Read his book, Hackers and Painters. I don't think he's under appreciated. He was way ahead of the curve. And deserves to be happy with his family, or change the world some more..
My SO brought me to a planning meeting for a non-profit, and I met their founder there. We hit it off, and founded a startup together several months later when the time was right. I think it was good to start off being friends first. And having a shared network of friends and business associates helped speed things up.
The RJ Metrics founders Bob and Jake gave a really great talk sharing their seven year journey Monday night. Lots of good lean startup lessons, and they just raised a $16.5 million series B. The full video is at the bottom of the article.
I couldn't agree more. In fact, this is why I started building a project for my girlfriend so she could create her own site. And now it's grown into something powerful that I really enjoy using too.
I have been using a single 30" monitor as my main display since 2005. I love it. Only problem is having to adjust whenever working on another system (also been using it with a standing desk since 2008).
I split the screen space up into conveniently sized tiles most of the time. Most often using only half the monitor width at most (like two 1280x1600 monitors side by side, but no bezel line in the middle). But occasionally using the full screen real estate for one program is really nice.
The only downside is the $129 USD price. You'll have to decide if it's "reasonably priced". I got nice discount on a pre-order, but at this point I would gladly pay more. This thing doesn't show any signs of ever dying on me though.
Update: I just checked and it's actually on sale right now for $109 USD.
I own a older version of "das Keyboard" which is actually a Cherry-G80 OEM (which I also own, and a unnamed clicky DEC Alpha Workstation PS/2 keyboard). They all give great feedback and I prefer them for typing larger amounts of text. Of course they are absurdly lound, and I'm happy that my coworkers don't complain (too much).
On the other hand, I detest keyboards that only use a soft rubbery membrane that feels like I'd dip my fingertips into honey (which is basically every keyboard that nowadays is shipped with cheap systems). While it may sound illogical, using those for anything larger than a simple blog-post and my hands begin to hurt. Maybe because the lack of feedback makes me assume a unhealthy hand-posture?
I love the old clicky keyboards. The ergonomic split keyboard feels like mush and these laptop keys are too slick. I do like the latest chicklet Apple keyboards. I went in with the expectation that it would be weird and unenjoyable, but I acclimated quickly and achieved incredible typing speed.
Yes, it's the clicky mechanical switches that make this keyboard so nice. I don't know of any other keyboard that has these in a nice modern package. The sleek black look and USB hub are just icing on top.
