43S Poll (yes, here is one!)

[Walter]

Classics, Woodstocks, and Spices all featured coloured keys ... also Voyagers and Nuts did to less extent. Just the Pioneers started with monochrome keys.

If you can see a color difference between the number keys and the other keys on the Nuts (meaning the 41 series, I assume) and the Voyagers, your eyes must be sensitive to different wavelengths than mine...

I didn't claim that. But the Nut keys feature two basic colours, and the Voyager keys up to three: black, yellow, and blue.

[gmac42]

I chose the first one, too.
I don't think the white number keys look bad, but if they had the same design as the other keys, without any special highlighting, that would be fine, too.

One advantage that the bright display border on the 3rd and 4th design has, imo, is that the color indicators don't stick out as much.
For the dark display border, could you please make the color indicators next to the display more subtle? Like, half as wide, maybe?

[Walter]

I don't think the white number keys look bad, but if they had the same design as the other keys, without any special highlighting, that would be fine, too.

One advantage that the bright display border on the 3rd and 4th design has, imo, is that the color indicators don't stick out as much.
For the dark display border, could you please make the color indicators next to the display more subtle? Like, half as wide, maybe?

Well, pixels are patient, as they say here ...
.

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[gmac42]

Thank you, I like this version much better!

[burkhard]

I voted far left, but I really don't like the white keys. They are jarring and off-putting--too stark.
The narrowed-up blue/yellow bands on the side of the display (per gmac42's suggestion) is a nice improvement.

Looking forward to this becoming reality someday!

[Walter]

So, AFAICS this is what you want, what you reallly really want:
.

emulatorp.png (61.9 KiB) Viewed 1676 times

Don't you?

[gmac42]

<3

[HPMike]

The last rendition looks perfect to me as well. Now it’s time to begin the actual development so that it can get to market before I meet my maker.

[burkhard]

Yes, Walter. The most recent one you show is the best.
You are converging on the platonic ideal.

[rprosperi]

So, AFAICS this is what you want, what you reallly really want:
...
Don't you?

For the upper portion, yes, exactly what I want.

But, if feasible, I do like your suggestion of having the numeric keys a different color than the other keys, just as was used for Classics, Woodstocks, Spice, etc., though most agree the originally proposed white was too jarring/high contrast. Suggest you let the above design gather approval (and/or feedback) and then submit 1 or 2 layouts with some contrasting colors for numeric keys. Perhaps the much busier than older machine layouts will preclude such a scheme looking good, but samples will verify so.

Thanks for the efforts to keep this going Walter!