The customizable keyboard

By Matthew Deutsch · June 26, 2005 ·

From News.com:

Game fans like to gripe about the standard QWERTY keyboard layout. Everyone’s hands are sized differently, after all, and every player has a distinct way of darting around the keys to dodge a demon or win a fleet match of shoot and retreat.

It’s no surprise, then, that it was a game enthusiast who first conceived of the DX1 Input System, an innovative configuration of movable “smart” keys that can be assigned macros, or keyword combinations, to accomplish tasks such as implementing game cheats or executing software commands. Customizing the keys’ layout to your preferences and work style, the theory goes, improves efficiency and saves time–whether you’re piloting a flight simulation or flitting around a spreadsheet.

“These keys are like blank tapes,” said Pankaj Garg, a software architect at Mountain View, Calif.-based Ergodex, which developed the product. “You can make them whatever you want them to be.”