Re: Off Topic, Part 2 (Avant Stellar keyboards)

[Robert Holmgren holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to note from xywrite@xxxxxxxx Thu, 12 Mar 1998 10:49:21 -0800
 
> Has anyone bought and evaluated the Avant Stellar keyboard yet?
 
> http://cvtinc.com/avant.htm

I bought it, received it (after a six week wait), installed and remapped the
keyboard to taste, and like it a lot. It only cost $204, delivered! It is
identical in every respect (once remapped) to the OmniKey 102 that it replaces on
my desk -- except that the Left-side function keys are replicated on top, and there
are three additional Win95 keys (all easily programmed to do something
else). Actually, I'm hoping that it's better built than an Omnikey (it's heavy as
hell); for this kind of money, it ought to be. Everything can be adjusted, using a
lovely (Win3.x or Win95) program that downloads macros to the kbd, adjusts repeat
rates, acceleration, pretty much everything except the tactile clickiness of the
keys -- which was frankly surprising, because the click in my five long-suffering
in-house OmniKeys has been pretty much erased. Once the PROM in the kbd is written,
you can run the Avant Stellar under any OS you choose.

My only serious complaint is that the online help (as distinct from the booklet)
was not written by a native speaker of English, and contains many ambiguous and
peculiar statements. However, it's plain enough how to program the
keyboard. (And of course, you don't HAVE to program it at all; it's a standard
QWERTY setup, I just didn't like the Caps-Alt-Ctrl positions, and wanted to use the
dedicated Win95 keys for other purposes.)

I find myself in an predicament. The price of these Avant Stellars is
absurd. I fear that they won't survive for long, unless there's a boutique
market for pricey peripherals. But I also can't face a future without an Omnikey
keyboard, and on my desk they only last about 2 years maximum. So... I'm afraid
I'm just going to have to skip dinner for a while and buy a bunch of these
bloody keyboards to keep in the closet! (They really are very good.)



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Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
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