Slashdot Mirror
One-Finger Keyboarding?
adubey writes: "Forget Qwerty, forget Dvorak; the best keyboard for palmtops may well be the Fitaly One-Finger Keyboard. " Kinda nifty idea actually, I'm wondering if we'll see one that would work for a wearable PC (like maybe
this guy from IBM).
Does this mean that if your computer locks up, instead of the 3-finger salute, you just "give it the finger"?
Unix is user friendly, it's just selective about who its friends are.
Current slogan: "Concentrate all of your typing into a 'single point of failure' with the Fitaly One-Finger Keyboard!".
Tomorrow's slogan: "You have ten fingers. So why are you typing with only one? Use the Fitaly Ten-Finger Keyboard!"
--
Linux MAPI Server!
http://www.openone.com/software/MailOne/
(Exchange Migration HOWTO coming soon)
Great! Now I'll have that other hand free for... well, you know.
-carl
. We've got computers, we're tapping phone lines, you know that ain't allowed - Talking Heads, "Life During Wartime"
Using only one finger must get pretty tiring after awhile. Why limit yourself to just one finger when the majority of people have quite a few more fingers available?
It is pretty good, I've got it on my TRGpro.
It takes a while to get used to the new character placement, but the ability to capitalize a character by sliding it (sort of like a click-n-drag) makes entering names a lot faster. My typing is still as good as it's been (one concern people have had is that the Fitaly layout will interfere with typing).
The collapsable keyboard ($99) is worth it if you have to take notes at a meeting. Fitaly is fast, but I still find it faster to type than to tap. I should note that the collapsable keyboard is the smallest of all the PalmOS keyboards when folded up.
But back to the point -- this isn't about one finger input, it's about pen input. Big difference. It's fast: I just bring my Palm to meetings now and don't bother with paper. I can read my notes, unlike my handwriting, and upload them to my desktop so I can store them with the rest of my electronic notes. I hate paper.
The product really works, and I just wish they could port InstantText to the Palm. Or Linux. It looks cool, but I'm not going to do my writing in Word 97 just to use it.
top 10 advantages to a one-finger keyboard:
10) easier to type "hunt-and-peckers unite!"
9) "i'm not flicking you off, i'm practicing typing on the ceiling".
8) if you get carpel tunnel in one finger, just switch fingers.
7) you can finger your computer in public without getting stared at.
6) don't have to worry about losing your career skills if you get your hand caught in the ceiling fan.
5)linux users can now finger() someone with a finger.
4) you can use two fingers to hold a donut and one to type
3) that leaves one finger left over for picking your nose
2) two words: pinky envy.
and the #1 reason to use a one-finger keyboard:
1) sometimes, there's just not enough room for two fingers.
--
What happens when you outlaw guns
That said, I don't see Fitaly replacing the standard mechanical keyboard. Where it might be useful, however is in touch screen devices like point-of-sale terminals or (especially) vertical-market devices for inventory tracking or insurance claims processing.
And to the people wondering what the "blank keys" to either side of "n" and "e", they're space bars, naturally.
Finally, I'm pretty sure the link in the article is obsolete. I use http://fitaly.com to get to Textware Solution's homepage frequently, and haven't seen a link to twsolutions.com in a long time.
-Isaac
I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. For Entertainment Purposes Only.
It would make much more sense to use a chording keyboard for an organizer - the Microwriter AgendA supported this a long time ago, but has unfortunately been discontinued. (BTW, I haven't been able to find a description of the AgendA's chording scheme - does anyone have a link?)
For a wearable, something like the Twiddler would make much more sense. What I would really like is an updated twiddler that plugs directly into the PS/2 (or USB) port, and with a Trackpoint (like in IBM Thinkpad laptops) instead of the imprecise tilting mouse sensor.
Wow, this is even better than Microsoft's keyboard. See http://www.mackido.com/Humor/MSKeyboar d.html. Control-Alt-Delete -- what more do you need with Microsoft?
I used Fitaly on my Palm for quite a while (until I discontinued use of the Palm, in fact). It was very easy to use and made the device a lot more useful in that I could get text in at a closer to "normal" rate. I envision future computing devices that incorporate a pen keyboard and a touch capable screen for the majority of the work. For major text needs (writing books, text mode programming/scripting, IRC) a regular ten-finger keyboard or something along those lines is obviously needed, but for web surfing, non-action games (which seem to require joysticks or such), graphics work, general GUI interaction, the Palm/Fitaly model is my preference. I like that direct interaction with the screen and like having a keyboard that is functional but does not require the hands to switch devices (from keyboard to mouse) by being part of the screen. Heck, if you're ambidextrous, the pen model makes you twice as efficient, right?
I do not have a signature