities depending on what I'm doing as well. Currently, I'm typing quite gently, but if I'm doing an essay, I get up to a pretty high speed, and hit the keys a little harder. Will I end up with all my essays in CAPS?

Also, what happens if you're not perfectly consistant with your intensity? What if you're supposed to fully depress the key to achieve coding stuff, but you accidentally only depress it two membranes instead of the full three, or whatever? Depending on how you type, chances are that there are certain keys that you hit more softly than others - those you touch type with your little finger instead of index / middle finger, or whatever. Since its a mechanical system, you can't really program the keyboard to account for those variations. You'd have to learn to touch-type all over again.

Its an awesome idea, with a lot of possible applications, but there are a fair few potential problems. :(

I have to think this would be more of a problem the a problem solver. Just novelty that's all it is for now. The whole Mood thing would get in teh way, don't type angry, don't type happy or sad just be indifferent.

On the mood topic, I don't think this would be a problem provided one or both of two things would be made possible: being able to turn off the multifunctions of the keys, or being able to adjust the sensitivity of the multifunctions (the latter being considerably more difficult I think).

For me, I type heavily 90% of the time, so I probably wouldn't buy one. Holding shift to make my character run in a game isn't too taxing really. Maybe MMO player's would find this more useful?

In the music world, touch sensitive keyboards have been around for quite some time. So the idea isn't as new as it sounds. It's just another type of keyboard.

It seems pretty cool, as long as the software is there to support it.

Given that I turn off "tap" function on touchpads b/c I keep accidentally triggering it, I am pretty sure I will not be able to use that. But that's me. I cannot type on the iPhone either, and it took me forever to master the manual clutch.

How about a solution to the QWERTY keyboard layout. I don't see to many people trying to fix that anymore.

Frankly, I think it's a solution in search of a problem. Typical Microsoft.

To Anonymous:

I think what you are looking for is a Devorak keyboard. I wouldn't personally mind seeing a shift away from the qwerty keyboard that is actually designed to slow down your typing.

It'd be great for gaming, HOWEVER, this would require games to support it. Most games don't support any analog inputs whatsoever. It'd be phenomenal to be able to bind two functions to one key, to regulate jump height by strength of spacebar mash, but all of this would REQUIRE the game itself to support the function.

Given how few games bother to support things like TrackIR or PhysX, I predict almost nobody will take the effort to implement this functionality...

As noizzz pointed out, pressure-sensitive musical keyboards have been around for quite sometime. Amatuer audio enineers, musicians or beatmakers may find a touch-sensitive qwerty board useful, but these artists of course would be benefited by investing in an actual keyboard, not a pc keyboard.
And unless these become alltherage, gaming companies would be rather resistant to funneling the necessary enormo-portion of finances into research and development for ONE item.
Old Man Dotes hit the nail on the head. Cool concept with little potential for actual useful application.

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Is like one of those features that when first hear about normal ppl dont understand the ramifications and potencial. Like when ppl said: "why do I need a cellphone with color display?", or "why do we need a camera on the cellphone".

this is like one of those features that when first hear about normal ppl don't understand the potencial. Like when people said: "why do I need a cellphone with color display?", or "why do we need a camera on my cellphone".

I think this is a pretty exciting innovation...

Sure, it could be a real plus for gamers - but I'm seeing more practical business and home-use applications. Having keys that respond multi-functionally and variably -- and that YOU could choose settings for -- could be a great boon to those of us with conditions like arthritis, or other physical disabilities... If you no longer needed to reach for other keys to capitalize, etc., it could even make all the difference in hiring, when things like WPM speed can be critical.

As to the mood/pressure issue, wouldn't it be possible to modulate this on an as-needed basis with something like a simple resistor wheel set into the keyboard to function rather like a radio volume knob, light dimmer-switch, or mouse wheel?

Press a 'set function' button, turn a 'settings' wheel to accomodate that day's needs,(ie.: "I'm having a lot of pain today, and my keystroke pressure is extra-wimpy - but, hey - MY keyboard goes to 11!") -- and Bob's your uncle.

Press harder for italic or bold or Caps maybe.

Mostly not useful, not for typing anyway. However, for graphics and musical apps it could be quite useful.

You Fools! Don't you see it? If you hit "A" a little harder it's a 'B' and a little harder than that and it's a 'C', etc. So you only need ONE KEY! No more hunting and pecking. Everyone will be a touch typist! All you'll need to do is spend a few minutes learing 90 or so different pressure levels.
And you can learn all of those instantly with the "Instant Pressure Level Helper" TM Just send $19.99 to: "Type with your Nose", 123 Lost Wages, Moosemeat, Alaska

From an engineering pov, a pressure sensitive Kb could enable valve adjustments to a refined level without actually touching the physical valve. Think reactors!!

As someone who gets sore hands from typing too hard, I would find it useful if the keyboard could remind me to lighten up when I'm banging on the keys.

I would much rather have a programmable Apple "iTouch" keyboard.

Photoshoppers use touch pads all the time. Pressure sensitive pens make for all kinds of creative control. Now add pressure sensitive keys and many more shortcuts and modifiers are possible. I would probably finally have to learn how to type properly though.

yeah presure sensitive keyboard may be useful for average users but i only see them mapping texture senstive abilities to the F1-12 keys and possibly the num pad. like stated numerious times in previous comments texture senstivinty on the letter keys would likly result in the wrong result going off. My suggestion, cut production costs down on it only make ceratin buttons pressure senstive and then backlight them so you can tell how hard you are hitting. either color shifting as you press thru the different sensitivity levels or going from off to very bright.