Best "other" input device

[webwit]

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Nomination rules:
Please suggest nominees for the Best "other" input device in 2016. This can be an ergonomic keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, etc. Anything alternative from the mainstream tenkeyless, full, and 60% keyboards. You have to give a short motivation for each suggestion. The input device must be released since Thursday 3 December, 2015. You cannot nominate your own or your own company's device.

Current suggestions:

• The Atreus Keyboard. It's a very innovative design idea and many users have found it to be a good alternative to the Ergodox. As a standalone 40% it is also really mobile.
• The Microsoft Surface Dial. It's attempting to create a new user interface concept for things like menu navigation and color selection in art programs.
• Kinesis Advantage 2. For bringing modern firmware features, including user-friendly keymap/macro configuration, to the successful, currently 24-year-old ergonomic keyboard design of the Contoured/Advantage series.
• Elecom for the effort to push modern technology into trackballs and bring asymmetrical finger-operated trackballs (M-DT2* models) back to the market after major players like Microsoft or Logitech discontinued theirs, along with (AFAIK) the only left-handed thumb-operated trackball (M-XT4* model).
• Kensington Expert Wireless Trackball, because it's an update to the product line, that has been around since the 1990s, this time with Bluetooth connection (quite unique in the market).
• The Amazon Echo, which came out this fall in two new languages, as an innovative input device that brings speech recognition to the home, making (parts of) the power of the internet usable as casually as never before.
• The apple touch bar, because who does not want to replace a perfectly good button with a pointless touch bar and get charged way more than last year for the shit laptop it's connected to?
• The Samsung VR Headset we are experimenting with through my work, and having some very promising initial results.
• Dactyl – a DIY parameterized, split-hand, concave, columnar, ergonomic keyboard – essentially a lovechild of ErgoDox and Kinesis Advantage.
• Planet 6 by kurplop, a custom ergonomic keyboard with an embedded trackball, and an amazing piece of craftsmanship—from home-made PCBs to machine-milled metal case and keycaps.
• 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse Enterprise, looks like an interesting upgrade to the SpaceMouse Pro for those that need a 3D pointing device? http://www.3dconnexion.com/products/spa ... prise.html

The first round ends on Saturday 26 November, 23:59:59 UTC.

[PollandAkuma]

I'd like to nominate the Atreus Keyboard. It's a very innovative design idea and many users have found it to be a good alternative to the Ergodox. As a standalone 40% it is also really mobile.

[Findecanor]

BTW, I love the header image. That was a significant event in user interface history, not to mention computing history.
One device in the image was definitely an "other" device then but is mainstream now.

[bhtooefr]

Although, for this forum, mice are still "other".

How about the Microsoft Surface Dial? It's attempting to create a new user interface concept for things like menu navigation and color selection in art programs.

I'm sure I'll think of something else to put in here, too...

[davkol]

Kinesis Advantage 2
for bringing modern firmware features, including user-friendly keymap/macro configuration, to the successful, currently 24-year-old ergonomic keyboard design of the Contoured/Advantage series

[vivalarevolución]

Contour Design Rollermoue Red. The highest quality ergonomic mouse that I ever have used, with high quality materials and very slick and useful functions.

[bhtooefr]

Rollermouse Red came out somewhere around 2013, it's ineligible.

[vivalarevolución]

Rollermouse Red came out somewhere around 2013, it's ineligible.

Oops, sorry, need to read the rules.

Then I nominate the ergonomic Rollermouse Free3, a refreshing update of the Rollermouse Free2, with new features, a sleeker design, and general ergonomic mouse awesomeness.

[OutragedPudding]

The Atreus gets my vote for its compact size, great looks and very good team behind the product!

[DrOpBoX]

Me too Atreus...I just discover now, but wow, finally an ergonomic keyboard super compact I think we can also do better and smaller case, but great work!

[E3E]

Ineligible, nevermind!

[davkol]

The input device must be released since Thursday 3 December, 2015.

[E3E]

They're still made. http://www.itacsystems.com/

[davkol]

made != released

Same issue as with the rollermouse above.

[E3E]

Ahh, I see. Whoops, I should've realized.

[davkol]

Speaking of trackballs, I want to nominate:

• Elecom for the effort to push modern technology into trackballs and bring asymmetrical finger-operated trackballs (M-DT2* models) back to the market after major players like Microsoft or Logitech discontinued theirs, along with (AFAIK) the only left-handed thumb-operated trackball (M-XT4* model).
• Kensington Expert Wireless Trackball, because it's an update to the product line, that has been around since the 1990s, this time with Bluetooth connection (quite unique in the market).

[ohaimark]

BTW, I love the header image. That was a significant event in user interface history, not to mention computing history.
One device in the image was definitely an "other" device then but is mainstream now.

Thanks. I did a lot of searching to find a suitable one.

[Halvar]

The Amazon Echo came out this fall in two new languages, namely British English and German. OK, it's been around in the U.S. for a little bit longer, but Germany happens to be the country where I live...

It's mainly an array of seven microphones that can cover a whole room, together with a nice Bluetooth speaker, and some local speech recognition electronics that allow it to listen for a wakeword. The wakeword is recognized even while playing loud music. When the wakeword is said, it listens for orders, that it then sends to the Amazon cloud for recognition. It can answer questions, find and play music from TuneIn, Spotify or Amazon music, buy stuff from Amazon, use smart home functions, read news or your schedule, and use third-party "skills" to do things like finding train connections or recipes.

While I strongly dislike the cloud-centric approach of the Echo, especially for something that is mainly used for local stuff, and while its scope is pretty limited, I still think that being able to ask for information and let your home appliances do stuff just by talking, without having to turn on your computer or taking out your smartphone while you're doing other things aroud the house, definitely makes sense and is an innovation that we will all use in a few year's time in one or another form. Also, the home and car are good places to start, because I don't see myself talking to a certain "OK Google" or "Alexa" or "Cortana" or "Siri" in the subway or bus, on the street or in public places anytime soon.

I also like that Amazon provides APIs both for developing custom skills and for integrating the "Alexa" service into your own devices.

So I nominate the Amazon Echo as an innovative input device that brings speech recognition to the home, making (parts of) the power of the internet usable as casually as never before.

[scottc]

I have to agree with Halvar, the Echo is really impressive as an input device. Unlike Siri and the likes, it's got incredibly accurate voice recognition and is able to identify almost everything people say. All in all, I've been very impressed by it (despite the cloud-centric nature of it).

[webwit]

Any other nominees? Surely there have been other interesting devices released this year.

[andrewjoy]

I nominate the apple touch bar , because who does not want to replace a perfectly good button with a pointless touch bar and get charged way more than last year for the shit laptop its connected to? Apple you could just put a bloody touch screen on the laptop like everyone else.

Wait this is the ping awards right ?

[lot_lizard]

We are experimenting with the Samsung VR Headset through my work, and having some very promising initial results. Normally I wouldn't call this an input device, but if you want to get technical... it certainly captures input. I am not sure how hard the release date of 2015-12-03 is though. When I searched, it looks it would have less than a week before (2015-11-27)

[hook]

I didn’t realise that ergo keyboards qualify as “other input devices”.

In this case I’d like to propose Dactyl – a DIY parameterized, split-hand, concave, columnar, ergonomic keyboard – essentially a lovechild of ErgoDox and Kinesis Advantage

[derzemel]

Mionix Naos 7000. One of the very few ergonomic mice which is big enough for my hand. Also it is wide enough and shaped so I can rest my ring and little finger on. A very comfortable mouse.

Spoiler:

Here's an older photo I made with it some time ago:

[Findecanor]

Mionix Naos 7000. One of the very few mainstream mice which is big enough for my hand. Also it is wide enough and shaped so I can rest my ring and little finger on. A very comfortable mouse.

Fixed that for you.

In my book, a mouse that does not slant outwards does not quality as "ergonomic"
Yeah, it is curved on the top and dips a little bit more on the right edge than the left, but that is not enough to register.

[derzemel]

Mionix Naos 7000. One of the very few mainstream mice which is big enough for my hand. Also it is wide enough and shaped so I can rest my ring and little finger on. A very comfortable mouse.

Fixed that for you.

In my book, a mouse that does not slant outwards does not quality as "ergonomic"
Yeah, it is curved on the top and dips a little bit more on the right edge than the left, but that is not enough to register.

Yes, it is mainstream

but, keeping in mind that I used symmetrical mice all my life, the Naos was a shocking

[webwit]

I use completely symmetrical mice for ergonomic reasons. So I can use it with both hands, reducing the work load of a hand with 50%!

[fohat]

I really like the Anker "vertical" (actually more like diagonal) mouse but it only comes in a right-hand version.

Otherwise I use symmetrical mice and use them interchangeably with the left hand.

[davkol]

Idk. After the mess with company nominations… is Mionix Naos 7000 (launched in 2013) or the Anker mouse really eligible for nomination here?

This reminds me, that I'd like to nominate…

Planet 6 by kurplop. The first post is from autumn 2015, but it's just been finished.

Planet 6 is a custom ergonomic keyboard with an embedded trackball, and an amazing piece of craftsmanship—from home-made PCBs to machine-milled metal case and keycaps.

[ohaimark]

Once again, you're the only one who thought it was a mess.

Neither of those are eligible under my current ruleset. I'll talk with webwit.