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[rygD]

all we did was drain out the old pallet ball looking things, dump in new ones for the different color, spray some out to get the old color out, and within 15min youd have another color plastic molding into the same machine.

The issue with changing the color is that the plastic will have different physical properties as it cools down because of the pigments included in it, and therefore the dimensions will differ, the resistance of the plastic may differ, and you will see same cases crack when you use one color versus the same case in another color. 

I am guessing this is why you pay them to get it right.  I do not have first hand experience with this topic, but I have been on the consumer end of it for custom cases in a variety of colors.  The person who was having custom plastic stuff made also told me something to the effect of the company would use the new color on the dirty molds when switching colors, and they would sometimes get cool looking results before getting the new clean color.  I was looking for some brown buttons, and was told that there might be some available as a result of this process.

Why not paint it transparent instead? Problem is that case would become opaque in parts where it wears out and look ugly.

Doesn't that happen with all plastics when they wear out?

Paint it transparent isn't as fast as licking the color of the original case to make it transparent.

Or they could all be made transparent and painted on the inside.  The result here is you can have any color, or combination, you want and nothing needs to be changed with the cases.  ED can have just the standard color painted on most, and keep some unpainted for those of us who want something transparent or custom.  The added benefit is the durability of the paint is massively improved over the current Pandora cases.

If this were done I already have some ideas, and know a few people who would probably be willing to do some crazy custom painting for those who are interested.

Cold metal buttons.

Sounds good to me.

 

[levi]

Uh oh!  We have competition:

The XKCD mobile

 

[deadofmind]

OOOoh, the idea of having all metal keyboard keys and buttons and d-pad and nubs.... Sooooo nice.

 

[Yoyobuae]

Uh oh!  We have competition:

The XKCD mobile

Volume adjustable (requires root)

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Glyph Reader]

Cold metal buttons

That sounds cool.

That pun... it hurt.  But I do agree that cold metal buttons would be amazing.   

-Glyph Reader

 

[comradekingu]

Images of the keyboard im typing on now.

 

[Glyph Reader]

Images of the keyboard im typing on now.

What keyboard is this, if I may ask?

-Glyph Reader

 

[Tenka]

Everyone likes.  Metal buttons, no smudges, wearing, or worry of paint scratching or buttons scratching, and your thumbs will sweat less.  I hadn't considered the keys, I would love for those to also be metal, but that sounds more unlikely.

 

[_wb_]

Metal buttons? Is that comfortable? Never tried it, but I think some material that feels softer and warmer is better. And metal can be very slippery.

 

[Neelix]

I can't help thinking that it mightn't be so cool once the constant CPU activity generated by some game or emulator starts to heat the metal key caps.

- Neelix

 

[PokeParadox]

Yes but then the Pyra lives up to it's name!

 

[urjaman]

For Glyph Reader: that looks like a Das Keyboard (wiki it or daskeyboard.com .. whatever)

 

[fusion_power]

Metal buttons? Is that comfortable? Never tried it, but I think some material that feels softer and warmer is better. And metal can be very slippery.

I once had this idea already for the first Pandora. Metal buttons AND metal D-Pad.  But no clue how this would feel in real, maybe the metal could be made rough at the surface or something. But I doubt this will happen at all.

 

[Natsu]

Never used metal keys either. Surely it will up cost and be harder to make.

 

[Glyph Reader]

For Glyph Reader: that looks like a Das Keyboard (wiki it or daskeyboard.com .. whatever)

I was going through the site when saw this statement:

When Germans design it, you know it has to be good

-Glyph Reader

 

[Tenka]

... Never tried it, but I think some material that feels softer and warmer is better. And metal can be very slippery.

Soft warm plastic?  That feels gross and fragile to me, like a 25c machine toy just plucked from the sweaty hand of a child, or a freshly used toilet seat.  I wonder what positive relations people who like that stuff envision.  I haven't found metal to be slippery at all, but even if it were that wouldn't effect my ability to keep a thumb in one place on it, because every button is smaller than my thumb.  Aluminum goes very well with computers, my case is made from it so it will stay cold.  It could heat up like anything else but I don't think it would for very long unless it were laying in the sunlight.

It's hard for me to imagine metal nubs though, has anyone made that yet?

 

[levi]

Heh, I'd always thought Cherry (who make the switches in those keyboards) was American, and indeed they originally were, but they moved to Germany in 1979, so they've been German for as long as I've known about them.


Personally my best keyboard is a Filco Majestouch (Japanese made, German switches) which I imported from Germany. It's similar to the Das, but with a slimmer bezel around the whole keyboard. It's also very sturdy and quite heavy for its size. I note also that the shop I bought it from now also stocks a keyboard with ALPS switches, which I've had good experience of in the past, but I'm not as familiar with ALPS switches, and I don't know which type I used in the past.

 

[_wb_]

... Never tried it, but I think some material that feels softer and warmer is better. And metal can be very slippery.

Soft warm plastic?  That feels gross and fragile to me, like a 25c machine toy just plucked from the sweaty hand of a child, or a freshly used toilet seat.  I wonder what positive relations people who like that stuff envision.  I haven't found metal to be slippery at all, but even if it were that wouldn't effect my ability to keep a thumb in one place on it, because every button is smaller than my thumb.  Aluminum goes very well with computers, my case is made from it so it will stay cold.  It could heat up like anything else but I don't think it would for very long unless it were laying in the sunlight.

It's hard for me to imagine metal nubs though, has anyone made that yet?

I have used quite a few computer keyboards. None of them had metal keys. I also play the (digital) piano, I prefer Roland amongst others for its keys. They are not metal. The outside material is some kind of plastic that tries to imitate ivory. That's the kind of material I have in mind when I say "soft and warm". Ivory. Not toilet seats

 

[Tenka]

I have used quite a few computer keyboards. None of them had metal keys. I also play the (digital) piano, I prefer Roland amongst others for its keys. They are not metal. The outside material is some kind of plastic that tries to imitate ivory. That's the kind of material I have in mind when I say "soft and warm". Ivory. Not toilet seats

A bone case sounds wonderful to me as well, perhaps greater than metal.  And unlike warm plastic, warm bone brings to mind the Sahara sun rather than body heat.   I have similar uncomfortable gross thoughts about keyboards though because of a keyboarding class I took earlier in my life, in which the instructor would spray the keyboards with hand sanitizer after each class as if to clean them, which really just made them sticky, but those feelings of mine aren't important at all here.  One of the larger dreads I always have after buying a new handheld system is how long it will take for the buttons and the plastic surrounding the buttons to appear shiny and oiled due to usage wearing through the plastic's finish.  It looks like I've mistreated the device and I can never undo that after it's reached that point.  I will be pleased if the buttons will be simple enough shapes to easily remake and replace, but not as pleased as if they were metal to begin with.  I must watch the new case video again, because I'm wondering how reasonable it would be for me to replace the face of the button half of the case with a metal version, that might please me more than the buttons.

 

[rygD]

One of the larger dreads I always have after buying a new handheld system is how long it will take for the buttons and the plastic surrounding the buttons to appear shiny and oiled due to usage wearing through the plastic's finish.

I take pride in this.  When it happens it means two things: that it is something I love enough to use until it gets to that point, and that it is durable enough to develop that look and still function.  I love things that are built to last.