Posted by
chrisd
on from the click-smack-click-smack dept.
graymalkn writes "My wife has repetitive stress problems and prefers typing on old-fashioned mechanical typewriters. For Christmas, I converted a mechanical typewriter to work as a computer keyboard. My favorite feature: slap the carriage return for Enter."
Seems so simple...
by
LostCluster
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
Early keyboards used to have a "clicking" resistance mechanism, until "quiet" keyboards created the "flying until you hit a wall" feeling that the poster's wife complained of.
We seem to all have standardized now on similar keyboards in tactile function, but that clearly leaves a market to serve those who perfer other styles of keyboard. Could this kind of keyboard-that-feels-like-a-typewriter device have enough appeal to get a mainstream keyboard maker behind it?
My experiance
by
oliverthered
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
Well, I play the guitar, not that well but that's another story.
I find I get more problems with my hands from using the wheel on the mouse then from playing the guitar.
Although the motions are fairly simila, the extra bit of resistance on the guitar strings might be what prevents the stress....
I've never had any problems typing, and I've been doing that long enough. (though again I use clicky not soft keyboards).
-- thank God the internet isn't a human right.
One problem i can see right off the bat..
by
TheHawke
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
She's stuck using the margins that are available to them on the manual typewriter... You see, shes sitting there rattling away and then, DING! end of margin. No word wrap, no automatic carriage return. She has to hit the manual return level to move the unit back to its original position, thus issuing a CR to the program. The other issue is ZERO arrow keys so if she has to move the cursor to edit or change posistion or shift to another page, she has to fuss around with the mouse, hence more chances for her carpal tunnel to get worse. He should have butchered the machine up, disabled the automatic advance, got the backspace to work, and then found a way to wire in a 10-key keypad that would have given almost all the functions of a standard 101 KB.
Oh, I can see her now, trying to enter a URL on a browser with it... heheh it'll drive her bonkers...
-- First rule of holes; When in one, stop digging.
Sorry, but you're quite wrong about the lack of a CPU. Most (all?) PC keyboards have an 8048, or an 8048 core in an ASIC. 'Twas the stuff of legendary hackery to harness that 8048 for your own purposes, back in the day.
-- You have violated Robot's Rules of Order and will be asked to leave the future immediately.
Slashdot Mirror
Early keyboards used to have a "clicking" resistance mechanism, until "quiet" keyboards created the "flying until you hit a wall" feeling that the poster's wife complained of.
We seem to all have standardized now on similar keyboards in tactile function, but that clearly leaves a market to serve those who perfer other styles of keyboard. Could this kind of keyboard-that-feels-like-a-typewriter device have enough appeal to get a mainstream keyboard maker behind it?
Well, I play the guitar, not that well but that's another story.
I find I get more problems with my hands from using the wheel on the mouse then from playing the guitar.
Although the motions are fairly simila, the extra bit of resistance on the guitar strings might be what prevents the stress....
I've never had any problems typing, and I've been doing that long enough. (though again I use clicky not soft keyboards).
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
She's stuck using the margins that are available to them on the manual typewriter... You see, shes sitting there rattling away and then, DING! end of margin. No word wrap, no automatic carriage return. She has to hit the manual return level to move the unit back to its original position, thus issuing a CR to the program.
The other issue is ZERO arrow keys so if she has to move the cursor to edit or change posistion or shift to another page, she has to fuss around with the mouse, hence more chances for her carpal tunnel to get worse.
He should have butchered the machine up, disabled the automatic advance, got the backspace to work, and then found a way to wire in a 10-key keypad that would have given almost all the functions of a standard 101 KB.
Oh, I can see her now, trying to enter a URL on a browser with it... heheh it'll drive her bonkers...
First rule of holes; When in one, stop digging.
Sorry, but you're quite wrong about the lack of a CPU. Most (all?) PC keyboards have an 8048, or an 8048 core in an ASIC. 'Twas the stuff of legendary hackery to harness that 8048 for your own purposes, back in the day.
You have violated Robot's Rules of Order and will be asked to leave the future immediately.