Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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anyplace you wanna stick 'em keys

*the keys can be anywhere*
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Each key has a tiny radio transmitter in it. The back of the key is covered with 'sticky stuff'. Put the keys where you want them to be-- up to 10 feet from the cpu! Put the space bar on your forehead and bang your brow against the screen as you type.

--or stick them on your coffee mug and type while sipping.

--put them on your shoulders then cross your arms so you look scary and gothic as you type!

--then stick the keys on your fingers and type on anything!

nobody cares

*the keys can be anywhere*

futurebird, Aug 13 2001

(??) this is how it would work ... http://www.futurebird.com/keys.gif
[futurebird, Aug 13 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Legoboard http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Legoboard
Already halfbaked - see annotations to this idea [btw futurebird - I love your diagram] [hippo, Aug 13 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004]

[link]






       [futurebird] you never cease to amaze me. Not only is this a great idea, but you include a schematic. Croissant.   

       Of course, I'd keep losing my keys...
phoenix, Aug 13 2001
  

       Jeez! You could put some of the keys on a footrest for your big toes to click, and have a Windows logo with the Ctrl, Alt, and Del buttons underneath it so you just smack the logo with your fist and it--well, we all know what it does. Have a biscuit, futurebird.
Dog Ed, Aug 13 2001
  

       I'd stick the Ctrl, Alt and Del buttons close together on the top or side of the monitor, so you can give it a satisfying thump with your fist to restart Windows, just like a dodgy tv set.
Guy Fox, Aug 13 2001
  

       I guess you'd call this UNplug-and-play technology? Sounds really cool as long as you don't have multiple computers in the room with wireless keys...   

       There is still the problem of powering the individual keys. A watch battery in every key seems like a nightmare waiting to happen. ("Yes, I'd like 102 button cells, please... Oh, you only have 3 in stock. Well, um...") Perhaps remote RF power? The base station could radiate moderate power on predesignated "scan" fequencies. Keys would then absorb a fraction of this power, rectify and filter it, use some for internal processes, and pump the rest into a reply frequency.   

       I'd use my newfound freedom to take those annoying Windows keys and send them back to Redmond. Now if only I could also take the operating system and shove it -- er, um, I mean, well, you get the idea.
BigBrother, Aug 13 2001
  

       Surely a built-in dynamo would provide sufficient power for each key?
-alx, Aug 13 2001
  

       Micro-magnetos or piezo crystals for power. Pressing the key generates the electricity needed for RF.
phoenix, Aug 13 2001
  

       I love the idea of headbutting the spacebar.   

       However, I must admit that I was a bit confused at first as I imagined my car key with sticky stuff on it, and my house key with sticky stuff on it, and hey! what's the cpu and the spacebar have to do with anything?   

       But I get it now.
PotatoStew, Aug 13 2001
  

       Hippo, I don't think the Legoboard and this are similar enough to call it redundant...The legoboard allows you to move keys within it, while this allows you to move them anywhere.   

       And I know a -good- place for those Windows keys...
StarChaser, Aug 13 2001
  

       Yeah, sure I use the Windows keys; + E for Explorer, + F for 'Find...'; it's a useful shortcut key. Just coz it has the 'Windows' logo on it doesn't make it bad.
angel, Aug 14 2001
  

       [StarChaser] Agreed - I meant the anotations to LegoBoard - all the stuff about giving every key its own IP address and 802.11b connectivity...
hippo, Aug 14 2001
  

       Hey, stick them on your kn*b and log on to www.bigbustybrendasbollockbustingbonanza.com. Random porn as you w*nk.
Mayfly, Aug 14 2001
  

       The keys themselves could start wearable fashion trends. Why be beige?   

       Alternatively, oversized stand-on keys would be cool, too. Like that piano at FAO Schwartz...
RayfordSteele, Jan 08 2002
  

       Great for flight sims. And Racing sims!! Just cut boxes to look like a cockpit or dash, stick controls everywhere and make them schematically accurate. I smell Bluetooth technology.
mailtosalonga, Apr 01 2004
  

       homes need tesla power towers. Honestly, if we do that, then we can send audio/visual/data signals over the air.   

       Anyone else want to live in a world without wires? I can't be the only one.
Feba, Mar 25 2007
  

       [futurebird], are you japanese by any chance?
sweet, Mar 26 2007
  

       brilliant.
Voice, Mar 27 2007
  

       I still love this idea. If you distributed the keys throughout your house you could get a real workout while annotating an idea. First type the T, then run into the "vowel room" to type the "o", then out into the backyard for the space bar...
phundug, Mar 29 2007
  
      
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