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By Wolfgang Gruener, Senior Editor
August 17, 2004 - 14:26 EST
Waukegan (IL) - Cherry confirmed that it will offer a keyboard featuring Linux-specific functions in September. Most important, Linux users won't have to deal with the Windows flag on their keyboard anymore but can open their start menu by pressing a Tux key.
"In the beginning, it was just a thought for a marketing campaign," said Stefan Kummer, Product Manager at Cherry. "After meeting people from Suse at tradeshows a thought this could be a cool idea." The idea turned out to apparently have some market potential, so Cherry figured it would be worth to actually develop a product.
According to Kummer, an important factor of the Linux keyboard is its design. Instead of a flying Windows logo, the Linux keyboard will feature the Linux Penguin Tux. "We found the Linux users especially dislike the fact to permanently have to look at the Windows logo," Kummer said. The function however stays the same: The key opens the start menu of the OS GUI. Additionally, Cherry will provide software to customize 29 function keys with various functions, mainly for multimedia and office software purposes.
The Illinois-based keyboard manufacturer was known in the mid-Nineties as keyboard manufacturer over a broad range of computer segments. Today, Cherry ships its devices mainly into the business sector, for example as keyboards for cash registers with smart card or scanner features. Kummer however hopes that the Linux keyboard could be a way to reintroduce the Cherry brand to the end user.
Initially, Cherry will sell the keyboard in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands. US customer will also be able to order the keyboard which will include a full version of Suse 9.1. Pricing is set at 39 Euros (about $4 . Kummer said that the keyboard is currently tested with other Linux distributions and will be available in mid to end of September.
http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20040817_142635.html
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