The Angry Miao Cyberboard Terminal Mechanical Keyboard is the most ridiculous keyboard I’ve encountered in a long while. For just $810 (opens in new tab), you too can time travel back to a pre-Y2K era where all your favorite hackers were incredibly attractive, wore tight black leather outfits, and primarily moved in slow-motion (opens in new tab).
To say that The Matrix heavily inspires the design of the Cyberboard Terminal (opens in new tab) mechanical keyboard would be the understatement of the century. This wireless keyboard is made from a “transparent, sandblasted black polycarbonate,” which gives it a grudgingly ’90s look. The metal counterweight would make for a sturdy typing experience. It also supports Bluetooth 5.0 as well as USB-C connectivity.
Its LED panel display makes this thing truly dope (and wildly expensive). This shows off a green “cascading digital rain effect” as you type, reminiscent of a certain code you see in that movie with Keanu Reeves.
It seems like the green rain effect is the only one the LED panel can manage, according to the product listing, which is surprising. However, I’ve seen some user videos of previous similar Angry Miao Cyberboards with custom displays (opens in new tab). It’s also kind of weird that the panel faces away from you, so you can’t see the neat typing effects. Call me weird, but if I’m paying over $800 for a retro-cyber keyboard with cool effects and a great type feel, I want to see the cool effects, damnit.
There are hot-swappable switch sockets with per-key lighting. The bundle includes an Icy Silver Switch, 80 x Kiwi Switches, and Ink Black transparent keycaps so that green really pops through. Though if you have your preferred switches, you can use those instead.
As you can see and hear in the typing test video above, it does have a serious yet aggressively nerdy quality you want in something that looks exactly like what your parents think a hacker’s keyboard looks like. I love it.
The base kit costs $600, which includes the keyboard case, plate, PCB, toolkit, and counterweight. The $810 bundle has everything in the base kit, Icy Silver switch, 80x Kiwi switches, and Ink Black keycaps.
Like most products on the Drop, there’s only a brief window to order the Cyberboard Terminal (this one has about a week left), with an expected ship date of April 14, 2023. Thankfully, I have yet to be paid because we all know what I do with my paycheck, given the opportunity (opens in new tab).
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