The art of typing into thin air
As if reading your blog from your favorite reclining / rocking contraption weren't enough, some folks thought we should be able to update our blogs from just about anywhere. Wireless solutions are already widespread and well-known and mob-blogging (moblogs) has lost of its shiny perk. Been there, seen this, done that... Right?
Well, maybe not so. As one can guess, writing on a cellphone, a PDA, or any other small, portable device can turn into a nightmare if not a nightmbre if you pressed too much on the abc key of your Sony Eriksson. And carrying your 102-key-with-Windows-special-key-and-a-battery-of-special-functionnality keyboard isn't quite an option. Some clever chaps scratched the back of their heads, watched a few episodes of Stargate and exclaimed Eurêka!
Behold the power of the VKB! VKB as in virtual laser keyboard. Several sites have already been chattering on about this latest new thing on the e-block. iwantoneofthose.com and ebay sell them and http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/ goes into the detail of explaining how it works. And I quote:
You can use the VKB (Virtual PC Keyboard) with both your laptop and PC and with a compatible mobile device, compatible Smartphone and PDA.
The virtual laser keyboard (VKB) works by using both infrared and laser technology to produce an invisible circuit and project a full-size virtual QWERTY keyboard on to any surface. The virtual PC keyboard behaves exactly like a real one: direction technology based on optical recognition enables the user to tap the images of the keys, complete with realistic tapping sounds(!), which feeds into the compatible PDA, Smartphone, laptop or PC.
The device looks like this (see right). All you need to do now is type away on the red-laser keys. The device can simulate sound although it's bound to become nagging eventually. And of course, you'll have to watch out for greasy surfaces, coffee-littered tables, and sandwich crumbs.
On the other hand, I'm sure our surgeon general will appreciate the fact they are no more crevices where the odd bugs can roam feeding on whatever the keyboard has gobbled down.
Blogging from a park bench is now child's play. Simply hook up the VKB to your bluetooth PDA / cellphone and go to blog.com to start typing about your virtual experience...
