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The newsroom fears only one thing: the coming of April 1. Because, I\u2019m just going to say it, the tech industry isn\u2019t very funny. But Google Japan\u2019s ongoing series of ridiculous keyboards, where they completely commit to the joke, suggests we may have found the first known exception.<\/p>\n
The latest is the \u201cGboard Bar Version,\u201d (or stick version depending on the translation), a keyboard about 1.6 meters feet long (down from 2.4 meters in the prototype) with all the letters and numbers arranged from left to right in a \u201cone-dimensional QWERTY layout.\u201d There are options for ABC, ASCII codes, and katakana.<\/p>\n
No longer will you have to hunt and peck for individual keys, the creators explain. \u201cWith this keyboard, it is very convenient to know immediately that the 16th letter from the left is G.\u201d So simple!<\/p>\n
It also has ergonomic advantages:<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you use this keyboard, your arms will naturally spread out, so you can stretch your arms secretly even at work. When you press the rightmost and leftmost keys at the same time, you may stretch your legs unintentionally,\u201d the team writes.<\/p>\n
Of course it also doubles as a reaching implement for hitting far away light switches, and triples as a walking stick for when you need to touch grass. Watch the video below for many more little light-hearted and genuinely chuckle-worthy uses and benefits:<\/p>\n