Convince me that a cool white keyboard backlight isn't a dealbreaker please!

[FBnil]

I hope the sun doesn't vanish any time soon (that was a pathetic eclipse joke attempt, because it is being more frequently discussed here now).

I got bad news for you.... sun microsystems is no more sinds 2009. However, Eclipse will work on a Pyra.
Now go back to discussing the keyboard... this is, after all, a keyboard thread.

 

[sebt3]

What about the red shiny ones? Do those disturb you?

Yeah, a bit bothersome. But i've done no real direct usage of my prototype yet. Most of the time, i'm on the serial... with the lid closed
While lastest changes from atc improve the touchscreen initial calibration, it's not there yet for mine. I've disabled the mouse on the nubs for mine as it was interfering with one of my projects, so I cannot realy use my pyra as a stand-alone device.
Once these inputs issues i'm having are fixed in the OS, i'll do more real-life testing
[doublepost=1502351718,1502351633][/doublepost]

I got bad news for you.... sun microsystems is no more sinds 2009. However, Eclipse will work on a Pyra.

Are you aware why IBM named this IDE "eclipse" ? Because it was specifically designed to eclipse Sun from the java scene

 

[sm0kew0n]

Wasn't it this forum that supposedly had a reputation of being elitist assholes

0_0

@CabinetofJoy I'm sure there'll be a way to turn the brightness down, whilst that doesn't change the colour temp it might un-break the deal for you.

 

[rygD]

@sm0kew0n, I think it was mentioned a year or two ago, and was brought to our attention by someone that also frequents another forum where comments suggesting what I said were made. I don't remember who brought it to us, or where it was coming from, right now. I think @WizardStan made some suggestions for what we can do differently to not seem so threatening to lurkers, newbies and outsiders. I think it is because some of us are vocally strongly supportive of Linux, libre and open source software, and have bad things to say about companies like Microsoft, Some, and Google. It probably doesn't help or reputation any that some of us bluntly tell newcomers coming in that major changes won't happen, when they come in to complain about some aspect of the Pyra, and bringing their brilliant plan on how they can make the Pyra better and save the project (@CabinetofJoy, I don't mean you), or standing behind ED, what he is doing, and how he operates (such as communicating what is going on behind the scenes). I can try to search for the discussion later if you care.

There are a few daylight grade light bulbs as well, you even get somewhat what you paid for - but they are bright as fuck, using them for the dining room where you're eating breakfast every day kinda works better than any coffee... (been there, done that)

Sounds like those are what I needed back when I was a little guy and trying to use light to help me wake up when I would get up before dawn. I would stare at the light.

The brightness and color are why I would not be allowed to get those. I am not even allowed to have the dim dingy lights on in the bedroom if my other half is trying to sleep.

I got bad news for you.... sun microsystems is no more sinds 2009. However, Eclipse will work on a Pyra.
Now go back to discussing the keyboard... this is, after all, a keyboard thread.

I know...but...I meant...I was talking about an actual solar eclipse that will happen soon.

And you are right, keyboard threads are serious business! Back to it!!!

 

[Binky]

(Warning: long, slightly off-topic post ahead)

Wasn't it this forum that supposedly had a reputation of being elitist assholes

It probably doesn't help or reputation any that some of us bluntly tell newcomers coming in that major changes won't happen, when they come in to complain about some aspect of the Pyra, and bringing their brilliant plan on how they can make the Pyra better and save the project (@CabinetofJoy, I don't mean you), or standing behind ED, what he is doing, and how he operates (such as communicating what is going on behind the scenes). I can try to search for the discussion later if you care.

I wonder if self-confidence gets mistaken for elitism sometimes. This forum brings together people who are dissatisfied with the offerings of mainstream pocket computer manufacturers. Everyone is aware that iPhones exist, that they are popular, and we still don't want one. Rejecting a social norm always takes confidence in your own ideas. When someone joins these forums and says "Wouldn't it be great if the Pyra was touchscreen-only and ran Android", it's very easy to overreact and attack them for being different. That's rather hypocritical, and should be strongly discouraged. However, it would be absurd and self-defeating to suddenly say "Oh, you're right. Lets build a smartphone". Not-being-a-smartphone is pretty much the entire point of the Pandora/Pyra. So when a new user challenges a major design point (again, I don't mean this thread), what are we to do?

I see two options:

1. Tell the new user that they're mistaken, that the Pyra will be the best thing since the paperclip, and everyone should buy one.
2. Tell the new user that we don't care what we they think, and we like our clamshell linux boxen they way they are, thank you very much.

Many companies would go with (1), but there are solid practical and ethical arguments against it. The Pyra is simply not the right device for everyone. In practice, this forum opts for (2), which could sound arrogant - but then, the only thing worse than respectfully disagreeing is evangelising. Many people assume that ED's operations are a typical money-making scheme, and are confused when nobody here seems to care about unfashionable design choices, and I suspect that's another point where the word "elitist" comes into play. There's a thin line between not caring that other people disagree, and looking down on them because they're wrong.

If we're to avoid these misunderstandings, I think the key word is 'respect'. As a forum, we should have enough self-confidence not to feel threatened by people with differing values, and at the same time, enough patience and delicacy not to seem threatening ourselves.

Of course, that's always easier said than done, but probably worth saying, nonetheless...

</essay>

 

[FBnil]

Are you aware why IBM named this IDE "eclipse" ? Because it was specifically designed to eclipse Sun from the java scene

...Mind blown...

best thing since the paperclip, and everyone should buy one.

I'd rather buy 1 Pyra instead of 5 paperclips...

we don't care what we think

uh... "you are entitled to your opinion, but at this stage in production we are tired of waiting and all we want is the mass production started. Any non-essential extra's deviates from our plan and makes the waiting unbearable. Please understand."


possibly new signature:

I don't care what I think...

 

[Binky]

we don't care what we think

Good spot!

(fixed)

 

[rygD]

@Binky, I am pretty sure the response I see most often to those people is that the Pyra isn't for everyone, which may be taken as those people aren't good for the Pyra, or something. Rather than understanding that the Pyra is for those of us that want pretty much exactly what it offers, and what we want isn't greater than what others want/need, but less (older CPU, no camera, resistive touchscreen, some difficulties with popular software and recent games due to these choices of necessity and the OS). Really, we are just looking for something different, because we want to do different things than a lot of people. At its core, the Pyra is for retro gaming and computing, and things along the way made it more attractive to certain other groups, like the Linux crowd and others kinda on the fringes that don't get much from most companies out there that aren't already past of those communities. There is some overlap with all of these people, although even here we are far from complete agreement, with members that just use whatever works, and others that tale more extreme stances, and everything in between, plus others that just think it is cool.

Wow, I got a bit carried away there. It was supposed to be a quick reply.

But I will admit that the original post did make me chuckle, as I wasn't expecting it. I didn't understand the title, so I read the post and thought it funny that someone would have a problem with the tone of the white of the keyboard LEDs to the point that it might make them decide against getting it. It just seemed insignificant to me, but it is a valid concern. I really care about the keyboard layout and feel, and to some people those are probably insignificant, like those only interested in console games. @CabinetofJoy, don't take it personally if I make references back to this to make jokes. It is a rather obscure thing to be worried about, and really goes to show that each of us have a different set of things that would make the Pyra good enough for us.

@FBnil, I want a case made of paperclips. I think I would prefer more affordable ones, and silver doesn't seem like the best choice to me, unless it will help keep the Pyra cool. I guess I better get started trying to make this thing.

Oh, and I don't care what I think, or what we think. Too bad it got fixed (I thought it was intentional).

On topic: I know there was at least one request for a keymat without the caps glued on. I wonder if that would work for CabinetofJoy, so they can somehow color the white stuff whatever works best for them. I kinda want to do that, now. (Benefit over changing the LEDs or all light color is that the orangey color will not be changed, and it might be cheaper than many other options.)

 

[Caine]

For me the whole question asked by the original poster is just bizarre.

It asks to do the one thing that I certainly cannot do, to assign a weight, a judgement of value, for someone else. He does this while postulating that he already assigned the maximum weight to it (dealbreaker).

What can I add to that? I can answer factual questions as to the specs of the device. I can speculate about what it may or may not bring in the future. But I do not accept the responsibility of making the decision to purchase for another.

You want my opinion? I would sooner consider the backlight an anti-feature. If I need to look at the keys of a device, then something is horribly wrong. I "touch-typed" (read: I typed blind with ten fingers) on my calculator in high school. That said, I will just keep the backlight off, it is not important to me, but it does not really bother me either.

 

[DrHAX]

I'm surprised the keyboard lighting is even existing. I'm happy for the fact it's a deal breaker leaves me scratching my head.

bright lights I get. Anything over a 60watt lightbulb causes me agony. My night vision is absurd and many cold light spectrums of fluorescent lights give me migraines.

I had orange Halloween lights strung up in my room and was happy as a clam.

I am completely dumbfounded by this post. Honestly I would suspect the colour of the device to be more of a deal breaker than optional backlighting that will probably be turned off instantly like the status LED's on the Pandora.

I love this place. You never quite know what you'll find out (or be yelled at about)

 

[Grench]

We know:
The screen backlight can be turned down/off.
Illumination button = screen backlight on/up.
Shift+Illumination button screen backlight down/off.
The keyboard backlight can be turned off (hopefully down/off).
Fn+Illumination button = keyboard backlight on/up.
Fn+shift+illumination button = keyboard backlight off/down.

But - the rest of the LEDs - they can be color controlled, but can they be dimmed?

Should a keyboard shortcut of something to like these be made?
Alt+Illumination button = All Status LEDs on/up.
Alt+Shift+Illumination button = All Status LEDs down/off.

Frankly I also want to have the option to tie the volume to the illumination buttton.
Ctrl+Illumination button = master volume on/up.
Ctrl+shift+Illumination button = master volume down/off.
Why? I want to use the 'volume wheel' as a mouse scroll wheel.

I'm assuming that there will be some form of control panel to handle these too. All these fun things that people can create/tweak/add/change/customize after the unit starts getting into the wild. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[comradekingu]

This should be an easy hack to make. Overspray with some orange from the underside.

 

[Eight Bit]

Think the OP is convinced now?

 

[DrHAX]

I think we might have scared him away...

 

[levi]

But - the rest of the LEDs - they can be color controlled, but can they be dimmed?

RGB LEDs can be made to go dimmer, yes. Just supply half of the R, G and B values to them, or whatever proportion you want.

 

[ClockworkCoder]

I think we might have scared him away...

Scared of fervent enthusiasm? I guess not everyone finds that infectious...

Apparently he asked the same question almost a year ago, and that's all. If keypad backlight colour is all one is concerned about, I don't understand how it could be so problematic, and in any case there are loads of good answers here.

 

[comradekingu]

Light levels control your melatonin levels. Assuming the OP is on a circadian rhythm, it makes sense to lower it at night, and eliminate blue light at those times.

I'm thinking it could be dimmed, and from what i remember the keyboard leds were not RGB.

However, you don't need to look at a keyboard you know. Take it away folks.

 

[FBnil]

To be honest, I am more concerned with the lowest light intensity of the screen backlight. The one from the pandora feels like lasers at night. (something with logarithmic light intensity)

 

[levi]

Askarus has some good news for you on the previous page

https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/th...isnt-a-dealbreaker-please.81168/#post-1420028

Specifically:

Thy Pyra is very eye friendly.
The display backlight can be much lower than on the Pandora.

 

[CabinetofJoy]

Gratitude to all those who replied.