Prodikeys is a

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

and

computer keyboard A computer keyboard is a peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. Replacing early punched cards and paper tape technology ...

software. It was created by

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

an audio company

Creative Technology Creative Technology Ltd. is a Singaporean multinational technology company headquartered with overseas offices in Shanghai, Tokyo, Dublin, and Silicon Valley (where in the US it is known as Creative Labs). The principal activities of the compa ...

. So far, three different versions of Prodikeys have been launched: Creative Prodikeys, Creative Prodikeys DM and Creative Prodikeys PC-MIDI. It has 37 mini-sized music keys under a detachable palm cover and comes with Prodikeys software. The MIDI keyboard can also be used as a MIDI controller for third-party MIDI software. It is compatible with Windows XP, 2000, and Linux, but is incompatible with Windows Vista, 7, 8, and Mac OS X. Included Software: EasyNotes Learn to play any song melody on own - from the included song library or downloaded MIDI files of favourite pop tunes from the Internet. EasyNotes supports music format in SEQ and MIDI. FunMix Can create and record own music with pre-arranged mixes and personalize own ring tone or video soundtrack easily. HotKeys Manager It lets customize the keyboard's hotkeys functions for easy access to the software suite. Mini Keyboard Will be able to explore with more than a hundred different instrument sounds - including piano, flute, guitar and drums. Prodikeys Launcher Can use it to launch the software and the Product Tutorial for an interactive demo.

Prodikeys DM

The Prodikeys DM does not use

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

, but rather has one single

Mini-DIN connector The mini-DIN connectors are a family of multi-pin electrical connectors used in a variety of applications. Mini-DIN is similar to the larger, older DIN connector. Design Mini-DIN connectors are in diameter and come in seven patterns, wit ...

for the

PS/2 port The PS/2 port is a 6-pin mini-DIN connector used for connecting keyboards and mice to a PC compatible computer system. Its name comes from the IBM Personal System/2 series of personal computers, with which it was introduced in 1987. The PS/2 mo ...

and is therefore detected as a regular typing keyboard. The included Windows software communicates with the keyboard driver in order to send and receive MIDI data over the PS/2 line. This protocol has been partly reverse-engineered,ProdikeysDM_Adaptor on Github
/ref> making it possible to use the Prodikeys DM on a regular USB port using an

Arduino Arduino () is an open-source hardware and software company, project, and user community that designs and manufactures single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits for building digital devices. Its hardware products are licensed unde ...

microcontroller as an adaptor.

References

Singaporean brands Keyboard instruments Computer keyboards {{Compu-hardware-stub