Back lit Key bords

[evildead]

Any one see the artical at http://www.macosrumors.com/ about Apple back lit keybords? That would be a cool idea. Sepechaly if there was an on and off switch for it. My Karman/haron iSub has a blue LED in it and I think it looks cool at night. They should do the same thing to the pro keybord. Any one know any do it your self mods to the Apple pro keybord to make it glow? I have seen mods for the iMac hocky puck ... but who uses those things?



-P.S. I just realized that I called this thread "Back lit key bords" The only thing wors than my spelling is my typing :-) Sorry. I don't think that I can edit the title of the tread.


[Edited by evildead on 08-31-2001 at 03:16 PM]

[Screamingbeaver]

I totally agree on the back lit keyboard deal. I think that would be a great addition to Powerbooks or iBooks. I dunno how many times I'm using my Powerbook in the dark and can't see the keys.

[mnkeybsness]

maybe you should learn to type....jk, that would be a good idea in the ibooks it would look really cool-especially with the color of the keys

kinda ironic on how i'm typing in the dark right now...

[MasterX (OSiX)]

1) Tilt down their monitor, if your desperate.
2) Buy a Kensington flylight, a USB light
I still want the backlit keyboard though.

Anyone have a white iBook whose screen makes loud squeekes when opening it? Everyone suggests WD-40 but I wanna hear some results 1st.

[Onyxx]

first of all DO NOT USE WD40 ON YOUR IBOOK!!!! WD40 despite its reputation as a lubricant is not one at all. its a combo of powerful solvents that dissolves the gunk that makes things squeak. spray that on your plastic ibook and kiss its nice smooth case goodbye. use something like silicon spray (don't spray it though, dab it in with a q-tip or something) or even a miniscule drop of organic only motor oil. just something without solvents. getting back to the subject. it is possible to create a backlight effect by using side leds mounted under the sides of the the case right next to the keyboard. true it wouldn't reach to the center but given a strong enough led /w some sort of reflective substance in back of it (maylar or even tin foil) it should work nicely. all you have to do is tap into the keyboard power supply (right under the track pad on the pismo, no idea on the ti or ibook) and solder in a connection with the proper resistors to limit the juice going to the leds. heck i might even try this one day if i have time.

[mymemory]

I'm a DJ and I work on stage with a Pismo and it is a nigtmare because I can not see the keyboard on stage when I'm playing. One is never satisfy.

[baron]

I keep the Knoll Gamma Control Panel in my Apple menu handy on my PowerBook, it came with my Adobe Photoshop program. I have a preset for 100% RED with both the blue and green chanels turned-off.

This way if I'm doing something at night on the PowerBook I switch the Gamma on and voila! The screen turns red and your night-vision is restored. It's amazing how much better you can see the keyboard in this mode.

http://www.hawaiistore.com/mediabaron/media/redgamma.jpg

Things you need to watch for are on-screen controls and color cues that are messed-up due to the red color. So if your highlight color is red you'll have to change that. Also if (hasn't happened to me in ages) your monitor may seem to get 'stuck' in the red mode even if you turn the control off, you just need to toss your monitor prefs to fix that problem.

I've used this set-up when transmitting from my car via cellphone or using a program like Starry Night and want to keep my nigh-vision safe. Try it, it's amazing how well this works.

[Edited by baron on 09-10-2001 at 05:07 PM]

[Classic]

Originally posted by mymemory
I'm a DJ and I work on stage with a Pismo and it is a nigtmare because I can not see the keyboard on stage when I'm playing. One is never satisfy.

mymemory:

you might want to invest in one of these...

http://www.kensington.com/products/pro_cas_d1334.html

It seems to be fairly discreet.

[thecube84]

COOOOL. That would look neat. I myself would try not to tap into the computers powersupply, but maybe add a battery and wires going into the keyboard. Then wire in a switch, try and make it as small as possible. I myself have a DV 400 imac, so portability isn't a concern.

[MasterX (OSiX)]

I wasn'tt ever actually planning on fixing it myself, I'd rather let a sertified technician break it so I can demand a new one :¬). But since I posted I got in toutch w/Apple tech (which is now like MSFT arg!) and I'm gonna have it fixed soon.

Remind me to yell at everyone who suggested WD-40...

[Onyxx]

I am reminding you to yell. ;-)

[Onyxx]

why not screw the back lit idea and paint the underside of the keys with glow-in-the-dark paint. its available just about everywhere and some last a really long time. Should be perfect for your DJ job mymemory. still working on using leds though. wide angle red leds, one on each side of the keyboard all wired to the power leads from my pismo trackpad. there are two blank spaces on the pismo keyboard near the arrows that would make an ideal place for a switch. still only on paper though.

[ShaolinMiddleFinger]

There are back lit keyboards for sale! You can find them at macimports.com. So far, they have ones for powerbook G3's. I'm hoping they get some for the new iBook, though.

[Onyxx]

Well ' ShaolinMiddleFinger', you seem to have your facts crossed. The keyborg key replacement is a little mod that changes the keys of your keyboard and only the keys. No lights, no glow, not even an entirely different keyboard just the keys.

[ShaolinMiddleFinger]

Oh... sorry, my bad. Oh well...

[ShaolinMiddleFinger]

Oh... sorry, my bad. Oh well...

[Purdue CS]

funny thing is, i have heard these rumors on and off for almost 2 years now. its hilarious...

it leaves my puzzled because it is so easy to add this backlight function (and with no serious power drain) and it would make apple laptops even MORE distinct (i m sure no other laptops have it)....... but why in the name of all things kosher has apple not done it already..... goodness...

time to take me pills..

--
ja