Steampunk, Datamancer.net and Enochian keyboards

I have a confession to make: I have a huge crush on the whole steampunk subculture.

The aesthetic of steampunk harkens back to an era where steam power was still widely used, and often adopts a pseudo-Victorian look. Inspiration is taken from H.G. Wells, Jules Verne and fantastical technological inventions, sometimes set in an alternate-history.

I don’t see much awareness of it in Toronto (or perhaps it’s here, but I’m just not seeing it?); my first encounters with it were from flyers posted online for club events in other cities, and, of course, the gorgeous steampunk laptop (pictured above) created by Datamancer.net: a fully functional laptop made of wood, copper, and brass which starts with a clock winding key.

Indeed, Datamancer.net has created a variety of modded compute-related items, including keyboards in a variety of styles (even an Enochian steampunk keyboard! – pictured left), an Opti-Transcripticon (flatbed scanner), and various miscellaneous items.

Datamancer.net does custom work, using authentic pieces to mod current technology where possible, but due to the labour-intensive nature of his creations, they are quite pricey. Still, fun to look at.

For more on what can be done, also check out SteampunkWorkshop.com, the SteampunkHome blog and SteampunkMagazine.com. Love it.

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