Like a Stream Deck, But Delightfully Retro

From a productivity perspective, an Elgato Stream Deck is a pretty incredible tool. It lets you launch programs and macros at the touch of a button — no need to memorize keyboard shortcut combos. But the Stream Deck has a pretty minimalist and utilitarian industrial design, which is a little boring. If you like more flavor in your life, check out the retro-styled TabKao that is on Kickstarter.

As a retrocomputing enthusiast, I love the look of this thing. It looks like an Apple Lisa and an IBM clone had an adorable little baby. But it isn’t just aesthetic; it is practical.

The “monitor” is a touchscreen that can host configurable interfaces and even display videos or anything else as a secondary screen. To the right of that there are USB ports to connect devices to your PC. On top are multi-function control buttons. The keyboard contains an array of mechanical keys that you can use to launch any programs or activate any macros. On the right side of that keyboard is a trackball (awesome) and on left edge, there is a rotary dial with a nice CNC-machined aluminum knob. There is even an integrated fingerprint reader for unlocking your PC.

TabKao should also be very easy to use. It connects to the host PC through a single USB cable, so the physical setup is simple. Configuring the interface elements and behavior should be simple, too. TabKao comes with dedicated software that has drag-and-drop tools to design the touchscreen layout and assign macros to the keys.

This all sounds really awesome, so what’s the catch? Well, it isn’t exactly cheap. The Super Early Bird special on Kickstarter gets you a TabKao for $596, which is more than twice as much as the massive 32-key Elgato Stream Deck XL.

I’ll let you decide if the style and extra functionality of the TabKao is worth the price. If you think it is, you have until May 16th to back the Kickstarter campaign. Rewards should ship in July.