Das Keyboard has made a name as a maker of high-end keyboards for users with demanding standards for what they type on. Developers are a prime example, and so the new Das Keyboard 5Q, with a list price of $249, is billed as “the ultimate keyboard for developers, IT managers, and overachievers.”
“Ultimate” might be hyperbole. Still, the Das Keyboard 5Q is well-engineered and comfortable, and its software — which can light up keys to display GitHub or StackOverflow notifications, for example — has more than just gimmick value even if its full potential hasn’t been unlocked yet.
Das Keyboard
The software for the Das Keyboard 5Q lets you command each key’s lighting through open APIs, turning the keyboard into a kind of dashboard for alerts and notifications.
Das Keyboard 5Q hardware
The Das Keyboard 5Q is part of the “Q series” of Das Keyboard offerings, all of which share a common set of programmability and connectivity features. Software provided with the Q keyboards lets users add “applets” written in JavaScript to control the keyboard’s behaviors, chiefly the RGB LEDs under each key.
