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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."
I believe the fellow who invented the mouse also had a matching one handed keyboard that never caught on.
Also lets not forget the game oriented sort of keyboard devices like the Nostromo, and the claw. And I'm suprised noone mentioned things like the DVORAK and split-maltron keyboards and such that are designed to speed up touch typing rather than slow it down (turns out the gains are really offset by the amount of time it would take to have everyone relearn touch typing).
What ever happened to bluetooth in desktop peripherals?
I'm looking for new ones for a new computer I've built, and I want to get rid of as many cables as possible because it's going in a high-traffic part of my house.
The only keyboard/mouse set I've found with bluetooth is a Microsoft set. Looks nice, but I'm not keen on supporting them. Has anyone else done this search and had any luck finding anything?
BTW, I'm aware of other companies' proprietary wireless solutions. But if I'm getting bluetooth for my printer, PDA, etc., I'd like it for my keyboard and mouse as well. And with all the hype bluetooth has received I'd expect to see at least as many bluetooth sets as USB sets.
obviously no deficiencies vs. no obvious deficiencies
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I thought that device looked pretty interesting. Steep learning curve, but I'm really curious about what kind of speed a user could achieve if they got really proficient with it.
It looks small enought to be tucked into a laptop bag, and I would imagine it's fairly quiet as well. Could be very useful for taking notes at meetings or lectures, where you want to keep distracting noises to a minimum.
Of course, at $1295, I'll never get a chance to find out.
I am NOT a man!
I am a free number!
Hunt 'n peck typers are much less likely to suffer repetitive stress or CTS, since they dont hold their hands in the same position moving only their fingertips. All that hovering over the keyboard gives the wrists time to relax.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
I don't trust anyone who claims to make an ergo keyboard if I have to reach for the control key or the return key.
No, it's NOT a pr0n reference.
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination
- Douglas Adams
I plan on getting one of these babies, once they come out with more interfaces for it. especially since I tend to toss my keyboard as soon as it gets a little dirty.
If you mod me down the terrorists will have won
Right now we have reached the beginning of the transition away from button inputs to gesture inputs. There are of course many projects working on gesture inputs. The first that are really viable are the 2D ones from fingerworks.com. The next will be refined versions of the P5 Glove or the sensible phantom. I think eventually gesture based input will be the type used in Minority Report, (see the 1st and 10th images in the gallery).
Finally, I think we will move on to direct input. It's been shown that people can control very simple objects, (move a ball to the top or bottom of the screen), with electrodes connected to their head. Unfortunately so far it has not been responsive enough to see application. Input may also be of the form in Ghost in the Shell where people have wireless connections through implants in their body and also physical jacks in the back of their neck. (Another thing shown in the movie are fingers that come apart on wires to type. Rather than that I'd expect a low-power data transmission in the fingers so set the fingers in appropriately shaped cavities and have the data transmitted across the skin.)
Keyboards are nice. They have worked for a long time, but it is time to replace them. Slowly we can transition from keyboards, through the 2D gesture inputs of fingerworks to 3D inputs along the lines of minority report at which time, hopefully, direct input methods will be viable.
I do security
At work I use a Happy Hacking Keyboard. At home, I use an IBM Model M (part# 1391472, birthday July 23, 1987). I love the compact layout of the Happy Hackin Keyboard and I love the positive click and rock solid (no make that titanium billet solid) feel of the M. Would somebody please, please make a USB, HHKb Lite layout, buckling spring keyboard? I'd be willing to pay up to US$400 for a keyboard like this. Provided, of course, it's as tough as my M. (I intend to pass my M down to my children.)
There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself
-Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye
Why, exactly, is having QWERTY keyboards a bad thing?
Sure, there are variations. Split key keyboards, the funky vertical keyboards, and the Microsoft Ergonomic keyboard, the best keyboard of all time (I have four).
But, all of these keyboards have QWERTY, despite the objections of many who think that there's a better way.
This is really a lesson in interface design. An interface becomes embedded in the subconscious quickly, and it's hard to change once it's in place.
This is why steering wheels, and brake and accelerator pedals haven't changed much in 100 years.
The keyboard and the mouse are the true interface to modern computers. It's not really Windows, Linux, and OSX, it's the damn things that you put hand to in order to make your computer work.
The UI has gone through about 15 years of evolution, but will eventually stop evolving. Keyboard design has been mostly stagnent, and the changes that are made after the first couple of years are usually the result of new technology (examples: Function keys, mouse wheels, fixed macro buttons (e-mail, calculator, etc.).
The UI (the on the screen) should be the same way too. Making radical changes to the UI - changes that seem to take place with every iteration of Windows or Apple's OS, confuse users and make things more difficult. In theory, these UI's should evolve into something more or less constant. The problem with this, of course, is economics and the needs of marketing. Hopefully, people will eventually come to recognize that they don't need a new version of Word this year, or most any other year.
144l. ph34r my 133t l3g4l 5k1lz!
BUT: it's not because of the strange design. It's nice, but after the adaption phase, I'm at about the same speed as before (albeit it feels better then before).
The real feature of the keyboard is its reprogrammability. I can remap all the keys, define macro commands, everything directly on the keyboard, without any drivers (it's a regular USB keyboard for the computer). It works fine for all OSes that support USB keyboards. You can plug it into another computer, and all your macros are still there.
It's really a great thing, especially if you want to scare visitors :) (that smilie is mapped to F1 btw, no need for shifting around)
Not too long ago, I made a right-handed dvorak keyboard for my Dad, who had a stroke 3 years ago.
;)
If you're in the US, just drop in on a Goodwill store and pick up a keyboard with interchangeable keys. Find your nearest flat-head screwdriver, and commence to modding.
If you need to get up to speed using it, check out KP Typing Tutor. It's free.
And I'm sure you can find a mod'able keyboard with a matching key cover as well
You are checking your backups, aren't you?
written launguage - 8,000 years old.
spoken word - as old as mankind.
gestures - part of the animal kingdom.
There you have it, computers by recognizing speach and gestures are bucking the communications trend. Who would have thunk that the silicone gods could not come up with a better way of interacting with our computers than a bunch of grunts and shifts?
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Well, you've got me beat. My IBM model M2 (born 1-DEC-94, P/N 73G4614) was purchased at a computer surplus in trade for a brand-new keyboard + $5. Why the trade? Because I had just returned from a "big box" store where I purchased a brand-new PS/2 keyboard without realizing how annoying the "Windows keys" would be. I have no use for those keys, not even in Windows. They make ctrl and alt feel... wierd and confusing. The service at the surplus store has always been so friendly, I felt better giving them a brand new kb than I did paying a 20% restocking fee to the big box. Just the other day I got a 1200 dpi scanner from them for $15 and it works great. An institution like that deserves my support... anyway, I digress.
The only reason I had to get a new keyboard was because my Acer was getting sticky, and the AT to PS2 converter broke off. That converter always caused intermittant keyboard errors anyway because it was always jiggling loose.
My IBM is almost as comfortable as the Acer. The only thing I miss is the fat enter key, and having slash just to the left of a small backspace key. Otherwise, my IBM is just like the Acer, which I think is about as good as keyboard layout can get. The IBM has as its saving grace the fact that it's PS/2, so I never get any wiggle-outs or keyboard errors.
I've tried, but I can't find anybody who makes "fat enter key, no windows keys, full sized with numeric keypad" USB keyboards. That animal just doesn't seem to exist. I see a PS/2 to USB converter in my future...
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
Dunno if these are exactly what you're looking for, but...
e yboards.html
http://www.ergostar.com/split.shtml
http://www.comfortkeyboard.com/ergomagic_tm.htm
This one is adjustable, but doesn't come apart:
http://www.keyalt.com/keyboards/goldtouch.htm
There are links to several (including some of the above) here:
http://www.tifaq.com/keyboards/adjustable-split-k
DennyK
Mine came with my parents' long dead IBM PS/2 model 30 (a 80286-10, for those who can remember that far back). Incept date: 1987. Still working perfectly after 16 years of daily constant use, happily attached to my desktop.
Beat that =)
Switching back and forth between US-qwerty and Dvorak is reasonably easy, although I don't do that very often nowadays. All computers that I use regularly have Dvorak installed. It takes a few phrases to readjust. I'm still not used to Swedish qwerty, which has all the punctuation marks elsewhere as well as an extra physical key, but that's partly because I never use it.
Strangely, I have much bigger problems with small differences, such as the position of CapsLock and Ctrl, or the location of the "\". On my Dvorak version, ctrl is left of the "A" and caps is moved to one of the Windows keys that I never use. I'd rather type with standard qwerty than a standard Dvorak with a Caps where I expect a Ctrl. Who uses a caps lock anyway?
So in your situation I'd choose one layout (Dvorak with extensions for accented letters) for latin alphabet and one for cyrillic and carry a floppy with me with drivers/keytables to convert every computer that I work with.
Avantslash: low-bandwidth mobile slashdot.
Dvorak user here, too. I switched to it mostly because I couldn't break myself from the habit of looking at the keys with the QWERTY layout. I susupect I make a few more typos, but I'm looking at what I'm typing (mostly, I can stare off into space while typing a little nowadays) and can quickly correct.
Plus, it's a good security measure to keep coworkers from messing with my machine!
And, using Dvorak layout seems to earn a pretty high geek factor amongst the masses.
- Jasen.