For Immediate Release
Williamston, MI-October 1, 1999-P.I. Engineering, inventor of the Y-mouse
line of adapters and manufacturer of a full line of computer interface
products, is proud to announce USB X-Keys for Macintosh. This evolution of
the company’s premiere line of programmable keyboard products represents
not only a cosmetic change, but also a dramatic engineering innovation.
“The iMac in some ways totally legitimized USB,” said Michael Hetherington,
X-keys inventor and President of P.I. Engineering. “We’ve been committed to
USB since the spec was first defined. Producing product for the Macintosh
is a natural extension of that commitment.”
Innovation
USB X-Keys for Macintosh is a fully programmable keypad that comes in two
distinctive flavors, a 20 key Desktop model and 58 key Pro model. Priced at
$99 and $129 respectively. Both models come packaged in special Macintosh
coordinating plastics and include MacOS USB drivers. More details are
available at the P.I Engineering web site at (http://www.xkeys.com/).
Simplicity
By merging a programmable keyboard with the ease of USB, P.I. Engineering
has introduced a product that couldn’t be simpler to use. Software
installation consists of merely dropping a USB profile extension into the
system folder. It doesn’t get any easier.
Ultimate Macros
USB X-Keys provides a bank of fully programmable keys that users can assign
to any key or combination. This provides a degree of speed and macro
programmability that is seen only with third party applications. Of course,
since USB X-Keys looks to the OS just like a keyboard, most macro programs
and system extensions can take advantage of the extra keys that the user
configures.
Compatible
Since it’s USB, USB X-Keys coexists with other USB devices. Conformity to
the USB specification assures a seamless user experience. Plug it in and it
works. Once it’s programmed, X-Keys looks like a USB keyboard and doesn’t
even require the driver to work properly. A programmed USB X-Keys unit can
be moved from machine to machine and function as expected.
Versatile
Having extra programmable keys can be a boon to any user. Keys can be
configured to provide frequently used words or key combinations for general
use, or tuned for specific applications. Photoshop and Illustrator users,
for instance, can configure complex key combinations onto a single key thus
liberating their mouse hand and speeding productivity. Users of the newer
iMac keyboards will find that just having configurable keys that can be
used for editing or function keys recaptures much of the advantage of
larger, extended keyboards while adding a host of new, programmable options.
Available Now
USB X-Keys is available in both 20 key Desktop and 58 Pro varieties both
directly from P.I. Engineering at (http://www.xkeys.com/) as well as
through select mail order and retail channels.
Founded in 1993, P.I. Engineering is an innovative designer and
manufacturer of computer interface products for the PC. Now that innovation
is brought to the Macintosh. P.I. Engineering also provides custom
solutions including OEM system designs for a variety of interface
specifications.