Star Wars Keyboard with Touchpad LCD?

ThinkGeek has a lot of fun stuff for geeks, and while the grand majority of it is reasonably attainable, I came across a puzzling gem of an item posted earlier this week that both intrigued and confused me.

Meet the Star Wars Keyboard with an LCD Touchpad.



Of course, I instantly began to wonder why this was called the Star Wars Keyboard. While the LCD panel was displaying a vaguely Imperial logo (but better Alliance logo in another image), I didn’t see anything at all about this that screamed “Star Wars.”

Editor’s note: Well, the keyboard does look a little like something you’d find aboard an imperial starship, but maybe it’s only me…

The claim is that the keyboard is designed for the Star Wars Old Republic MMO, but quickly adds that it could be used for any MMO. The programmable macro keys are designed to make these sort of games easier to control.

And another great feature about the keyboard of course is the Touch LCD panel instead of the standard numeric keypad. You can program gesture controls into the screen or simply use the LCD to display alternative content such as a YouTube video or messenger tools. The image shows a Dragonball image in the screen because what else would you want to advertise a Star Wars Keyboard with?

The style of the keyboard is not inherently Star Wars in appearance, nor is it limited for use on Star Wars games. Furthermore, most people do not look at the keyboard when using it, so a secondary built in screen seems a bit redundant.

I was drawn to the style and layout of the keyboard, and while I thought the LCD touchpad and screen would be a great addition, I quickly got over it.

So aside from it not being very Star Wars, does this keyboard appeal to you? How about its $260 price tag?

Qantas replaces in-flight entertainment with iPads

Qantas will be the first airline to completely replace their inflight entertainment system with iPads. Passengers will have the capability of accessing Qantas’ own entertainment system, QStreaming, through their iPads and will also have inflight wifi to check emails and surf the web.

Having flown Qantas many, many times, I’m constantly unimpressed with their entertainment system. Multiple times I’ve had the system crash and they have had to reset it. One time, they reset it and the entire system crashed for everyone on the plane. It was the most ridiculous thing, and something I’ve never experienced on Cathay Pacific, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines…not even Brunei Airlines.

So it will be nice to see Qantas finally stepping up to the plate and giving a better inflight entertainment experience for their customers. Unfortunately for me, I usually fly international and the system is currently being introduced to their domestic flights only, on their B767 aeroplanes.

The system change is not only beneficial in terms of staying competitive with Virgin, but it also saves on costs. The usual entertainment system in every chair weighs a whopping total of 2000kg. Replacing this with 375 of the new iPads (the max passengers on a B767) will be only 244kg. Aeronautically, that weight difference will result in a fairly minimal fuel saving, but in a world where airlines are competing in price for every dollar, every tiny bit counts.

Regardless of the cost savings it would simply be a more awesome system. I last flew Qantas from Melbourne to Hong Kong and my system wasn’t working. Fortunately, I had my iPad, something I wanted to edit and a few movies loaded up so I was sweet the whole way. And it was way better than watching their useless entertainment system.

I’d just like to know how they’re going to distribute them – can’t imagine the Qantas stewards and stewardesses will be carrying a bag of them down the aisle the way they do with the headphones. Maybe in one of the food trolley type things? Either way, I’m all for this change! What do you guys think?

[Via Geek.com]



Nexus 7 triumphs over the iPad 2 in durability

It seems these guys had the money to test the durability of an iPad2 and a Nexus 7 by dropping them, knocking them off a low wall and dunking them in water.

Not recommended to try these at home, even if the Nexus 7 does largely survive!

http://youtu.be/nKaPmrXKfO0

[Via GeeksHaveLanded]

Actors With Roles In Both Doctor Who and Star Wars [Pic]

Our pals from Geeks of Doom made this cool infographic listing actors who had a role both in Star Wars and Doctor Who. Check it out!

[Source: Geeks of Doom]

Batman vs Captain America: FIGHT!

Batman The Dark Knight takes on Captain America the first Super Soldier. Who would win in a fight? We want you to decide! It’s batarang vs. shield in the first episode of Ultimate Fan Fights!

[Ultimate Fan Fights]

Apple’s UK Court Woes Keep on Coming

Samsung was officially labeled as uncool by a British judge earlier this month, but it’s Apple that will face the real embarrassment: it’s now been ordered to place advertisements confirming Samsung isn’t a copycat.

This particular front of the patent wars involves Apple’s claims that the original version of the Galaxy Tab ripped off the design of the iPad. Apple has the overall lead in the battle thanks to an injunction banning the Samsung device from sale in the US until a full hearing.

However, Apple lost a case on the same issue in the United Kingdom where Judge Colin Birss said there was no serious prospect of confusion. In a statement that was welcome news to Samsung’s legal team and perhaps not so much to its marketing department, Birss said “[The Samsung devices] do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design. They are not as cool. The overall impression produced is different.”

Samsung decided to push its luck a bit after that verdict and asked for an injunction banning Apple from making any public statement indicating that the Galaxy Tab copied its designs.

Judge Birss has now rejected that argument, ruling that it would infringe Apple’s rights to free speech. He ruled that Apple is allowed to say it believes Samsung copied it, as long as this is clearly expressed as an opinion rather than a statement of fact.

However, to make the legal situation clear Birss has agreed to Samsung’s request that Apple be forced to publish a notice stating that the court ruled that Samsung didn’t commit a legal breach. This notice must be put in newspaper and magazine advertisements as well as staying on the home page of Apple’s UK website for six months.

The precise details aren’t confirmed, though Samsung had suggested the advertisements go in the Daily Mail and Financial Times newspapers, the Guardian’s mobile magazine, and tech mag T3.

The ads may not appear immediately as the judge has also given Apple permission to appeal against the original patent verdict. It’s likely it won’t be forced to comply with the new ruling unless and until that appeal is rejected.