Don’t worry—I’m not going to spoil anything about the Severance season 2 finale. Why? Well, because I simply haven’t seen it. My limited understanding of the show has been acquired by social media osmosis, so I can only assume it’s a workplace drama with vaguely uncomfortable vibes but also lots of kissing.
Jokes aside, Severance is definitely on my never-ending to-watch list—even more so now, thanks to this mysterious and important keyboard from Atomic Keyboards (via PCWorld). Dubbed the MDR Dasher Keyboard, neither a final price nor a firm release date has been confirmed, but you can sign up to get updates on its limited release here.
The keyboard’s name comes from Data General’s ‘Dasher’ Terminals for a retro computing hit straight from the ’70s. These machines are used as salvaged props in the Macrodata Refinement (MDR) department of the fictitious Lumon Industries, central to Severance’s confined universe. And before you ask, yes, Atomic Keyboards’ take also omits the Escape, Control, and Options keys just like the show.
It’s certainly a unique 73-key layout, standing out against even the original Dasher keyboards with the inclusion of a trackball immersed in the right-hand side of the hardware. Also, unlike the ancient hardware serving as a source of inspiration, Atomic Keyboard’s 70% boards feature a USB-C connection plus compatibility with Windows, Mac, and Linux machines.
Now, you know me, I love attention-grabbing hardware, especially if it’s a keyboard with a gimmick. A blue board that comes with a trackball mouse definitely does it for me—and would probably pair quite nicely with my army of Miku Hatsune figurines. However, with a very tentative guide price of about $400, I think I’d rather spend that kind of money fortifying the ranks of my anime figures.
Still, maybe that’s just me. If you can’t wait to appreciate every key of the MDR Dasher Keyboard equally and are looking for ways to kill time before it sees the light of day, you can always tool around with this Macrodata Refinement Simulator. I don’t know what’s happening either, but it is oddly calming to corral those shivering numbers—wait, what was just copied to my clipboard…?
