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September 12, 2007 9:45 AM PDT

The $28,000 keyboard

by Mike Yamamoto
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(Credit: Fairlight)

When computer peripherals such as external hard drives become designer items, you know that the world has turned upside-down. So it comes as little surprise that more attention is being paid to keyboards--after all, for some people, they get more physical attention than loved ones.

But $28,000? That does seem a bit much, even in this Age of Wretched Excess. Still, someone is sure to pay the egregious price for one of Fairlight's "XYNERGI" keyboards (excuse us: "programmable controllers"). See the video below for a demonstration.

Whatever it's called, this monster is not surprisingly designed for media professionals, who apparently find huge value in its "custom key mappings" and accompanying digital media engine, according to Engadget. At that price, we hope it's easier to operate than the Dr. Octopus keyboard.

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Stats used
by EugeniaJ September 12, 2007 10:40 AM PDT
Hi. I've used some stats from this article at numberpedia.org.It's here. Thank You.
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this makes no sense to me...
by dustinpitcher September 12, 2007 12:03 PM PDT
Why the hell wouldn't you just do it iPhone style but on a larger scale, and just use a large touchscreen LCD instead of a bunch of little LCD screens inside the keys?? I would imagine it would cost a bit less. Besides its ugly as hell...
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I Concur "Makes no sense"
by robertmro September 12, 2007 9:04 PM PDT
I concur with the coment that this makes no sense. A touch screen is the way to
go. This is just too retro.
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Looks like a prop
by Julie Allen September 12, 2007 10:38 PM PDT
From Star Trek the Original Series or 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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Clarification
by fairlightus September 13, 2007 4:50 PM PDT
Hi, lets get a few things clarified, the "keyboard" is just one component you get for $28,000. This a the front end to a huge media engine, capable of mixing over 200 channels of audio at 48K, with 6 band EQ, 3 stage dynamics, 72 busses, a 96 track disk recorder with editing and complete automation for every single parameter. It is intended for the professional audio/video market who already spend this kind of money for just the audio/video engine alone. The users who work with this kind of equipment need a tactile user interface which is where Fairlight have pioneered user interfaces for professional audio and video equipment for some 30 years. The high end of Fairlights product range extend to over $400,000.
For more information about Fairlights products visit www.fairlightus.com
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