Slashdot Mirror
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.
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
I have one and it's great.
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination
- Douglas Adams
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.
"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.
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 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!
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."
I don't think it's vapor ware in the same sense that Duke Nukem Forever is. From what I understand they were having problems with production and couldn't make enough or something. I do know that they were planning on releasing the keyboard again in December on a limited production run. I'm not sure if that happened. But yes I believe recalling they won a vaporware award. Remember though that winning the vaporware award doesn't mean that a product won't come out it just means it's missed multiple release dates, and hasn't come out yet. So if the December production run did complete successfully it would no longer be vaporware.
ars played with the full keyboard recently, complete with full color keys. seems like it is real, but freakin' expensive.
I've got a BAT keyboard, I've found it's totally useless unless you don't mind fiddling about with rebooting and unplugging/replugging until the keyboard actually works correctly each time you want to use it.
If you switch to Dvorak, I would recommend keeping an index next to your monitor rather than switching your keylabels -- that way you learn proper touchtyping while switching, which speeds you up and helps your posture. And when a friend wants to type, you can just switch the OS back to Qwerty and let them go.
A Frogpad strapped to the underside of the arm together with a Smartphone/PDA has always sounded to me like an excellent combo, since it's the only platform (not counting an on-screen keyboard, which I have always disliked) that can be operated with one free hand while standing.
Anybody ever tried this?
A useless top 10 list... I must be on digg.com
Well, first, you need to mine some copper ore...
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."