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10 Strange Computer Keyboards
DirectedImpact noted an amusing little compilation of
10 strange keyboards. Some of them you've probably seen before (the laser keyboard, the optimus OLED keyboard) and others are quite real (I actually had one of those split keyboards for awhile) and others are pretty out there: like the keyboard built into the lacy doily placemat thingee.
My personal fav weird keyboard is the ErgoDex DX1 Keyboard. Completely moveable keys, macros, etc. Recognfigure it however you like. Runs about $150.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
http://www.handykey.com/
the twiddler, I even still have one in the basement somewhere from 1993 when I was into Wearable computing. when you got used to it you could type really fast, it was fun writing C code when you were walking from the bust stop to your EE classes while looking in the LED alphanumeric hud.
Cool part it was a mouse as well.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
What about this minimalistic Microsoft keyboard?
A similar article, with a couple of other--even weirder, IMHO--classics can be found here.
The Orbitouch FTW!
"Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not tried it." -- Donald Knuth
The Happy Hacker. Most people who see it think it is strange. I have had IT people unable to log in as admin, becayse they were unable to figure out you needed 4 fingers for the three finger salute.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
It seems like the sites already been /.ed for me.
And I thought the Optimus keyboard was vaporware... really expensive vaporware.
I have one and it's great.
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination
- Douglas Adams
Hey, an article about 10 products that fits on one web page! I didn't think that was possible in this day and age!
There's also the Flexible Rubber Keyboard, which is not only easy to roll up and carry around with you, but is also waterproof (for shallow depths, anyways) and resistant to strong acid and alkaline environments. (But disintegrates fast with organic solvents like acetone, potentially leaving nothing but a few strands of copper wiring and gooey sludge.) I've never tried using mine underwater, but at least one of the reviews I've seen of them mentions using them in the bath. They're more resistant to being smashed by heavy-handed typists, and it's impossible to get crap-buildup underneath the keys since it's a sealed silicon unit.
They also come in a variety of colors and styles. My sister wants the pink one. she needs it considering how much pop my niece has dumped on their old keyboards, and the fact that they both type like they're trying to leave finger-shaped dents in the floor underneath the desk.
My favourite was the Microwriter, invented by the bloke that wrote/produced and directed Zulu
echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
"You rolled out in front of me a keyboard of millions of keys, millions and billions of keys that never end. And that's the truth Max, that they never end. That keyboard is infinite... and if that keyboard is infinite, then on that keyboard there is no music you can play. You're sitting on the wrong bench... That is God's piano." La Leggenda del Pianista sull'Oceano
ROVER! Come back here! I was typing, darn you!
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
I use TypeMatrix keyboards with Dvorak skins and I love them! I also have Plum keyboards but I don't really like them much. I also have laser projection virtual keyboards (their error rate isn't low though). From the article I liked the wearable keyboard, though. I will probably buy it, because I think it will be useful for as I use laptops while standing or walking. I have also seen AlphaGrip at shops and they are also interesting. Another company with interesting products is Maltron. Data hands look nice too. However, I have found my TypeMatrix a very good choice and I like it for its small size and a design which is comfortable while maintaining compatibility with Qwerty. This is important for me as I know to type fast in Dvorak only in English. For other languages I am still stuck with Qwerty for fast typing as I didn't bother to learn Dvorak for non-English languages. TypeMatrix has built-in Qwerty and Dvorak modes so I don't need any changes in software to make it switch between the two depending on which language I type.
the senseboard has to the weirdest frigging thing I've ever heard of...
Please stop showing the Optimus Keyboard on Slashdot. It is almost complete vaporware. They have continually reduced the number of keys they will use OLEDs on, and they have even switched from "planning" to use color OLEDs to using black and white OLEDs. They have continually pushed back their preorder and production dates. I recently read a story that summed up all their setbacks and delays, and made it clear that it's vaporware.
I can't find the link to that article, so since I don't have any sources at the moment be sure to take this with a grain of salt.
is any of these... http://www.datamancer.net/keyboards/keyboards.htm Andrew
This one should have made the list... it was one of the first adjustable ergonomic keyboards to come from a computer manufacturer. It also came with a disclaimer about RSI that was almost as heavy as the keyboard itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Adjustable_Keyboard
What the wikipedia article's photo fails to show you are the giant wrist rests that are attached to the main keyboard and number keyboard. A small ADB cable attached the external number keyboard to the main qwerty board and could be arranged on either side. It also provided audio controls and a full compliment of F keys.
I miss that keyboard... I had one and enjoyed it up until the point I no longer could use an ADB keyboard.
You can't forget about Kinesis's Contour. The weirdest yet most comfortable keyboard I've ever used. (Looked weird enough that MIB used it as Zed's keyboard at the office.) Saved me from carpel tunnel surgery about 5 years ago and I"m pain free to this day. http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/contoured.htm A little pricy ($300) but much cheaper than surgery.
The numbers are special the special symbols by default and you have to press shift to get the numbers or use caps lock. ;.
In addition to that . has switched with : and , has switched with
God knows why they went for this design...
http://www.daskeyboard.com/big.html ftw!
The DX1 Input System includes a Pad, a removable Tray, 25 numbered Keys with a storage tray, preprinted labels, an installation CD and a Quick Start Guide.
So with only 25 keys, which of the 26 letters of the alphabet do you like least? You could go Roman and use "V" for "U"'s, or drop F and use "PH" instead.
Or, you can be really revolutionary and go with the Decabet, which will even leave you enough keys for all 0-9 numerals and some punctuation too!
... I had one bolted to an Aeron, and for the first 6 months it was AWESOME, except for the touchpad mouse. Eventually it started to fall apart. But for awhile there it was the l33test ch33z EVAR.
Now, I'd like a wooden keyboard with no characters on it at all, just little nubs on the F and J keys.
The article claims that the keyboards are or will soon be on the market. However, the last keyboard is made by a now-defunct company called Fingerworks. The article claims that the keyboard is available on the Internet for $350, but I would be amazed if you could find one for under $600. How many other keyboards in the list are no longer available?
People will keep on trying to reinvent the wheel.
I've tried most of the keyboards shown (I like input devices). I'd rate them as follows, where '10' is a regular keyboard.
Combimouse -- 0/10. This is the one I haven't tried, but I simply don't see how it can possibly work.
Evolution -- 11/10. This was intended to be used in conjunction with an entire ergonomic environment. It's like a regular keyboard but with touchpads. Yay.
Wearable -- 1/10. This is nothing like as good as a chording keyboard such as the Twiddler.
Optimus Maximus -- 12/10. I've only ever used it very briefly and since it's exactly like having a regular keyboard (except that you can put pictures on the function keys) I'd say it has mainly coolness value. But a *lot* of coolness value.
Virtual Keyboard -- 3/10. Lack of tactile feedback renders this horrible to use.
SafeType -- 6/10. This is one of the many easy-to-make, hard-to-use ergonomic keyboards that came out around the time RSI got to be big news. It's a pain. I think it used to come with little mirrors so you could see what you were doing.
Tidy Tippist -- 1/10. I've never seen this before but *look* at it.
AlphaGrip -- 9/10. It's nice to use, but there are two problems; first, it's fussier and slower than the Twiddler. Second, the keys can't be remapped or assigned macros at all.
ElekTex -- 3/10. No tactile feedback, and easy to rumple it up inadvertently.
TouchStream -- 16/10. This is fascinating to use. As a keyboard, it sucks because you can't tell what key you pressed (if any). However, the gesture system is fascinating, intuitive, and extendable. The small version of the TouchStream, used in conjunction with a regulare keyboard, is fun; but if you do that you can't type and gesture in the same place which takes away most of the fluidity of the full sized TouchStream.
I'd say people have had a lot of trouble coming up with designs that really improve on the IBM-style keyboard. The Kinesis Advantage I'm using is the only unusual keyboard I've ever had that I thought it was worth switching to, and it must be about 12 years old by now; since then almost every 'advance' has involved either not having keys (no tactile feedback, impossible to know where your hands are and whether you pressed a key) or else cutting a keyboard up and bolting junk to it (a la Evolution and Combimouse).
The Kinesis Advantage is remappable, programmable, pedal-compatible for those who just have to be like that, it saves my fingers a few miles of movement a day and it lets me use the cursor keys and backspace without having to drag my whole hand off the home row and over to some other part of the keyboard. But I note that the Evolution (also from Kinesis) outsells the Advantage, because it's got gadgets and rounded edges and looks space-agey when bolted to your executive chair. That's the trouble with keyboards as a market -- since flat keyboards are pretty much good enough, any extra money that gets spent tends to go on bells and whistles rather than on advancing the basic design.
The Kinesis Advantage is the king of keyboards, by the way.
Whence? Hence. Whither? Thither.
I have to grant you that the DX1 is pretty neat, however my personal favorite is the DataHand. The idea is to place each finger in a little well with buttons in four directions and one at the bottom so your fingers never move more than a half inch in any direction. Using the mouse is handled by switching modes which then enables each index finger to control the mouse, one finger controls slow movement and the other fast movement. One of my coworkers picked it up to help deal with his Carpal Tunnel and swears by it. I would pick one up to if they weren't so expensive.
They also sell a chair mounted version.
They also missed the Goldtouch adjustable keyboard:
http://www.keyovation.com/pc-65-2-goldtouch-ergonomic-adjustable-keyboard-white.aspx
Been happily using one since 2004 and it's the best investment ever. For some pretty horrible time I thought I was going to have to leave IT in search of some other profession - not particularly comforting as I'd only graduated two years earlier.
It's expensive, but a lot cheaper than learning a new job - particularly when the NHS's attitude was "Oh, your wrists hurt. That's a shame. Spend the rest of your life taking ibuprofen and give us a shout if you develop a stomach ulcer."
Maybe slashdot will run an article on the top 10 used cars and I could sell that too ;)
I haven't posted in so long, my sig is out of date.
The Touchstream keyboards went out of production over a year ago. I had two of these for ages and loved them, then when both eventually 'wore out' I tried to get another - http://www.fingerworks.com/
[...]
FingerWorks products are no longer available for resale, and no further updates to software drivers will be developed.
http://harridanic.com
I'll post a follow-up from work, once I can check exactly what it's called (and maybe find a link), but maybe someone can beat me to it...
It's a keyboard which places the keys surrounding your fingers. Each finger will have a home-row key under it, and then a vertical key placed directly to the left, right, forward, and back.
I can't see myself actually learning it, but it's got to be the most ergonomic keyboard that still lets you type as fast as a standard 108-key. The way he describes it, when you start moving your finger towards the key you want to hit, you've probably already hit it.
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
Not five days ago we had an article on the 10 worst keyboards of all time. I'm beginning to think CmdrTaco has an affinity for lists of ten keyboards.
Bears don't normally eat things that talk and move backwards.
I'm typing this with one of the ultimate weird keyboards.
So, if you have an idea to make your own keyboard and mouse, how do you go about making them?
I was part of the initial preorder program for the Alpha Grip. I wanted one because of a repetitive stress issue, but it turned out to be worse for my condition than a normal keyboard. I still have it, and wish I could use it.
Furthermore it is hardly a long-time vaporware product, considering the fact that the before last year there were no displays available on the market that could do what they wanted for the optimus. On just two years they created a functional keyboard, and have been completely open in the development process, even if that would inform competition how far they were, I would dare any other company to do the same.
molmod.com - computing tips from a molecular modeling
A couple of other people mentioned it... the best keyboard design (for me) is the Kinesis contoured (bowl-shaped) keyboard.
Of course, I double the weirdness by typing Dvorak on mine. What's really weird, though, is the mental programming. I simply cannot type QWERTY on a Kinesis. I can, with a little zenning-out, type in Dvorak on a flat or laptop keyboard, though I type in QWERTY just fine on those.
The only problem with the Kinesis is the little rubber keys for F1-F12 and Escape. I really hated the Escape, so I programmed it to be swapped with the CapsLock key (which I never use, anyway).
I don't think they sell many of these things, and they cost too much, but people with RSIs swear by them.
Here's their webpage.
Not all "strange" computer keyboards need to be innovative technologies.
The MacBook Pro keyboard is weird enough to qualify. Backspace is called delete, there's two enter keys, and no delete key. Less odd, but still strange, are the eject button, missing print screen, and swapped "apple/windows" and alt keys. And this isn't an anti-mac rant or anything (since I am typing on my Macbook Pro now) but this keyboard is neither Macintosh "standard" or Windows "standard" - It's just odd.
To put it very simply: The French have french as a language. In comparison to english it contains different amounts of different letters.
Now. If you know how these keyboard configurations originally came into being (remember typewriters?), then it's quite normal for a different language to have a different layout of keys.
The layout was meant to be such that 2 letters often being used in conjunction with each other are spaced apart on the keyboard, thus avoiding the problem of getting your typewriter hammers stuck on each other when typing real fast. The french have the AZERTY keyboard, the english QWERTY, exactly for this reason. And since those were pretty much taken over for computer keyboards (where it would actually be *beneficial* to have often used letter combination as close to each other as possible), we're now stuck with all sorts of weird combinations.
Coz eternity my friend, is a long *ing time.
I remember on an episode of SeaQuest DSV these hacker kids had a keyboard that can only be described as having been punctured inward. Imagine 2 bowls next to each other, and the keys are on the bottom surface. Supposedly this was more ergonomic, but I can't see how. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Naturally, it wasn't listed in TFA.
Jesus! These keyboards give me a headache just looking at them! I'll stick with my common-or-garden 105-key job, thankyouverymuch.
pi = 2*|arg(God)|
TFA doesn't do the TouchStream justice. It's essentially the predecessor to multi-touch. In fact, TouchStream was acquired by Apple quite a while ago...
The TouchStream wasn't just a "keyboard plus mouse". It didn't have mouse buttons, instead recognizing up to 3 mouse buttons by tapping (different number of fingers). It could also do mouse-gestures, again with multiple fingers.
Very nifty device. Only disadvantage: If you can't touch-type, it's hard to use.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
From Acer
And they SOLD these, man. Yeah!
Acer! Harrr....!
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
... from a guy who fitted two keyboards to make A $14 "ergo" keyboard from surplus parts.
Quote from his site (including pictures of the process): "Part of my symptoms were pains in my elbows from being constantly bent, and pains in my wrists from being held rotated, in the plane of the keyboard. I wanted a keyboard which allowed my wrists and arms to be in their relaxed positions, i.e. at my sides. What I imagined was, basically, a saddle-bag keyboard."
CC.
TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)
I'm waiting for the 10 ten list of keyboard lists.
The world is made by those who show up for the job.
I, for one, would just like to thank the poster and the article author for making TFA one nice, shiny page, instead of 10 separate pages filled with ads, crap, and only a few lines of real text. I hope this is a trend that continues.
If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
http://www.matias.ca/halfkeyboard/
/Space-Q/ for "P" and /Space-G/ for "H".
This suppose to allow for one hand typing. If you need a letter that's on the other side of the keyboard, hold down the space key and press the corresponding finger placement. For example
Instead, virtually all laptops with touchpads have the mouse buttons below the touchpad, making it very awkward and error prone (like accidentally hitting the touchpad itself) if I try to stretch my thumb down to press them, unless my hand leaves the keyboard thus interrupting my flow.
Does anyone know the justification for mouse buttons under the touchpad? I cannot think of any benefit at all. Even a regular mouse (that the touchpad is presumably imitating) usually has the buttons near the top.
My favorite computer years ago (early 90s) was a Mac Powerbook with the mouse switch above the trackball and just below the space bar. I worked very efficiently with that arrangement, mixing typing and mouse movements seamlessly, and miss it. (Unfortunately I no longer have a Mac laptop and don't know how today's touchpads are arranged. Educate me.)
It does seem that the Thinkpad with pointing stick/touchpad combo has a second set of mouse buttons under the space bar, looking at photos. Something to consider for my next laptop purchase. But they still have a second set of mouse buttons below the touchpad - why? It seems a waste.
The RIGHT URL:
http://www.dansdata.com/fkeyboard.htm
slashes. sheesh.
deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
A useless top 10 list... I must be on digg.com
The first one:
Awefully bulky
The second one:
This will take some getting used to
The third one:
Lol, nintendo powerglove
The fourth one:
Shiny but very expensive
The fifth one:
I don't like the fact that there is no feedback. I NEED my feedback!
The sixth one:
It looks like something Playmobil makes
The seventh one:
Something for grandma perhaps?
The eight one:
You have GOT to be kidding me
The ninth one:
Again, no feedback
The tenth one:
Do NOT combine a keyboard and a mouse
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
DataHand: http://www.datahand.com/
Microwriter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwriter (Texas Instrument - 1980) - five keys PDA
One of my favorite keyboards to use, and I still use one:Apple Extended Keyboard. It's huge, loud, and quite tough. Mine is from 1991 and still works fine:) I would say this is up there with the IBM M Keyboard. They don't make them this tough anymore.
The lace keyboard is interesting. For a long while I was working on various wearable projects and always thought it would be great to have a one-handed keyboard (ala Twiddler) built into a garment - say the sleeve or pant leg. there might be some issues avoiding spurious keypresses when you bump into things (eg. dive into a foxhole) but it the keyboard would always be readily available, and hard to misplace.
You could put it into the pocket too, but you would get a lot of strange looks when you are typing.
I mentioned the idea a number of times to people at MIT, and other places doing fabric switches, but havent seen one yet.
If someone ever builds one of these, drop me an email!
There was a girl that I went to high school with that only had one hand. She had some kind of one-handed keyboard that had a thumb-operated toggle to switch between the keyboard's right side, left side, and numberpad. The funny thing about this: she was one of the fastest typists in our school at the time (around 70 WPM).
a "natural" keyboard which has laptop-style keys and all the insert/page up/arrow/numpad keys on the right hand side (or not present at all if no other alternative)? I'm looking for something that will allow me to keep my mouse very close to me while allowing me to keep my hands centered with my monitor and while holding my wrists in a natural position (elbows bent).
I think frogpad (http://www.frogpad.com) should be on this list. It is weird, but interesting.
I'm using a Griffin iMate right now, and I don't think the response is in any way noticeably slower than a typical USB keyboard. I type about 70-90WPM and have never had lag problems. I'm not a heavy FPSer, but I've played my share of Quake and UT with it, and can't really fault it (I am quite dreadful at virtually all games, but that's not really my equipment's problem).
I use the iMate with an Apple Extended Keyboard II (which itself has been in daily use since 1994 or so); I got the iMate in 2001 or thereabouts when the ADB-USB adapter I was using previously -- a Keyspan? -- refused to work with OS X and the manufacturer decided not to update it.
The only problem I've had with the AEKII/iMate combo has started in the last week or so, and it's the random inserting of characters into the keystream when I'm typing rapidly. I can't figure out if it's the keyboard, cable, or iMate that's on the fritz.
But at any rate, there is nothing inherent in ADB that means the response time will be low. It's possible for an ADB controller to actually poll a connected device at a greater rate than typical PS/2 keyboards (17ms, IIRC). Griffin makes a optional control panel that lets you play with the poll rate, so you can crank it up to whatever the device you're using supports; I think it will go down to 10ms. Of course you're potentially stacking it onto the USB bus' latency, but we're talking about a handful of milliseconds here. I don't think that's "quite low" response time.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
http://www.handykey.com/
I'm surprised this was not mentioned, yet a full-qwerty layout on-wrist keyboard was.
And the Twiddler has a TrackPoint, which is IMHO better than a trackball in a mobileesque application (a hit on the game pad chording 'keyboard').
As I walk through the valley of death I fear no one, for I am the meanest sonova bitch in the valley!
Can anyone explain why Decabet redirects to SNL on Wikipedia? (how fucking weird would that sentence sound to someone in 1908?)
Please stop stalking me, bro.
Or rather, the latest space-saver Model M with Windows keys and USB connector....
http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/en104bl.html
No sig today...
Typing normal text with zero force is indeed a bit awkward and having the ability mouse without moving hands away from position is useful but more awkward than a real mouse. Where this keyboard really shines are the gestures. e.g.:
- swiping ring+middle+index+thumb in one of 8 directions switch to the appropriate virtual desktop (in 9x9 grid, scrunching fingers together for desktop 5 in middle)
- dragging two fingers of left hand in 4 directions serve as repeated arrow keypresses
- ring+middle+index+thumb for various window/browser operations, rotate hand clockwise to close window, squeeze toward center to save, swipe left to go back in browser,right=forward,down=reload, etc
- instead of reaching far with pinky for shift/ctl/alt you can hold 4 fingers on home row, above or below to work as shift/ctl/alt
- various other shortcuts for keys on the edges,like hit thumb+pinky for enter, thumb+middle for ^C, left thumb+middle for backspace(which can be dragged leftwards to swipe text away)
Anyway, just some of the cool features that make up for the awkward typing. I wish they hadn't gone out of business.welkcome to;l the keuboard of thd futuree@!
In the Microsoft spirit of breaking compatibility, these idiots thought you would enjoy relearning how to type in order to type with a genuine Microsoft keyboard. 4,5,6 on the index finger of the left hand and 7 on the index finger of the right hand.
I think I'll stick with my keyboard from Inland. Sure, it's just a plain black keyboard, standard 110 key or whatever it is, and it isn't very fancy, but, then again, it only costs $8.00. I can't see spending as much as my monitor for a keyboard.
The lessons of history teach us - if they teach us anything - that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us.
Well my new wheel will have E-ink key caps with electoluminesent backlighting.* And rubber grips were appropriate decked out in a black and silver color scheme with translusent highlights. And les I forget ergonomic design with M keyboard feel.
*Changing the keyboard will be more than just a electronics thing.
Last I looked, it was $450 if you only wanted ONE OLED key and still $1500ish if you wanted all of the OLEDs.
At my school we had this old bat who went on and on about strict manners etc, she went nuts about posture and having the B key lined up with your Belly Button (god!) etc. Started teaching typing with Keyboards haha, we found them one day in a closet, hard to imagine us using those instead of Word! Its a big leap for a 70 year old woman, when she was teaching us, from old cast iron looking things, to electronic cheap plastic, to Pentium II's running NT. We learned through The Boring Booklet, she actually called it that, where you typed words over and over for minutes and minutes, a long time when its "better, better, better, better...", however her lack of knowledge was great, she didnt cotton on to copy and paste!
---
Here's photos of the Optimus Maximus that I took at CES 2008 last week. OLED = sweet, but the value is no way near the $1500 price-tag.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barl0w/2179127072/in/photostream/
(scroll through to the next photo on the right-hand side)
Looks like a collector's item. It is amazing how much of this sort of neolithic kit I have stashed in my attic.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
Try 2030, it has its own PgUp/PgDown/Home/End keys. It also has a third Shift key besides the spacebar. I have both 2020 and 2030 and I find 2030 better. I also use an external numpad with it as well, as 2030 is so small that it allows me to have multiple input devices on my desk instead of just a huge keyboard. In my current setup on the PC I am at the moment, I have a keypad and a little mouse on the left side, 2030 on the centre, and a trackball on the right. Only thing I want from 2030 is a centre Tab key (on OS level you can remap the centre Caps Lock to be a Tab, though). The matrix layout as opposed to the staggered columns layout is really one of the best selling points of TypeMatrix keyboards. Now if someone could put a 2030 into a ThinkPad laptop, that would be great...
The most important keyboard - Das Keyboard. Not only the sound is great but also the tactile feel is just awesome. And, as a matter of fact, you can write on them - fear my "EMACS"-labeled control key!
Wow, if I ever wear out my old keyboard, there might be a worthy replacement!
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.