Possumblog

Hmmm--I wonder...

Review: New blank keyboard for geeks only

By MATT SLAGLE
The Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) — Typing on a Das Keyboard is a lot like typing on any other computer keyboard — except the keys are blank. Most people, especially those who rely on the slow but steady hunt-and-peck technique, might consider that a problem.

Not Daniel Guermeur, chief executive of Austin-based Metadot Corp. The self-proclaimed "uber geek" says he first came up with the idea for a blank keyboard while attending Stanford University in 1989. It was there that the French native noticed others typing much faster than he was. [...]

Two years ago, he built a prototype to test his hypothesis that a blank keyboard would force him to become a better typist. After many people asked him where he bought it, he decided to start making them commercially.

And recently, Guermeur began selling the keyboards for $80 with a new marketing spin: "Das Keyboard. Uber Geeks only." [...]

I see a potentially huge untapped market for

--Numberless calculators
--Blank elevator buttons
--Unmarked speedometers
--VCR displays that blink invisible time
--Conversely, analog clocks with no hands

TO THE LABORATORY!!

Posted by Terry Oglesby at August 11, 2005 12:31 PM