http://www.geekrant.org/2005/05/08/that-fn-key/ Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:44:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.geekrant.org/2005/05/08/that-fn-key/comment-page-1/#comment-3666 Titel Mon, 09 May 2005 03:54:08 +0000 http://www.geekrant.org/2005/05/08/that-fn-key/#comment-3666 Sweeeeeeeeet :) Sweeeeeeeeet

]]> http://www.geekrant.org/2005/05/08/that-fn-key/comment-page-1/#comment-3663 tony Sun, 08 May 2005 22:04:40 +0000 http://www.geekrant.org/2005/05/08/that-fn-key/#comment-3663 I just <a href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0001011/2005/05/08.html#a10033" rel="nofollow">asked Robert Scoble</a> if he could ask the hardware team at Microsoft why they did this. If he sees this he may even ask about the LEDs. I just asked Robert Scoble if he could ask the hardware team at Microsoft why they did this. If he sees this he may even ask about the LEDs.

]]> http://www.geekrant.org/2005/05/08/that-fn-key/comment-page-1/#comment-3662 andy Sun, 08 May 2005 18:00:11 +0000 http://www.geekrant.org/2005/05/08/that-fn-key/#comment-3662 Cool response. My friend gave the impression that blue LEDs were cheaper than the greens etc. - maybe he just meant they're getting cheaper in general and people want them. He was quite disparaging about them. Cool response. My friend gave the impression that blue LEDs were cheaper than the greens etc. – maybe he just meant they’re getting cheaper in general and people want them. He was quite disparaging about them.

]]> http://www.geekrant.org/2005/05/08/that-fn-key/comment-page-1/#comment-3660 Titel Sun, 08 May 2005 15:28:49 +0000 http://www.geekrant.org/2005/05/08/that-fn-key/#comment-3660 Yes, blue LEDs and, more recently, white ones are getting cheaper since they moved from the R&D labs into mass production. They are not as cheap as the common LEDs -- 3mm green, red, orange, yellow LEDs are under 10 cents a piece, while blue ones are still over one dollar -- but they will eventually get there. Each LED has two important specifications: light intensity, measured in mcd (mili-<a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=candela" rel="nofollow">candela</a>) and the angle of the focused beam given in degrees. Beware: if you like sitting in the dark at the computer, do not get ultrabright and narrow beam LEDs like I did (there weren't other variants to pick from at that time). The ones in my keyboard are making clear, bright blue spots on the ceiling as well as on my retina if I sit too close to the keyboard. 60mcd is dim, 250-500mcd should be OK, 1000mcd and more is very bright. 8, 12, 15 degrees will focus the light, while 30 or 50 degrees disperse the light better; narrow-angle LEDs are usually made of clear blue or white plastic, the others are matte. You can test the LEDs at 3 volts (two AA or AAA batteries in series), hold your hand a few inches in front of the LED and see if it makes a bright disc with clear edge or a diffuse, mild intensity light. It's best to shop around until you find a variant matching your taste because intensity can be lowered by adding a resistor in series with the LED, but you won't have room for extra resistors in the keyboard; the angle cannot be adjusted. My Microsoft Natural Multimedia keyboard used 3 3mm LEDs which were fairly easy to replace; other keyboards may have <acronym title="Surface Mount Device">SMD</acronym> LEDs that require special soldering tools. Yes, blue LEDs and, more recently, white ones are getting cheaper since they moved from the R&D labs into mass production. They are not as cheap as the common LEDs — 3mm green, red, orange, yellow LEDs are under 10 cents a piece, while blue ones are still over one dollar — but they will eventually get there. Each LED has two important specifications: light intensity, measured in mcd (mili-candela) and the angle of the focused beam given in degrees. Beware: if you like sitting in the dark at the computer, do not get ultrabright and narrow beam LEDs like I did (there weren’t other variants to pick from at that time). The ones in my keyboard are making clear, bright blue spots on the ceiling as well as on my retina if I sit too close to the keyboard. 60mcd is dim, 250-500mcd should be OK, 1000mcd and more is very bright. 8, 12, 15 degrees will focus the light, while 30 or 50 degrees disperse the light better; narrow-angle LEDs are usually made of clear blue or white plastic, the others are matte. You can test the LEDs at 3 volts (two AA or AAA batteries in series), hold your hand a few inches in front of the LED and see if it makes a bright disc with clear edge or a diffuse, mild intensity light. It’s best to shop around until you find a variant matching your taste because intensity can be lowered by adding a resistor in series with the LED, but you won’t have room for extra resistors in the keyboard; the angle cannot be adjusted. My Microsoft Natural Multimedia keyboard used 3 3mm LEDs which were fairly easy to replace; other keyboards may have SMD LEDs that require special soldering tools.

]]> http://www.geekrant.org/2005/05/08/that-fn-key/comment-page-1/#comment-3659 andy Sun, 08 May 2005 14:01:59 +0000 http://www.geekrant.org/2005/05/08/that-fn-key/#comment-3659 One of my geekier friends said that there are a plethora of blue LEDs around now, mainly because they are cheaper. Is this true? My apple keyboards use green LEDs - if it's good enough for Apple... One of my geekier friends said that there are a plethora of blue LEDs around now, mainly because they are cheaper. Is this true? My apple keyboards use green LEDs – if it’s good enough for Apple…

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