Hi Kari! Nice to see you review these! As the actual designer of the mouse you are 100% correct in all your points. It's definitely a bit of an ergonomic, ahem, nightmare? That's definitely a word I'd use! I would sincerely hope no one uses this for their daily runner, unless they have already deep callouses in their hands. The story behind the origin of the mouse is back when I was studying industrial design, and making a computer mouse was the first course in being allowed to use the workshop tools (milling machines, lathes, saws, etc), way before we did any ergonomics course. Would I design it the same way again today, almost 16 years later? Probably! Because making an ultra sleek ergonomic NES-inspired mouse would probably destroy the whole point of eliciting nostalgia, and hours spent with the little hard soap brick of the NES-gamepad digging into your hands as you were griding Excite Bike. Kudos to 8bitdo though, they held very true to my original design.
@@paper_gem designed, definitely not invented. Talented engineers at 8bitdo made sure it was producible, made the circuit board, chose components, and took care of everything beyond deciding upon the design, which included beyond the shape things like fit and feel, materials, button placements, etc.
Honestly this mouse is not as unergonomic as you would think. I have large hands and this mouse fits perfectly. At least you didn’t use a track ball. That would have been a nightmare.
"We came second, out of two, technically last".... Classic statement, love it!! You're so good at explaining things Kari. Another amazing video, well done .....🤩😁
Thank you Ms. Kari I found your videos about a month ago and subscribed right away, thanks for the throwback it brings me back to the school library in the late 70's and using a phone to hook into the modulator? I forgot what they called it 🙂. I have all of the original keyboards IBM C64 etc. those clicks all ❤ to my heart.
I LOOOOVE this keyboard. My wife got it for me for Father's Day and it's absolutely fantastic. Discovered this channel through this video and I've enjoyed several videos since! Subbed!
Been using the Famicom edition for most of the year, still adore the aesthetic and feel of the switches. Love the volume knob too. Great breakdown/review!
Great review! Enjoying your channel so much. I watch with my 9 year old so he can see what I grew up with. Thanks for keeping older tech alive and giving some of us a good dose of nostalgia.
Ngl I thought they didn’t send me the brick usb wifi adapter and was upset and looked this video up and had no idea it was under the keyboard lol thank you for actually showing everything 🙏
I can think of one use for the large buttons: Put them on the floor so that you can tap them with your foot to activate various actions in games. People used to do that with a second joystick on the C64, where the spacebar was used in some games, and a joystick in port one would register as the spacebar when you pressed the fire button.
I was thinking about getting one of these, so thanks for the review. Save me searching for one! :) FYI, 8Bitdo is meant to be pronounced like Nintendo. The company got their start making Nintendo clone controllers and modkits for NES and SNES controllers. Even today the majority of their controllers are Nintendo style ones for Switch / PC.
Great video, loved typing of the dead was a tad difficult for me and my handicap of dyslexia though I was a little freaked out of your hands not moving in the reflection of the Disney tv screen in the outro lol.
As a guitarist, the giant buttons are godsends I will use them as pedals to control my music softwares while playing. The stick in the C64 version looks interesting too.
Very impressed to see typing of the dead show up! Keep up the fantastic work! 😄 edit: my go to keyboard... I fell down the rabbit hole and ended up getting a zoom65 v2.5 and tried hundreds of single switches, and I ended up using the husky linears. Can't recommend them enough, they are honestly underrated switches imo. Mainly for gaming, for typing on they take abit of getting used to since they are so light
You are awesome and smart. Bring me back to the old days probably before you where born...lol... I absolutely love the fact that you love all this retro stuff.
Love the 8BitDo controllers (especially the Pro 2 and M30) and have been looking at their keyboards for a while but haven't bought one yet. If they do an Amiga themed one after the C64 style, I am quite likely to buy one. Great review Kari!
For the Amiga luckely there is an mechanical keyboard available - the A2000 Braunschweig edition had cherry switches (and 1u keycaps on the function keys). But most of theese are german layout, so not easy to find in US or UK design. However, as I live in Germany and was very good to persuade my parrents I actually need an Amiga with PC-XT-card for educational reasons, I got one of theese - and still use the good old original keyboards. They even have double shot keycaps (exept for the two Amiga keys) so retrobrighting works quite well without letter soup.
I've just come home from buying a computer keyboard and then I discovered your video, Kari! Cue the intro music to The Twilight Zone. Oh, and I'd probably assign a keyboard shortcut to one of the buttons. Alt+F4 😊
love that you busted out Typing of the Dead with this thing! I have this keyboard as well, it's actually pretty nice! the macro mapping function for the big buttons is a lot of fun. for fun I wired it up to a powershell script that loaded an audio file so my pc had an "alarm button"
Hi Kari, I love your videos, they are so professional and your knowledge is inspiring. I think the big buttons would lend themselves to a quiz style game. Keep up the great work! I look forward to seeing what comes next!
I have no idea how someone your age seems to have the knowledge and interests of a 50 year-old computer nerd, but I'm here for it. You already know how to put together a professional-quality video too (which is more than can be said of most of those old nerds hehe). And the Bill & Ted shirt... where did you come from?! Or should I say "when?"
Would you believe, Bill & Ted was one of my favorite movies growing up ... little 11 year old me got hooked on finding out more about certain historical characters, and so became quite the expert on Genghis Khan, Napoleon and Joan of Arc lol
I have an 8BitDo arcade stick. I like it a lot. It works with my Switch, Xbox, and PC. It's wireless or wired via USB, and it comes in at a very modest price for an arcade stick. I'd recommend mmend it.
I have to admit, I still prefer to call them 8-bit-dough to rhyme with Ninten-dough as originally intended. But I understand why the company no longer acknowledges that to avoid potential liability. Either way, it is a great keyboard and an even better video about the keyboard! Typing Of The Dead really takes me back! I recently picked up a Sinden light gun in hopes of playing some of the original House Of The Dead games I loved as a kid!
Perfect timing! I am currently debating getting a mechanical keyboard and was wondering what the 8BitDo was like since I very much enjoy their controllers. So thanks for the video and... be excellent to each other!
Great and very fun video, Kari! That typing game was really funny :) Really love the keyboard and the games you have chose. My go to keyboard is a modern Cherry Stream. Nice, sleak and quiet!
Great review, and I love the typing game! For me those big buttons woulld likely be linked to the build and unit test shortcuts in Visual Studio - do I need them? No. Do I still want them: absolutely!
Nice showcase! I bought one of these along with a trackpad, then i modeled and 3d printed a tray for them. Now i have my own (much heavier.. but much cooler) Logitech k400 alternative :) . Plus, the software lets you set a profile to use mouse clicks. So i can hold it naturally and use the trackpad with my right thumb and use keys on the left side for clicking. I use ~ and 1 for left and right click. Also configured the B and A for "next" and "previous", which works in many audio and video programs. I don't use the big buttons but had thought of using one as a foot switch maybe..
Favorite switches TTC Silent Frozen v2. Linear and dead silent. So satisfying. Mouse I go with huano brown with yellow dot for silent mouse clicks and a kailh red dust proof encoder for smooth and close to silent scrolling.
Very nice video and awesome explaining the details about this keyboard and the download software. I heard of some keyboards such as this but never really got in to them. I enjoy watching your videos keep them coming.
I am a professional software developer, my wife bought me this keyboard as a gift because of my love of classic video games and it has been my daily driver since. It's actually a quite good keyboard, the only issue I have with it is the missing num pad. As for the big buttons, I of course set them to crtl-c and ctrl-v
Thanks! I still LOVE my G19 that's about 14 years old..... The screen with cpu and gpu stats is still perfect and I haven't found an equivalent as yet,
Great video! And keyboard! I wish it was VIA compatible. The new "M" version looks amazing, I already preordered it hahah Also: Having BT + Wired + 2.4GHz is awesome, specially if you have 2 PCs, a tablet or something like that :)
love mine, its my first tripped down keyboard, and I ended up loving it, mouse, not so much, but they both go with my Pi5 NES cased PC so its real nice to have
@@Codisrocks yeah but in the arcade if you were there then you knew. How things are now so boring don't you think? We had to stretch our quarters/ ten pence!
i bought the mouse when I work on the go with my Surface. My biggest problem is that I am left-handed and have to use the mouse with my right hand, but I already knew that before I bought it. Mine came with the matching mouse pad 🙂
I have the C64 model of this keyboard. I like it very much. The mini joystick is a nice inclusion in addition to the 2 giant buttons. I sometimes use arcade emulators and I map the buttons accordingly. Many C64 games use port 2 and ctrl so i map them that way also. Recommended.
I am 100% getting the C-64 version. Those big buttons can be good as foot switches I think, if you need to mute your mic or whatever when you're playing games online.
So on Amazon there are USB foot pedals for $15 that are purpose built. There's also 3, 4 , 5 pedal models. I don't recommend using the super buttons for foot pedals
Sadly the control sticks is not the best. Playing The Great Giana Sisters, the stick acually got loose from the base multiple times. Actually I might adapt an old original Competition pro instead to be connected to three of the 4 connectors on the back of the keyboard. On the other hand there are already quite good Pi Pico based USB adapters for the original competition pro. So the stick is more a nice looking gimmik, but not very usefull.
I'm using a GMMK v2 96%. It's only slightly larger than a TKL. You can't really go wrong with keychron boards. Great variety and quality. I love tactile switches. (I want to feel it in my face while I type.) Switches I'm using Boba U4 Silent Tactile switches. Very nice haptic feel, and quiet.
Hey Kari - as a reformed nail biter myself (mine were even shorter than yours), I now have perfect nails by using a method that I should really patent! The trick is to first pick the nail you bite the least, and absolutely leave that one alone 100%. Within a few weeks it will start to go back to normal (keep biting the other ones all you like). Then once that first nail has regrown, go onto the next 'least favourite', and leave that one alone 100% (while still biting the rest). Within about 4 months you will have broken the habit, and it's surprising how well they all come back to the right shape. Also, keep up the great videos - they remind me a bit of that 90's show 'Bad Influence'!
@@karilawler We understand. I swear I quit for several months a couple years ago, then fell right back on to it. The trick I used was to always keep nail clippers on me, and allow myself to use them whenever, but no biting. I should get back on the wagon.
Going to get my paws on an 8Bitdo keyboard at some point. As an old git who remembers all the machines of the 80s and 90s 1st time around and came back to it as a hobbyist duriing the pandemic, the interesting thing is my observation is that the mouse you reviewed seems to have worse ergonomics than anything we had back in the day. Also there appears to be a numeric keypad available for the 8Bitdo, available in all the styles.
I think it's hilarious that 8BitDo shows the NES and Famicom versions of this keyboard with an IBM PC on their web site, not the IBM PC version... and it wouldn't even work with an IBM PC anyway! I might actually get one of these as my next keyboard; I'm currently using a Steelseries Apex with linear switches, but I've been a clicky guy all my life so this ticks a lot of boxes for me. Clicky *and* retro *and* smaller than a real vintage keyboard (of which I have several, but they're generally huge compared to modern "retro" stuff).
I'm a spiritual person, & her soul is older than her body! Her education exceeds her years. I watch & listen & I'm bowled over by her wisdom at such a young age. How about building a giant NES joypad at the right scaling for the big red action buttons?
I've been tempted by these keyboards but the real turn off is the ANSI layout of the keys. I'm used to the vertical enter key of the ISO layout. I have a few mechanical keyboards now but only the really cheap ones (30 bucks or so). Proper keyboard customizing is an expensive hobby but the market for 100$ prebuilds is getting pretty healthy for beginners to dip their toe into it.
I've had this one since it came out, and just got the C64 version as well. I've also got the new number pad C64 on pre-order. Great keyboards, though I expect some keyboard snobs would find some sort of fault with them somewhere 😶
The software only is needed to do firmware updates and programming the keymap. So while a linux version would be nice, it is not realy needed. You just need windows a shot time to do the updates. If the keyboard is programmed, it works fine on linux. Also in the latest version they added f13 to f24 support (quite nice for the extra buttons). OEM102-key still missing at the moment. If you have programmed every key (esp. A, B and the four 2-key ports on the back) with individual keycodes (for example with the f13-f22 keycodes) once, you could do everything else by edditing the keymaps in linux. So you do not need special linux support after initial setup.
This keyboard looks gorgeous! Had my eye on it's Nes Grey/Red/Black/Cream goodness since pre-release but for £90?😬 I just can't quite justify it...yet😮💨
Nice video. Is the keyboard in the background of your A500 gotek video the 8BitDo C64-style keyboard? So you bought another one from 8bitdo? Thats a strong recommendation... I just got mine C64-style today, and realy love it. Definitly one of the best keyboards for any retro fan (right after using the original Amiga 2000 Braunschweig edition Cherry keyboard with an USB adapter, of course). Also with the downside to be only available in US-layout and with me being German I of course need the german layout. But the original C64 has aditional prints on the front of the keycaps (for graphical symbols) so I simply added stickers on the front of the keycaps were needed - unlike on the NES-style an aditional labeling on the front of the keycaps is fitting for the C64-style. So for not-english users the C64-style is definitly the best version, as on all other styles a front labeling distubs the design, while on the C64-style the keyboard even becomes more like the original if adding front labels. Maybe US/UK-users need a sticker sheet to add the graphical symbols, improving the experience using emulators... As the keycaps of the C64-style keyboard are a very dark brown, nearly black, stickers white on black are barely recogniceable as stickers, esp if you cut them to the absolute minimum. Also - unlike on the top - they do not wear down if placed on the front of the keycaps. While stickers of course are not the optimal solution, on the C64-style keyboard it seems an acceptable compromise. However, I might try embossing technic to label the keys later (making a stamp, stamp with glycol onto the keycaps front, use ultrafine white embossing powder, melt it to the keycap with a heatgun). The software on the other side has one big flaw: No mapping of the OEM102-key. The OEM102-key is the key between left shift and "z" (or on geman keyboards "y", as z and y are swapped there). On german keyboards it is used for "" and "|", so it is realy needed. At the moment I used Powertoys on my Windows notebook to replace the not realy needed print/scrlk/pause keys to theese symbols, but I realy would prefer to simply assign the OEM102 keycode to SCRLK, for three reasons: 1. It would independend of the operating system 2. It do not require admin rights (so it could be used on my office PC) 3. Windows 11 actually uses "print" for screenshots. But 8bitDo actually updates the software regulary and just added the keycodes for F13 to F24. I send a mail to the support, maybe they add OEM102 in future. This would realy help non-english users.
@10:48 - Could you possibly use a BBC Micro program(s) from the books that you've referenced in your previous videos (and/or create your own BBC Micro program(s)), and port them over to be used with the 2-button controller? In addition, there are NES versions of popular TV game shows (i.e., Jeopardy, Family Feud) that the before-stated controller could possibly be used for too? 🔴🔴👈🤔 BTW, #Kar👱🏼♀, nicely done on using Typing of the Dead and Track & Field, for each of the respectively-demonstrated input devices! 😎👍
Hi Kari! Nice to see you review these! As the actual designer of the mouse you are 100% correct in all your points. It's definitely a bit of an ergonomic, ahem, nightmare? That's definitely a word I'd use! I would sincerely hope no one uses this for their daily runner, unless they have already deep callouses in their hands. The story behind the origin of the mouse is back when I was studying industrial design, and making a computer mouse was the first course in being allowed to use the workshop tools (milling machines, lathes, saws, etc), way before we did any ergonomics course. Would I design it the same way again today, almost 16 years later? Probably! Because making an ultra sleek ergonomic NES-inspired mouse would probably destroy the whole point of eliciting nostalgia, and hours spent with the little hard soap brick of the NES-gamepad digging into your hands as you were griding Excite Bike. Kudos to 8bitdo though, they held very true to my original design.
You invented the mouse?! OMG. Thank you! You are a genius!
@paper_gem the mouse was invented by Douglas Englebart (1925-2013) in the early 1960s, and patented in 1970.
@@paper_gem designed, definitely not invented. Talented engineers at 8bitdo made sure it was producible, made the circuit board, chose components, and took care of everything beyond deciding upon the design, which included beyond the shape things like fit and feel, materials, button placements, etc.
This is so cool. Thanks for sharing! I think the design is perfect.
Honestly this mouse is not as unergonomic as you would think. I have large hands and this mouse fits perfectly. At least you didn’t use a track ball. That would have been a nightmare.
"We came second, out of two, technically last".... Classic statement, love it!! You're so good at explaining things Kari. Another amazing video, well done .....🤩😁
I was just thinking about “Typing of the Dead” (for Dreamcast) the other day….and now your video pops up! 🤯😁
Hey Kari, your shirt is most excellent and as a kid from the 80's, your videos are always most outstanding, so Party On!
Thank you Ms. Kari I found your videos about a month ago and subscribed right away, thanks for the throwback it brings me back to the school library in the late 70's and using a phone to hook into the modulator? I forgot what they called it 🙂. I have all of the original keyboards IBM C64 etc. those clicks all ❤ to my heart.
Never heard of Typing of the Dead. What a great way to learn how to type.
Pure stroke of inspiration using Typing of the Dead for a keyboard test 🤩
I LOOOOVE this keyboard. My wife got it for me for Father's Day and it's absolutely fantastic.
Discovered this channel through this video and I've enjoyed several videos since! Subbed!
Been using the Famicom edition for most of the year, still adore the aesthetic and feel of the switches. Love the volume knob too. Great breakdown/review!
thank you
Great review! Enjoying your channel so much. I watch with my 9 year old so he can see what I grew up with. Thanks for keeping older tech alive and giving some of us a good dose of nostalgia.
A beautiful sounding and high quality keyboard. I got the numpad as well. Absolutely gorgeous!!
Ngl I thought they didn’t send me the brick usb wifi adapter and was upset and looked this video up and had no idea it was under the keyboard lol thank you for actually showing everything 🙏
Awesome 🤩
I like seeing young people into retro tech. It’s a total Ready Player One moment. Best of luck on your channel.
I can think of one use for the large buttons: Put them on the floor so that you can tap them with your foot to activate various actions in games. People used to do that with a second joystick on the C64, where the spacebar was used in some games, and a joystick in port one would register as the spacebar when you pressed the fire button.
I was thinking about getting one of these, so thanks for the review. Save me searching for one! :)
FYI, 8Bitdo is meant to be pronounced like Nintendo. The company got their start making Nintendo clone controllers and modkits for NES and SNES controllers. Even today the majority of their controllers are Nintendo style ones for Switch / PC.
the most impressive device on this channel is the pink television in the background ;)
Just bought this yesterday at Best Buy black friday sale and it came with a joy stick, it's great
Great video, loved typing of the dead was a tad difficult for me and my handicap of dyslexia though I was a little freaked out of your hands not moving in the reflection of the Disney tv screen in the outro lol.
omg ... I see what you mean. 10 mins of footage, in 30 secs has this time stopping effect, very strange.
As a guitarist, the giant buttons are godsends I will use them as pedals to control my music softwares while playing. The stick in the C64 version looks interesting too.
Very impressed to see typing of the dead show up! Keep up the fantastic work! 😄 edit: my go to keyboard... I fell down the rabbit hole and ended up getting a zoom65 v2.5 and tried hundreds of single switches, and I ended up using the husky linears. Can't recommend them enough, they are honestly underrated switches imo. Mainly for gaming, for typing on they take abit of getting used to since they are so light
You are awesome and smart. Bring me back to the old days probably before you where born...lol... I absolutely love the fact that you love all this retro stuff.
Love the 8BitDo controllers (especially the Pro 2 and M30) and have been looking at their keyboards for a while but haven't bought one yet. If they do an Amiga themed one after the C64 style, I am quite likely to buy one. Great review Kari!
Thank you
For the Amiga luckely there is an mechanical keyboard available - the A2000 Braunschweig edition had cherry switches (and 1u keycaps on the function keys). But most of theese are german layout, so not easy to find in US or UK design. However, as I live in Germany and was very good to persuade my parrents I actually need an Amiga with PC-XT-card for educational reasons, I got one of theese - and still use the good old original keyboards. They even have double shot keycaps (exept for the two Amiga keys) so retrobrighting works quite well without letter soup.
I've just come home from buying a computer keyboard and then I discovered your video, Kari! Cue the intro music to The Twilight Zone.
Oh, and I'd probably assign a keyboard shortcut to one of the buttons.
Alt+F4 😊
One as play/stop and one as record for DAW use?
"Alt+F4" is the only way I've found to exit out of "Typing of the Dead" lol ... so that would be useful
@@karilawler It does look like a panic button, Kari 🤭
Just ordered this even though it's ANSI and not ISO layout. Cheers!
Man I've been meaning to play it for typing practice but watching youtube is too addicting so I'll watch you play it.
love that you busted out Typing of the Dead with this thing! I have this keyboard as well, it's actually pretty nice! the macro mapping function for the big buttons is a lot of fun. for fun I wired it up to a powershell script that loaded an audio file so my pc had an "alarm button"
I've been using this keyboard here in Brazil for some time and I really like it!
Hi Kari, I love your videos, they are so professional and your knowledge is inspiring. I think the big buttons would lend themselves to a quiz style game. Keep up the great work! I look forward to seeing what comes next!
I have no idea how someone your age seems to have the knowledge and interests of a 50 year-old computer nerd, but I'm here for it. You already know how to put together a professional-quality video too (which is more than can be said of most of those old nerds hehe). And the Bill & Ted shirt... where did you come from?! Or should I say "when?"
Would you believe, Bill & Ted was one of my favorite movies growing up ... little 11 year old me got hooked on finding out more about certain historical characters, and so became quite the expert on Genghis Khan, Napoleon and Joan of Arc lol
I have an 8BitDo arcade stick. I like it a lot. It works with my Switch, Xbox, and PC. It's wireless or wired via USB, and it comes in at a very modest price for an arcade stick. I'd recommend mmend it.
I have to admit, I still prefer to call them 8-bit-dough to rhyme with Ninten-dough as originally intended. But I understand why the company no longer acknowledges that to avoid potential liability. Either way, it is a great keyboard and an even better video about the keyboard! Typing Of The Dead really takes me back! I recently picked up a Sinden light gun in hopes of playing some of the original House Of The Dead games I loved as a kid!
Perfect timing! I am currently debating getting a mechanical keyboard and was wondering what the 8BitDo was like since I very much enjoy their controllers.
So thanks for the video and... be excellent to each other!
No problem ... and party on dudes!!! lol
Great and very fun video, Kari! That typing game was really funny :) Really love the keyboard and the games you have chose. My go to keyboard is a modern Cherry Stream. Nice, sleak and quiet!
NES Keyboard and Mouse extremely cute♪
Thank you so much for introducing me to this.
I've bound the super buttons to be used as the paddles in pinball games for my son. He absolutely loves it!
That sounds like an awesome use of the buttons, thanks for sharing.
Great review, and I love the typing game! For me those big buttons woulld likely be linked to the build and unit test shortcuts in Visual Studio - do I need them? No. Do I still want them: absolutely!
Nice showcase! I bought one of these along with a trackpad, then i modeled and 3d printed a tray for them. Now i have my own (much heavier.. but much cooler) Logitech k400 alternative :) . Plus, the software lets you set a profile to use mouse clicks. So i can hold it naturally and use the trackpad with my right thumb and use keys on the left side for clicking. I use ~ and 1 for left and right click. Also configured the B and A for "next" and "previous", which works in many audio and video programs. I don't use the big buttons but had thought of using one as a foot switch maybe..
I like using old fashioned keyboards. Brings me back some memories as a kid using the Mac computers at school.
Best t-shirt so far! "Excellent!"
The Commodore looking one...those deep dish SA keys...I lurve it berry berry much
The 2.4 dongle works like a dream! Bios boot menus will pick it up
Favorite switches TTC Silent Frozen v2. Linear and dead silent. So satisfying. Mouse I go with huano brown with yellow dot for silent mouse clicks and a kailh red dust proof encoder for smooth and close to silent scrolling.
you keep knocking these out of the park.
Very nice video and awesome explaining the details about this keyboard and the download software. I heard of some keyboards such as this but never really got in to them. I enjoy watching your videos keep them coming.
I am a professional software developer, my wife bought me this keyboard as a gift because of my love of classic video games and it has been my daily driver since. It's actually a quite good keyboard, the only issue I have with it is the missing num pad. As for the big buttons, I of course set them to crtl-c and ctrl-v
Love the idea for how you use the buttons
I don't know if you've seen, but 8bitdo just released an external numpad which looks perfectly at home next to the keyboard 🙂
@@SwitchAndLever I did not know that and now you are on my friends list!
I'm hitting CTRL-C / CTRL-V all day long at work. It would be kind of cool to have that giant 2-button pad just for that function.
Then you only need printer and you are good to go. 😅
Mix it up with Shift-Insert and Shift-Del
At one point doing that, I really enjoyed using a two button foot pedal...
I did print screen and alt-tab
Satisfyingly clicky :) The Super Buttons are cool
I've been thinking about getting that set myself for a while now just because of the NES.
Thanks! I still LOVE my G19 that's about 14 years old..... The screen with cpu and gpu stats is still perfect and I haven't found an equivalent as yet,
Great video! And keyboard! I wish it was VIA compatible. The new "M" version looks amazing, I already preordered it hahah
Also: Having BT + Wired + 2.4GHz is awesome, specially if you have 2 PCs, a tablet or something like that :)
love mine, its my first tripped down keyboard, and I ended up loving it, mouse, not so much, but they both go with my Pi5 NES cased PC so its real nice to have
What attracted me to that keyboard was the colour scheme. However not used a proper keyboard in years. I always use my laptop keyboard.
Dutty boi
Excellent review!
Back in the day, playing Track & Field in the arcade, we'd rock a pencil between the two buttons during running games. Worked every time. 😅
Haha we did the same 😃👍
There was an arcade version that used buttons? I didn't think that game was ever meant to be played with a controller.
@@Codisrocks yeah but in the arcade if you were there then you knew. How things are now so boring don't you think? We had to stretch our quarters/ ten pence!
@@-Astro-- just seems weird to play in any other way than stomping on the floor.
The buttons were not on the floor
Cool vid, I would love to find out about your 3D printers/maker stuff and any examples of makes, especially if it's retro related!
i bought the mouse when I work on the go with my Surface. My biggest problem is that I am left-handed and have to use the mouse with my right hand, but I already knew that before I bought it. Mine came with the matching mouse pad 🙂
These keyboards were amazing! 🤩 highly ergonomic 😅 the original ones I mean!
I have the C64 model of this keyboard. I like it very much. The mini joystick is a nice inclusion in addition to the 2 giant buttons. I sometimes use arcade emulators and I map the buttons accordingly. Many C64 games use port 2 and ctrl so i map them that way also. Recommended.
I am 100% getting the C-64 version.
Those big buttons can be good as foot switches I think, if you need to mute your mic or whatever when you're playing games online.
Yeaaaa DAW controls!😊
So on Amazon there are USB foot pedals for $15 that are purpose built. There's also 3, 4 , 5 pedal models. I don't recommend using the super buttons for foot pedals
Oh That C64 KB looks good too and comes with a control stick
Sadly the control sticks is not the best. Playing The Great Giana Sisters, the stick acually got loose from the base multiple times. Actually I might adapt an old original Competition pro instead to be connected to three of the 4 connectors on the back of the keyboard. On the other hand there are already quite good Pi Pico based USB adapters for the original competition pro. So the stick is more a nice looking gimmik, but not very usefull.
I'm using a GMMK v2 96%. It's only slightly larger than a TKL.
You can't really go wrong with keychron boards. Great variety and quality.
I love tactile switches. (I want to feel it in my face while I type.)
Switches I'm using Boba U4 Silent Tactile switches. Very nice haptic feel, and quiet.
you are the best love all your vids please keep on keeping on. .luv ya
Hey Kari - as a reformed nail biter myself (mine were even shorter than yours), I now have perfect nails by using a method that I should really patent! The trick is to first pick the nail you bite the least, and absolutely leave that one alone 100%. Within a few weeks it will start to go back to normal (keep biting the other ones all you like). Then once that first nail has regrown, go onto the next 'least favourite', and leave that one alone 100% (while still biting the rest). Within about 4 months you will have broken the habit, and it's surprising how well they all come back to the right shape. Also, keep up the great videos - they remind me a bit of that 90's show 'Bad Influence'!
With all the comments about my nails, I'm thinking of putting up a "Days without biting 0" sign in my makerspace lol
@@karilawler We understand. I swear I quit for several months a couple years ago, then fell right back on to it. The trick I used was to always keep nail clippers on me, and allow myself to use them whenever, but no biting. I should get back on the wagon.
as a nail biter myself, who gives a fuck?
@@P0T4T054CK Once all of your dental enamel has been eroded, and you realise your natural teeth cannot be restored, you will give a fuck.
@@P0T4T054CK When the enamel on your teeth has worn down so much that they cannot be repaired, you will do.
The buttons are really just a bit of fun! I like them, even if they are not that useful
I jad a friend that could blast through typing of the dead. I just used it as a fun way to learn to type.
I think the large 2-button attachment might be for video game speedruns as a foot pedal for marking when an achievement in the game is reached.
I have both. the NES one that you reviewed and the Famicom one 🤗
Need a giant spoon for the Track & Field buttons🥄 😁
Great! Modern Pc to CRT monitor would be really interesting.
You're a breakout star in my books
Those two massive buttons, could perhaps be fun for use controlling the left/right flippers on pinball games.
🙂 after 4 days? Can easily say it's my main go to keyboard now. Bought the C64 versions and the Numpad
Going to get my paws on an 8Bitdo keyboard at some point. As an old git who remembers all the machines of the 80s and 90s 1st time around and came back to it as a hobbyist duriing the pandemic, the interesting thing is my observation is that the mouse you reviewed seems to have worse ergonomics than anything we had back in the day.
Also there appears to be a numeric keypad available for the 8Bitdo, available in all the styles.
Will say had the c64 style num pad for a while, and it as worthy addition for what I do. Also had a few digit based games hidden to play as well :)
Looks like a really solid keyboard! If my 15 quid mechanical ever breaks I might go for an upgrade..
I just bought the C64 edition of this keyboard.
I would love to see a video on your 3D printers, I've been thinking of getting a P1S while they're on sale.
It would be nice to see old joysticks and gamepads too!
Those buttons would probably be great for streaming. Nice easy target to hit for FX.
May also be great for footswitches. Speedrunners might get a kick out of them.
Kari Your Definitely A Star 🌟 ⌨️🖥️📺🎮👍®️
Thank you, Kari. I can finally purchase this keyboard for myself. 🙏😊❤️
I think it's hilarious that 8BitDo shows the NES and Famicom versions of this keyboard with an IBM PC on their web site, not the IBM PC version... and it wouldn't even work with an IBM PC anyway! I might actually get one of these as my next keyboard; I'm currently using a Steelseries Apex with linear switches, but I've been a clicky guy all my life so this ticks a lot of boxes for me. Clicky *and* retro *and* smaller than a real vintage keyboard (of which I have several, but they're generally huge compared to modern "retro" stuff).
That's so retro pretty gadgets 💛. Thanks you so much for showing us. Greetings. :8)
Such a shame they don't do an ISO/UK layout, looks ace!
I would use the two large buttons as foot pedal. In multiplayer game, it could be your push-to-talk button
Thank you for this video!
Great review !!!🤩
I'm a spiritual person, & her soul is older than her body!
Her education exceeds her years.
I watch & listen & I'm bowled over by her wisdom at such a young age.
How about building a giant NES joypad at the right scaling for the big red action buttons?
I've been tempted by these keyboards but the real turn off is the ANSI layout of the keys. I'm used to the vertical enter key of the ISO layout.
I have a few mechanical keyboards now but only the really cheap ones (30 bucks or so). Proper keyboard customizing is an expensive hobby but the market for 100$ prebuilds is getting pretty healthy for beginners to dip their toe into it.
typing of the dead , nice nostalgia there
I want that Aperture Science super heavy button to jump onto.
I've had this one since it came out, and just got the C64 version as well. I've also got the new number pad C64 on pre-order. Great keyboards, though I expect some keyboard snobs would find some sort of fault with them somewhere 😶
I love the commodore version. Hope someday can afford it. I just wish that they can have better support for linux
The software only is needed to do firmware updates and programming the keymap. So while a linux version would be nice, it is not realy needed. You just need windows a shot time to do the updates. If the keyboard is programmed, it works fine on linux. Also in the latest version they added f13 to f24 support (quite nice for the extra buttons). OEM102-key still missing at the moment.
If you have programmed every key (esp. A, B and the four 2-key ports on the back) with individual keycodes (for example with the f13-f22 keycodes) once, you could do everything else by edditing the keymaps in linux. So you do not need special linux support after initial setup.
This keyboard looks gorgeous! Had my eye on it's Nes Grey/Red/Black/Cream goodness since pre-release but for £90?😬 I just can't quite justify it...yet😮💨
Ah I want that super Mario land wallpaper please!
Nice video.
Is the keyboard in the background of your A500 gotek video the 8BitDo C64-style keyboard? So you bought another one from 8bitdo? Thats a strong recommendation...
I just got mine C64-style today, and realy love it. Definitly one of the best keyboards for any retro fan (right after using the original Amiga 2000 Braunschweig edition Cherry keyboard with an USB adapter, of course). Also with the downside to be only available in US-layout and with me being German I of course need the german layout. But the original C64 has aditional prints on the front of the keycaps (for graphical symbols) so I simply added stickers on the front of the keycaps were needed - unlike on the NES-style an aditional labeling on the front of the keycaps is fitting for the C64-style.
So for not-english users the C64-style is definitly the best version, as on all other styles a front labeling distubs the design, while on the C64-style the keyboard even becomes more like the original if adding front labels. Maybe US/UK-users need a sticker sheet to add the graphical symbols, improving the experience using emulators...
As the keycaps of the C64-style keyboard are a very dark brown, nearly black, stickers white on black are barely recogniceable as stickers, esp if you cut them to the absolute minimum. Also - unlike on the top - they do not wear down if placed on the front of the keycaps. While stickers of course are not the optimal solution, on the C64-style keyboard it seems an acceptable compromise. However, I might try embossing technic to label the keys later (making a stamp, stamp with glycol onto the keycaps front, use ultrafine white embossing powder, melt it to the keycap with a heatgun).
The software on the other side has one big flaw: No mapping of the OEM102-key. The OEM102-key is the key between left shift and "z" (or on geman keyboards "y", as z and y are swapped there). On german keyboards it is used for "" and "|", so it is realy needed. At the moment I used Powertoys on my Windows notebook to replace the not realy needed print/scrlk/pause keys to theese symbols, but I realy would prefer to simply assign the OEM102 keycode to SCRLK, for three reasons: 1. It would independend of the operating system 2. It do not require admin rights (so it could be used on my office PC) 3. Windows 11 actually uses "print" for screenshots.
But 8bitDo actually updates the software regulary and just added the keycodes for F13 to F24. I send a mail to the support, maybe they add OEM102 in future. This would realy help non-english users.
@10:48 - Could you possibly use a BBC Micro program(s) from the books that you've referenced in your previous videos (and/or create your own BBC Micro program(s)), and port them over to be used with the 2-button controller? In addition, there are NES versions of popular TV game shows (i.e., Jeopardy, Family Feud) that the before-stated controller could possibly be used for too? 🔴🔴👈🤔
BTW, #Kar👱🏼♀, nicely done on using Typing of the Dead and Track & Field, for each of the respectively-demonstrated input devices! 😎👍
The big buttons might be good to map as "buzz-in" buttons in two player quiz games.
Love the keyboard! The mouse, not so much. Can only think of a quiz game for the big ol' buttons.
Hi. Loving the videos 😊
Could you extend the cable to the big buttons and use them with your feet?
Are there any games where that would even work? 🤔
As a software dev I'd use the huge buttons for build and run.