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would u use this

 
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would u use the AlphaGrip
definatly
0%
 0%  [ 0 ]
i don't know, need to try it first
25%
 25%  [ 1 ]
never
75%
 75%  [ 3 ]
Total Votes : 4

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Trool
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 8:14 am    Post subject: would u use this Reply with quote

Here is a new keyboard alternative comming out soon, though they are looking for 5K preorders before going to production. wonder if they'll get it??

http://alphagrip.com/

http://alphagrip.com/features.html
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fate
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 12:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i said never if only due to their splitting of the mouse between 2 hands. If i need to do quick switches between typing and mouse clicking/selecting this seems like a pain in the ass.

....and i don't think they had gamers in mind when they made this either....
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Jastermereel
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 1:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear god. Where to begin. Where to begin.

For typing it looks horrendous. Its already unnatural for the body to conform to an ordinary keyboard with the hands and arms angled inwards (hence the release of those split and angled keyboards) but this looks even worse. Not to mention the arangement of the letters. It looks to have 2-4 times the number of buttons of a standard gaming controller, many of which (important ones, without which this sentance would be impossible to convey) are divided amongst 8 seperate pads on the underside. Also, the guy giving the demonstration in the video is clearly well practiced in using this controller but his typing speed is far from optimal. While it is faster than most of the palm style devices i'd hardly say its even comprable to a keyboard.

As far as gaming goes i've always been a PC gamer and not a console gamer as PC games often have more controller depth. It is of mine (and many others) opinions that games like Deus-Ex 2 failed because they tried to gear it down to work on a console as well as a computer and thusly removed much of the detail and depth of the controlls. This Alphagrip looks like it brings the curse of the console to the PC. Hardly a thing to be proud of at all.

As far as it replacing the use of a mouse, i can only see it doing the most basic of activities. The little controll stick may be good for driving in mario cart but it certainly wouldn't help much in the more detailed environements. Consider how many console games use the directional buttons instead of the joystick for working in menus. And, when using the joystick how bit the menus have to be. Can you see yourself efficicently using one of those to click out a File-Open-[Folder navigate]-Sort by Date- and select the appropriate file in anywhere near a combrable time with a mouse, or barring that a laptop pad equivalent? This is to say nothing of what left handed people would go through. Most mice are moderatly ambidextrious. Some are curved to fit right hands better but this isn't a huge hinderance to basic use. Despite their claims of a "Centrally located, comfortable, two-thumbed cursor control" all i see is an unwieldy joystick only accessable from the right hand. Theres no way that could be comfortable to use from a lefties point of view.

I love how, as a feature, they include "Enables "Touch Typing" ("heads up" speed typing)" as if those who hunt-and-peck with a keyboard will have a better time when they actually can't even see the keys!.

The device looks like one of those short lived fads that will make one or two offices of people miserable (whose executives felt like they could be on the cutting edge and quintuple productivity by ditching the keyboard and mouse) and we'll never hear of it again.
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 2:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yah i agree i hope they don't get the 5k they need to actualy get to production. The funny thing is that they are claiming...proudly...that in a month or so one can get up to 50wpm....i could do that after a 2 weeks of typing papers...hopefuly i can go faster now....i also agree with u as a console gamer i can't stand it when ppl try to bring pc stuff into the consel, the point of them have always been very simplistic control schemes while the pc has lived in a different kind of game environment...ohh well maybe someday ppl will learn.
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Trool
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 7:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

here is another ....."interesting" pariphiral, though I think this is slightly more useful then the previously seen keyboard, but this is intended for gamers...would u use it for pc gaming.....?

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=157024#
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Jastermereel
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 8:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What is this desire to incorporate things into a game-pad style format? A keyboard with a standard gaming hand position (wasd or esdf) allows a user to access 60-80 percent of the main keyboard (main being no num pad, arrow keys or the insert,home,page-up section) with a single hand. Thats more keys than you can pack reasonably onto any double handed controller and it still leaves a hand free for the mouse, and however many buttons are crammed on to that.



By the way...reg...if you're reading this...its serial killer

Joe may be crazy but he isn't an atkins acolyte killing off grain products.
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fate
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 10:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

reg wasn't the one who changed it.....and it was intentional since noone has yet to post any images for serial killer joe......
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