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Five Finger Keyboards
Tijaska writes "Mobile devices are becoming more capable all the time, but their small screens and keyboards limit their usefulness. This article shows ways in which five buttons located on the edges of a mobile could be used in combinations to generate 325 or many more different characters, making a full-sized keyboard unnecessary. If that sounds like a tall story, remember the case of the retired 93 year old telegraph operator who used a Morse key to send a text message faster than a teenager could send it via mobile phone (see here)."
I prefer the Twiddler. After some practice, it's actually pretty easy to use.
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This is an interesting concept, but I feel that a true standard will need to lend familiarity to the infamous qwerty keyboard.
The reason qwerty was adopted as a standard was not for efficiency, but because kingpin (at the time) IBM decided that when electronic buffers were introduced to typewriters and there was no longer a need to obscure keys on the keyboard in order to prevent mechanical jams, a keyboard layout they were currently producing would become the standard.
Since then, every typing class, every default layout and the vast majority of keyboards have been based upon the qwerty layout.
While some people on the bleeding edge of technology are willing to learn something new (I personally am proficient on Dvorak, Palm Graffiti, phone texting, and blackberry) A real standard of input will arise when the device is both similar to the qwerty equivalent and small enough to take along in your pocket. The average users are more willing to learn something slightly different than new altogether.
Well, back to rejecting software patent applications.
There are services for hearing impaired people, where they have operators watching TV and adding subtitles to the programs in real-time. (Obviously the subtitles will a few seconds behind the audio, but it's good enough to let you watch the news).
Those operators use chording keyboard (though with more than 5 keys), set up so that particular key chords map to common phrases. Typing this way is a lot faster than typing on a conventional keyboard, but it obviously is a lot of effort to learn.
So yes, it does work.
I worked with blind and partially sighted kids who use 5 finger keyboards. They use a 'chord' system, like a guitar or piano.
The chords kinda look like the letter you are spelling, so to create a J you would hold the keys that kinda make that shape, I forget the exact sequence, but it was pretty easy to use.
But, the 5 finger keyboard was used like a regular keyboard, it was placed on a desk. I dunno how this would work if you had to hold it at the same time. Much harder I'd imagine.
monk.e.boy
Open source, flash charts
we do :)
Q codes, internationally recognized 3 letter codes beginning with the letter Q. Used in the Ham community, but there are Q codes for aeronautical, nautical, etc. use as well. It is possible to hold a meaningful conversation with someone, regardless of what language you speak.
"I grow my right hand thumbnail long, file it down so I have a bit of an edge leaning left"... Gross. Move it to your pinky nail, and I'm sure the number of your "friends" with similar abnormalities will grow faster than you expect. I'll leave it to you to figure out why ;)
TODO - Insert Creative/Witty Signature
People who play the guitar do the same sort of thing.
You'll notice they have long nails on the right hand for strumming and picking, and shortened nails on the left so they don't get in the way.