Those following every twist and turn of the Optimus Maximus keyboard have plenty to sink their teeth into on the always dependable optimus_project LiveJournal today, including the tantalizing detail of a soon-to-be-announced sub-$500 model. More details on that (and a sub-$1,000 model) will apparently be coming next week, when each will also supposedly be available for pre-order. The blog also dropped word that the first lot of Optimus Maximus keyboards has been sold out, and will start shipping in December or January, with the second lot set to arrive in February. Those first few keyboards will apparently be “somewhat functionally limited,” however, with firmware updates planned “every month or so in the beginning” to bring them up to speed. Lastly, comes word that Art Lebedev will be introducing a “couple of new Optimus concepts” this year, with another model set to be released sometime next year, no doubt starting this whole long, drawn out process all over again.