FingerWorks Offers Replacement PowerBook Keyboard

JerryKnight writes "FingerWorks, the inventor of TouchStream keyboards such as the LP, is taking pre-orders for a drop-in replacement for the keyboard in a 15" PowerBook G4 that is pretty much the same thing as the LP. Now the beautiful PowerBook can be completely smooth. Words fail to express the enthusiasm felt by me and hopefully anyone else who has used these keyboards. No word on availability. List price: $259." It's called the MacNTouch. Hm.

But...

[2nd Post!]

If you're using the mouse, you have one hand (at the most) on the keyboard and the other at the pad; index on the pad, thumb on the button, and let's say your left hand on the keyboard...

Immediately that means you have a five button mouse at your disposal:

Click
Shift-click
Ctrl-click
Option-click
Co mmand-click

Not to mention chords:
Shift-ctrl-click
Shift-command-click
Sh ift-option-click
etc, etc, etc.

So... why is the lack of a right mouse button (ctrl-click, but you know this already, right?) stopping you from using a PowerBook, other than the lack of cash? Is it just an academic excuse not to own a Powerbook? (Oh, it doesn't have a dedicated right mouse button!)?

Re:What about the trackpad?

[Baumi]

Not quite, but uControl [gnufoo.org] offers similar functionality: You can scroll via trackpad by pressing the function key (configurable).

It's mainly a keyboard-remapping software - the trackpad stuff is just an added bonus.

Re:great...

[Mr. Light Touch]

You can remap the BackSpace/Delete or any other key you like with our gesture editor (still in Beta). If you can put up with about a week's confusion from learning any new key swap, the thumb BackSpace will feel great for the rest of your life!

Re:Power Drain on battery

[Mr. Light Touch]

I think the 'cut battery life in half' was a bit of an exaggeration, unless the reviewer's test was on a mini-notebook. We don't have the final specs yet, but the MacNTouch should use less than half as much power as the TouchStream LP, which uses 250mA@5V -> 1.25 Watts/hour. The 15" PowerBook's battery supposedly has a 61 W-hour capacity. You do the math...

As we're able to reduce the TouchStream LP's power usage, we'll update its tech specs page as well.