UPDATE: After working fine for a few days post-cleaning, some of the keys stopped working again for some reason . The process was a failure.

Well this was probably one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done. Late last night while playing Starcraft II with a friend online, I spilled some wine that got all over my desk including my expensive TypeMatrix keyboard. It’s probably one of the worst liquids to spill anywhere, let alone on computer parts! After frantically trying to dry it and leaving it alone overnight, some of the keys just didn’t work anymore. I thought, could this be fixed? I might as well try before dropping $110 for a new one.

The following instructions may vary depending on the type of keyboard you have. Actually if you’re fixing a laptop keyboard the instructions will be very similar. Here’s the steps to repair:

1. Carefully pry all the keys off and put them aside.

2. Turn the keyboard over and remove all screws. If you cannot see any, they might be hidden by stickers or rubber stoppers.

3. Remove the left LED panel and panel below spacebar. (TypeMatrix only)

4. Remove the screws holding down the circuit board.

5. Carefully remove the keys panel and flip it over. On TypeMatrix, disconnect ribbon cable.

The keyboard is made up of a hard plastic top, then one or two thin sheets of a semi-transparent “circuit paper” that are connected to each button, then a metal bottom. The offending liquid has most likely connected some of the circuits causing wrong or multiple keypresses when you type.

6. The 3 layers are probably sandwiched together with plastic rivets, also called Thermoplastic staking. The hard part will be melting these plastic rivets a little bit to dislodge the plastic layer from the metal layer.

7. I used an X-acto Knife heated by a nearby candle to kind of melt & push the plastic on each rivet. If you have a soldering iron this will be much easier.

8. Once all (or enough to access the affected area) rivets are unlatched, you can pry apart the layers to clean the circuit paper with isopropyl alcohol — DO NOT USE WATER OR OTHER CLEANING SOLUTION! Use only alcohol to clean it.

9. After cleaning it thoroughly you can carefully plug the keyboard in to test if the keys are working better again. If not, clean more.

10. Begin putting the keyboard back together in reverse order. Try your best to “fix” the plastic rivets using a soldering iron or hot knife so the layers become tightly sandwiched together. Your results may vary and a soldering iron with a big tip might help here.

10. Put the keycaps back on and plug it in. If any keys are still funny, take the key off and put it back on again to make sure it is perfectly centered.

And now my keyboard is fully working again!

This is a tremendous amount of money spent which isn’t even for any tangible product, research, or manpower. In the long run this is going to cost consumers by raising product prices (Microsoft gets $5-10 for every HTC phone sold, even though there is absolutely no Microsoft product or technology in it).

I was thinking about the patent problem and how it could be changed to protect the individual or company inventions but prevent big businesses from bullying other companies and hurting the consumer. What if patents could not be transferred to another individual or company without being released into the public domain? In other words if you hold a patent for something that you invented, you would still be fully protected by that patent, but you could not sell or transfer that patent power to someone else. If you decided to sell your company or go out of business, the patents automatically get released in the public domain.

This solution would protect the inventor (person or company) that invented the “thing”, but prevent the fake companies that just buy up patents and sue everybody from existing.

See also: So How Do We Fix The Patent Problem?

Due to the retro nature of the products in the store, we wanted to give the site a kind of retro look from the 60s and 70s. That is why I went with a vibrant color scheme to match the store’s logo. The home page features unique “Brady Bunch” style boxes showcasing certain kitchen products, and they swap every few seconds via ajax requests in the background.

Visitors can check out the gallery, browse for fun products, and purchase using a credit card on a secure PayPal form.

Flying Saucers is based in Asbury Park, NJ.

Click to stream instantly, right click to download and Save As…
March 13, 2010 StatiK EffecK Mix

Terminal 6 – Solarity
Passenger 10 – Avantgarde
Angel (Axwell Remix) – Pharrell
Tetris – Electrixx
They Need Us – Arnej
Dreamcatcher – Memento
I’ve Been Waiting – Dave Dresden & DJ Lynnwood
Lovegame (Dave Aude Club Mix) – Lady Gaga
Hide & Seek – Tiesto Remix
No Turning Back (Orig mix) – Gui Boratto
Watch the sun come up (Moam remix) – Example
I will be here – Sneaky Sound System & Tiesto
Kids (Soulwax remix) – MGMT
Feel it in my bones (Tiesto remix) – Teagan & Sara

You can see that the closer we come to winter, the less the MPG. Still, from these results, it was an average of 37 MPG. I drive 12 miles to and from work, 5 days a week.

The TypeMatrix 2030 USB (2009 Model) – Shown with Qwerty layout

What is even more pleasant is that…the company replaced my broken 2020 model that my girlfriend Alison gave to me for Christmas (2008).  The 2020 model was TypeMatrix’ first keyboard model, and thus it lacks some of the improvements brought on by the 2030. Still, I am very lucky now to have a TypeMatrix keyboard for work and home.

Let me tell you a little about the main advantages of using the TypeMatrix:

1. The short length (about 13 inches) allows you to have your mouse, and thus hand/arm, closer to your other hand/arm (and the home keys). This may not seem like a big deal but if you tried it out for a while and then went back to a normal size keyboard you would realize you’re doing a lot more work to go back and forth using the mouse.
2. Perfectly vertical columns of keys.  Keyboards have always been made with staggered keys because when typewriters were mechanical, the lever arms had to be spaced apart… and the staggered layout just stuck even to the digital age. I can understand that most people don’t want to change and learn something new — but what I don’t understand is why there aren’t more vertical column keyboards out there. Its not like it would cost more to manufacture it– just take the standard keyboard. There must be more people out there willing to use vertical column keyboards.
3. The centerized backspace and enter keys. How often do you use the backspace keys to delete mistakes? Probably all the time. Then shouldn’t this frequently used key be placed closer to your strongest, faster fingers? With the TypeMatrix, the backspace key, along with the enter key, is located directly between your two hands.

My usage of TypeMatrix keyboards goes back to 2005 when I purchased their first 2030 model. At that time, there were some shipping problems and I didn’t receive the keyboard for about 4-5 weeks. But when I got it, it was probably the biggest computer improvement I’ve ever experienced. I continued to use it for at least 2 years– typing, coding, and even computer gaming. Then the circuitry began to fail and some keys stopped responding. It was probably the result of smashing on it too hard too many times, so I don’t blame the quality of the keyboard.

All in all, I highly recommend this keyboard to anyone who uses a computer for any significant amount of time. The health and productivity benefits simply cannot be beat.

Special Tip! Sign up to the TypeMatrix e-mail newsletter and receive a 20% off coupon on your order! That is at least $20 savings if you order one of their keyboards. Visit http://www.typematrix.com today!

8/27/2011 Update – I spilled red wine on the keyboard which caused it to malfunction … but I took it apart and fixed it.

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G-Unit

Ashley Simpson

Ashley Simpson – Lip Sync Screw up

Nickelback

DMX

Roberto Alagna (Opera)

PNAC Founder William Kristol