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Strange New Keyboards and Mice
robyn217 writes "Over at ExtremeTech, I just reviewed a few strange new keyboards--and they're pretty "out there". On Monday, we posted a review of a vertical keyboard (imagine a standard keyboard split in half, with both side vertical). Today we posted the review of something that doesn't even resemble a keyboard--it's a whole new system of input. Tomorrow and for the rest of the week, we'll be posting new reviews of strange, but interesting input devices."
It doesn't matter at all if the design of the keyboard is over 100 years old. The wheel is way older than that and we're still happily using it. What I'm saying is that comparing keyboard design with the speed of a processor is not a valid comparison.
If you're typing on a standard QWERTY keyboard, and most of us are, then your keyboard design is over 100 years old (135 years old, to be exact). Can you imagine using a hard drive that was designed a decade ago? Or a processor from two centuries past?
I call bulls--t!
The hard drive of today is a highly refined, miniaturized version of a design that goes back at least to the 1970s.
My ergonomic keyboard was definitely *NOT* designed 135 years ago. Mechanically, it has as much in common with a mechanical typewriter as a lawn mower has in common with a vibrator. (basically, nothing)
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
He's referring to the keyboard layout. The QWERTY layout is actually designed to slow down typing. This is because if you typed too fast on an old mechanical typewriter you would jam up the keys.
Shh.
As a sidenote, I think the reason that why we don't change keyboard layouts as often as processors (or at all) is because of the time required to learning to use a new layout, let alone something like the vertical keyboard. And many of the things we do are centered on the way our keyboards are designed. Things like key-combos, controls to certain interfaces, controls to games, and so on.
I am getting carpal tunnel syndrome, and I am seeing a neruologist about it.
I wonder if I could get my work to shell out $1250 for the nifty-looking cyber keyborad thingy? Not likely.
When a cheap keyboard and mouse cost less than $12 each, I think they would rather I just suck it up and let me suffer dimishished capacity in my hands some 5-10 years down the road. Goodness knows if they will be my employers that far in the future.
Even $300 for the vertical keyboard is steep. Most of my attempts to get even basic office supplies at work make me feel like I'm robbing the company.
And darned if I am going to bring in one of those expensive gadgets to work, and risk that my investement in tech trinkets could be pilfered.
One of those wacky gizmos would stand out on someone else's desk. The would-be thief would have to take it home instead of keeping it at their desk.
Cool to look at though.
If you're typing on a standard QWERTY keyboard, and most of us are, then your keyboard design is over 100 years old (135 years old, to be exact). Can you imagine using a hard drive that was designed a decade ago? Or a processor from two centuries past?
Could you imagine speaking a language that's hundreds, if not thousands of years old? Could you imagine running an internal combustion engine that's almost 150 years old?
There's a reason human-computer interface hasn't really changed. The fact that the human hasn't either isn't a big coincidence.
No, it does matter that the design is over 100 years old. There's rather a lot more reaching, stretching, and awkward motions required by a QWERTY key layout than is strictly necessary to get the job done -- hence the Dvorak key layout. If you're unfortunate enough to develop RSI problems, you'll sing a different tune about using a suboptimal key layout.
spam-magnet@tty1.org
Long live to Model-M! I will never give my baby up. Mine is a 1987 model.
I just got a cool looking micro (or mini) keyboard at Fry's for 15 bucks. It's like a laptop. I remember on my old Apple II GS the keyboard didn't have all those extra number pad keys. I thought I was missing out. Now I got my PC and I've come full circle replacing my big keyboard. See the thing is the reaching for the mouse. With a bigger keyboard you gotta reach farther. Since most of those keys are redundant I don't really miss them.
I also feel a lot more symetrical now.
I really like my new setup. Only thing is I'm not really sure where the backspace is because there's no "whitespace" to differenciate. (I touch type. Dvorak.) I've learned to feel for the enter and go up two.
Too many newbies have bad ergonomics in the furniture. Right now I'm at my schools computer lab. They have the drawer that hangs underneath the desk. The drawer is not wide enough to accomodate the big keyboard and the mouse, so the mouse is on the desk. It's on different elevations. Bad idea. With my micro board it all fits. I did it yesterday, but today they saw me and they objected to me switching keyboards.
There are foot mice. That would elimate reaching completly. I think I gotta try that. What about a tongue operated mouse?
I hate how computing is so qwerty biased. Most programmers don't consider how their bindings don't work for dvoark. One big beef is the Control C X V. Those are really inconvinient for dvorakers. Is there a macro type program that will cut and paste will wheel double clicks? My whell click, double wheel, and double right click are unused. Can I bind them to something somehow?
Dvorak rules.
Check out the typematrix . The keys aren't raked.
as ammusing as that would be, I rather like the vertical keyboard design (yes, i have actually used one). By allowing your wrists to rest in a more natural position, this keyboard is suprising comfortable, and the learning curve isnt too bad. But it loses its merit when it comes to apps other than office apps. Using Maya is quite a chore (I run maya like I run a mac, one hand exclusively on the keyboard and the other exclusively on the mouse), as are most media production apps (if you're a power user anyway). Of course, it was designed for typing, and that it does well.
YOU SUCK BALLS!
... when he wrote how horrifying it is to use a 135 year old design ...
... Can you imagine using a hard drive that was designed a decade ago? Or a processor from two centuries past?
your keyboard design is over 100 years old
Well, pardon me, but the circular form of a disk drive is a lot older than that! Electricity has been around longer. One could argue that telegraphs pioneered on/off electronic signals.
I am really tired of seeing these idiotic leadins. If the writer can't come up with something better than subtracting years to show how obsolete something is, then maybe it isn't quite so obsolete after all.
Hey, did ya ever think how old the alphabet is? Why are we stuck using such old fashioned characters when we have the graphical ability to invent our own? Why not rationalize spelling in English? Why not invent a new language? Geez, think of just about every programming language out there, they use keywords like for, while, exit. Old as dirt words in the computer age? What is wrong here?
Criminy.
Infuriate left and right
Could you imagine speaking a language that's hundreds, if not thousands of years old? Could you imagine running an internal combustion engine that's almost 150 years old?
There's a reason human-computer interface hasn't really changed. The fact that the human hasn't either isn't a big coincidence.
The English language has slowly evolved over time, as has the combustion engine. The human-computer interface has stagnated more through fear of change, than because of a good initial design.
The cost of re-training people to use a new interface is also a real reason for the human-computer interface's failure to evolve.
Unless someone can come up with a truly revolutionary interface (whose improvements to productivity are immense and can be measured) the QWERTY keyboard will remain as top dog.
http://jesus.everdense.com/
that is the first thing I thought as well, it's comparing apples to oranges, right? But there is some merit, the wheel (as is your reference) is still a constantly evolving peice of hardware (after how many eons?). Every year, the tire companies roll out with some new advancements (pun left in on purpose) and the evolution of the wheel continues. Now, I am quite used to my QWERTY board, and am not apt to change it soon. But have you tried the vertical board, its actually quite comfortable.
Now, that mouse they showed, though more erogronomical, doesn't work out all that well in practice. The mouse currently relies on very precise side-to-side movement of your wrists, something that is much more difficult to do with the sideways mouse.
YOU SUCK BALLS!
Programming would not be done by entering code line-by-line as is common today, but by instantiating entire design patterns that the computer would produce, customized to the programmer-supplied specification, on command. And, of course, it would be possible to create new design patterns for later use. In a pinch, manual keyboard entry could be used to fine tune some details, but would be about as common in regular programming as assembly programming is today in end-user applications.
The display would be projected onto any more-or-less neutrally colored flat surface that was conveniently located, for use anywhere and anytime.
-5 offtopic
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
IMNSHO, most people who really want voice recognition are those who haven't bothered to learn to type properly.
QWERTY appeared when people were typing so fast on a typewriter that the "arms" would stick together. The letters were placed so that there was a maximum of movement (=time) possible (thus eliminating two "hammers" from hitting at the same time).
:)
So basically, we are stuck with the most inneficient technique available. I think that keyboards should use the same interface but letters should be moved to different places. A few common letters like A and E should be available on "both sides" in order to speed up typing.
Why is the current input method perfect? Well everyone is already familliar with it. Most products can easily use it (try a vertical KBD on a PDA ou ATM??)
Maybe instead of having 3 longs lows, we should have 4 narrower lines of characters (not including #'s and control keys). While typing this article, I found out that my fingers were mostly moving horizontaly, not vertically. Having a "cube" of characters instead of a triangle would probably improve typing.
I say: why re-invent the wheel? Just align it
-- Leeeter than leet
Ok hear me out here... Keyboard: Firstly the vertical keyboard really does cut down on arm tension while typing, you can tell by just feeling the way your hands would be positioned. However, as some of you pointed out, a flat keyboard may be more appropriate for certain applications which do not involve straight typing... now it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that the best way to combine both of these benefits is to allow your keyboard to rotate: ie the two vertical halves rotate to flat. (the rocket scientists were too busy fiddling with that wierd glove thing) This design improvement wouldnt be too hard and makes you wonder whether such a keyboard is really worth the amount they charge, because you seriously could saw a $10 keyboard in half, use alot of duct tape, and get to essentially the same thing. All this aside, I cannot deny the ergonomics that the verticality brings. The MOUSE, on the other hand, is just rediculous. I dont believe I can speak for all computer users when i say this, but I believe i represent at least 10%: although major movement of the mouse cursor may be due to moving your arm(barely), any fine mouse motions i make (and by fine i mean within 100 pixels) are done by keeping my palm stationary and moving the mouse with my fingers. If you'll notice, this is IMPOSSIBLE on the mouse that they have designed, because the base that you rest your palm on is attatched to the mouse. This is sort of like glueing your mouse to your mousepad and cutting a little hole in the bottom for the ball or the optic or whathaveyou. And while Microsoft would probly replace your mouse since there was no warning about the misuse of heavy duty glue on mice, I am rather attatched to my nifty x-files mousepad. Back to the point though, by making your palm no longer rest on the surface, but on the mouse itself, usability suffers greatly... ok im done ranting i just had to point out that apparent design flaw... do you guys agree?
Ok, I'll bite. Keyboards are outdated and we should move to gestures. Well if this is so, we ought to pick a relatively simple gesture, because we are trying to maximize the speed of input here, right? Afterall who wants a slower interface. So it has to be a set of motions requiring much less than a second to accomplish. Next the different types of motions should be fairly similar so that they can be quickly learned, and similar to each other to avoid to much memorization. The receptor for these gestures should be inexpensive, and include a reference on the device for what the gestures have. I know!!! The gestures can be quick motions with your finger, striking the receiver, which can hold the alphabet as possible inputs (easy to remember, forms all needed constructs), with the geography of the finger strikes indicating the wanted symbol. Like a keyboard!!!
Seriously, all of this "gesture" crap is buzz-wordd compliant horse shit. While it may help the "synergy" of your water cooler "paradigm", it does crap in real life. Let me guess you have an MBA? Or maybe you work in IT? Whatever it is, it is obvious you are not a computer scientist, or for that matter any type of scientist, or any other reasonably facultied person capable of logical thinking. Gestures may sound great when presented to idiots who don't know what the hell you are talking about, but in reality they are worse than worthless. It's like arguing for lightsabres over laser guns. Sure the lightsabre looks cool, but my laser gun can hit you from a quarter mile away, at the speed of light! Don't fix something with a worse alternative, end of story.