3 ms·
I think I'd prefer a good solid crank to having to grind a keyboard. I remember manual typewriters - they were a hideous, miserable experience.
by joe_the_user 4y ago
I think I'd prefer a good solid crank to having to grind a keyboard. I remember manual typewriters - they were a hideous, miserable experience.
- reerdna 4y agoI've considered adding a few small geared stepper motors as a combination input device (scroll wheel, or two for etch-a-sketch cursor control) and energy harvester.
- snozolli 4y agoPedal power, like an old-timey sewing machine.
- digitallyfree 4y agoA hand crank would be really cool on such a device. Rather than scramble for a charger and outlet you could just take a break and crank away.
- leovander 4y agoIf only the Playdate could charge using the crank.
- jessriedel 4y agoPresumably the resistance of a typical laptop keyboard is set to get the correct feel, not like a minimum mechanical resistance to get it to work at all, so there must be energy that is currently dissipated as heat that could be harvested for free, in principle without changing the feel.
- pklausler 4y agoHaving grown up with a non-Selectric typewriter, I'd be okay with a charging crank that mimicked the action of a manual carriage return that I had to shove to the left at the end of each line of code when the editor goes "ding!". But I'm not sure where it could be mounted on a laptop.
- the_third_wave 4y ago> I remember manual typewriters - they were a hideous, miserable experience. They were just the thing to write rants on, you could truly put some feeling into your writing. Rant loud enough and you'd type holes instead of o's. Overdo that underline and it'd end up splitting the page for real.