The latest Kickstarter project to catch my attention is something called the Shortcut-S. Its creators are apparently long-time Photoshop users who tired of the program’s myriad and increasingly complex keyboard shortcuts and decided to create a device to make them all available via a single touch.
To that end the keyboard has 299 dedicated Photoshop keys, with an additional 20 available for user customization. The Kickstarter project, which hopes to raise the not-so-modest sum of $185,280, will make the keyboards available for a pledge of $109. And if it’s funded, there will apparently be overlays created for additional applications.
I’m not convinced of the practicality of this. I use Photoshop all day but to be honest not for work that requires a steady stream of complex shortcuts. But if I was a professional retoucher, this might seem like an answered prayer. Then there’s the size — I’d have to buy a new desk to make room for it and of course keep the cats off it. So while I hope the project gets funded, I think I’ll be spending that hundred bucks on more memory for my aging system.
