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Triangular Buttons Make On-Screen Keyboards More Usable
As someone targeted for perpetual failure by the designers of most keyboards, I'm happy to read
The Register's report that "A British inventor has submitted a patent application for a wacky touchscreen keyboard design which, he claims, could spell the end for accidental key presses."
Illt maek wruting furst psost easzier
Is to get rid of the damned, usless, pain in the ass keycaps key.
As for the keyboard itself, seems I've seen that in some si-fi movie.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
That'll be the day.
From the article:
Baker told Register Hardware today that each triangular key has significantly more dead space around it than youâ(TM)d find on a standard Qwerty layout.
Assuming the keys have the same pitch, then that means the active triangular zones are SMALLER than normal keys occupying the same overall keyboard area, making it even HARDER to type accurately, or, in other words, this trains the user to be more careful with their finger placements. It isn't magic (like standard rollover logic in keyboards), it's behavioral modification.
Funny, I was always taught that programs and computers should be designed to make things easier for the user, not harder.
Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.
"For this to happen, he requires Appleâ(TM)s aid, something he described as "very difficult to get"."
They would probly have better luck if it was smaller circular keys, since that seems to be more Apple's cup of tea.
I'll wait to upgrade to a touch screen when my Model M ceases to function. Seeing as that will be never, I suppose touch screens will be an upgrade that just won't be happening for me.
Actually it misses the point, since "significanty more dead space between keys" is only a feasible solution if you have a physically larger screen. He's effectively making the keys smaller, thus harder to hit, and the "dead space" is just space where nothing happens = confused users.
Next thing we know, someone will be inventing a "capacitive stylus" touting "higher precision" while using your iPhone. Well yes, but that's SO not the point of a capacitive, finger-friendly touchscreen.
Just add unique bumps/shapes to the edges of the triangles, and you don't have to look while texting either. It would be quite a bit better than rectangular buttons, because as you slide your thumb around, the triangular gaps would make the shapes rather easy to "read" by feel. There - now if anyone wants prior art on the inevitable patent dispute over this basic idea, this post is the prior art you can say you derived your product from. Ryan Fenton
...based on the IP they acquired from FingerWorks. You can do really sophisticated error-correction if you're getting not only a stream of characters, but the exact location of the press, contact area, dwell time, and possibly more. So, with a virtual multi-touch keyboard, you can say "Okay, that looked like an R, but the contact was actually most of the way over toward E, and the previous two letters were T-H, so I'm going to go ahead and make it an E."
I know it'll rankle the manual-transmission crowd, but I've been using a FingerWorks keyboard for years, and most of the time, it's absolutely spooky how well the autocorrect works. (Just don't try high-intensity vi work.)
However, Baker believes that the virtual keyboard's full potential will only be realised if it's integrated into every area of the iPhone that uses a keyboard, such as SMS and email, rather than developed as a standalone application. For this to happen, he requires Apple's aid, something he described as "very difficult to get". So, for the time being at least, the Crocodile Keyboard for touchscreen phones remains just a dream.
That's just a blog with a scaled down version of the image and linking back to The Register.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
being a marketing tool.
-
For a physical keyboard, this seems reasonable - if you eliminate edges where the keys touch, each other, then you're less likely to accidentally press two keys at once. But for a virtual keyboard like on the iPod, it doesn't matter if you "touch" two keys at once with your finger - the software can determine which one you were actually closer to, and only register that.
While there are certainly drawbacks to a touchscreen, such as lack of tactile feedback, this is one area where they have an advantage - a larger percentage of usuable surface area, as touches that would be a multiple button mash on physical keyboards can be unambiguously mapped to a single key in software.
Is the area designated as a button always the same size as the graphic of the button ? .. why couldn't you do the same thing showing square buttons but sensing triangular or smaller circular areas ? .. You could also use color in the button graphic to target the hotspot, fading to the buttton edges.
waiting for ad.doubleclick.net
They may make commercials about butt-dialing. But on the day after I got my iPhone, I hung up on a customer and dialed the veterinarian's office all without being aware I was doing it--with the side of my face. I therefore invented face-dialing. It took several days to get used to the keyboard, but it took longer to accustom myself to not mashing down on crucial icons while talking. I can use the keyboard efficiently now, but I suspect the learning curve would have been less with the keyboard described in the article. And it's not a mental learning curve. It's a physical skill like typing on a full sized keyboard.I'd also like to see them add a very slight lip around the perimeter of the screen where the silver metal is located. It would be a tactile reminder to keep the damned thing away from my face.
"Here's what's happening. You're starting to drive like your Dad..." - Red Green
With all that space between the keys, there's room for even more buttons!
In theory, practice and theory are the same. In practice, they're not.
This reminds me of the klingon displays from startrek
... wouldn't diamonds be better?
That is all.
I made the image fit the screen (CTRL + [+]) and, well that was it. It felt no different. It looked no different.
Surely it's just a matter of practice when using large on screen keyboards?
Aim for the top of the triangle? Why bother outlining the keyboard letters at all?
This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
As a programmer, any time I hear hype like this ". . .could spell the end for accidental key presses." I laugh a little.
We will NEVER spell the end for accidental use of technology by using more technology.
It kind of falls into the old maxim "Try to make anything idiot proof, and the world with generate bigger idiots".
-JWR
I'm more upset that he got a patent for changing the shapes from square to a triangle. This doesn't show any real creativity to even constitute a design patent. Its like a themed keyboard. Like if someone decided to make a keyboard using various shapes just for style. I doubt that could be patented either.
Interesting idea until a lazy programmer decides that detecting a triangular shaped area from a set of coordinates is too fussy and just divides the key areas up into boxes.
Coding with assembly is like playing with Legos. Coding an application in assembly is like building a car with Legos.
This has nothing to do with the main reasons that people like me cannot use tiny keyboards.
0. When I press down, my finger pad overlaps way more than one key. therefore, I am prone to make mistakes.
1. I can't see through my finger to the keyboard if my finger covers 2 or more keys, therefore I am prone to make some more mistakes.
2. No, I don't need to see the keys, but I at least need to be able to feel their delineations in lieu of that, and since the thing has no tactile measurable quality like a real keyboard, I am prone to make yet more mistakes.
I can work a blackberry keyboard a little because at least i can feel the difference in the keys vs. spaces. Without some physical delineation or press-from-behind type capacity, I don't think any tiny touchscreen keyboard will be any more for me usable than any other one.
stuff |
Select * form ....
I must do that 100 times a day!!!
Error reading device 'Signature'. (A)bort, (R)etry, (F)ail?
Seriously, this shouldnt not be considered a patentable design.
Good-bye
Triangular Buttons Make On-Screen Keyboards More Usable
Dasher Makes On-Screen Input More Usable
If it's just for the deadspace, then smaller keys should work the same, right? So what's special about the form of triangles? The article doesn't mention that. Also not how the odd layout comes about. With a triangle layout, I would've expected them to have alternating directions, because only then is is really less likely to hit the other key, because the broad end you're trying to hit would be bordering small ends, if you get what I mean.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
Does using such an auto-correcting keyboard make it harder to type correctly when you move to a "normal" keyboard? Something bothers me about devices that train me to make more unaware mistakes.
I've actually pulled them off out of frustration from a couple of keyboards.
In my defense, it was probably before they were mapable...
I hope someone comes up with a deformable screen, that allows tactile responses. I hate looking at a keyboard while typing.
Oh, and it took me five seconds, to come up with a better design. I noticed that the space around the keys is, so you do not accidentially hit other keys. Well, wanna know what else prevents that? Bigger keys! ^^
So essentially, they are just making the keys bigger, but not all of it touchable. I would make the triangles point upwards, and fill a third of the empty spaces too. But still only react when touching the inner, downwards pointing triangle. And enforce minimum sizes for both triangle areas, in the patent license.
Because with those keys, companies will just try to fit more keys onto the screen, until you can't hit them properly again. Which was the source of the problem in the first place. :)
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
It's only an application, you have plenty of time to object.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
"Pen Pals"?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pen_Pals_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)
I'm recalling an episode or two in Trek where various alien control consoles had triangular keyboards. How anyone can get a patent will be interesting...
But, even if not (episode, or patent interests...), here are some Trek and other Sci-Fi alien writing fonts...
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/4965/tfont.html
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/4965/tfont.html#kazonf
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Because the triangle is one of the strongest shapes and distributes weight very well, it would be a very strong keyboard.
I've seen posters talking about combining this with predictive text, but what about using voice recognition instead? A little software magic, a good dictionary, and you could dictate the thing without having to worry about mashing the wrong key.
Throw in a text-to-speech interface on the other end and it would be that much easier!
"Make it ten--I am only a poor corrupt official."
--Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains), Casablanca
Why triangles? Why not circles or small squares, just with more dead space between keys than usual?
Student: Is it true that the foundation of the universe is paradox?
Master: Well, yes and no.
Some might find this interesting. This is the moderation email I got for the orginal comment. Not a political comment, not calling anyone names. Sure as hell not dissing Linux or Macs or Windows or Obama.
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Just as sure as I say I don't really care someone will say I obviously do. But WTF ever.
What is reallying interesting is that some people appear to have some serious emotional investment in the caps lock key.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
Look around your office, you'll probably find lots of keyboards with concave keys. While that may have been necessary with mechanical IBM's, it's counterproductive today. Flat keys are excellent, and avoid lots of the accidental double key presses that normally happen when you touch the edge of a concave key. Without that sharp edge on the side, there's nothing pushing your finger into the adjacent key. I have somewhat large fingers, and find that slightly convex keys (like on the z-board for example) are more comfortable because the impact of each key is spread over a larger surface of the finger tip.
I don't expect a a pointed design to catch on, or even work well. If a poor design inspires real designs I don't see it hurting however.
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World"
1 John 4:14
The inventor commented on how he would like to do that with the iPhone, but then said it would be hard to get the cooperation from Apple.
I suggest he look into the jailbreaking dev community. There are already a few dozen custom keyboards you can put on your iPhone that will fully replace the keyboard and is universal for all apps. I believe there is a jailbreak app specifically for this that uses plugin-based keyboard themes. I can't remember the name off the top of my head, but it's there.
The core of this invention seems to be that an on-screen keyboard with more space between the keys leads to less typing errors.
Well, duh!
<sarcasm>
I've got an "invention" too! (written in English, because I don't speak Patentese):
</sarcasm>
Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.
... has pretty consistently been toward smaller and smaller keyboards, this is probably doomed to failure even though it's a virtual one. It's a rather obvious observation, in any case, that adding extra "whitespace" around keys would reduce the chance of mis-strikes.
I also don't grok the whining about his not being able to fully integrate it into the iPhone. I have several third-party virtual keyboards for my Pocket PC (Windows Mobile), and I can select and use whichever one I want, and do so across all applications, as well as be able to switch between them at will. You mean the same capability doesn't exist in the iPhone?
The one thing I consistently see wrong with touch interfaces is that they are all implemented as if they were a conventional GUI to be used with a mouse cursor. Unlike a tiny mouse cursor, when you are pressing a non-tactile screen with a finger you can't see or feel what it is your finger is pressing on. The only time I have seen this accounted for is with the touch interfaces for the more recent Tektronix oscilloscopes. The buttons are purposely kept large and their labels are kept at the top edge rather than the center so that you can read the text while you have your finger in the way.
Another peeve for lefty's in particular is right side scrollbars. These suck when you want to scroll with your left hand and end up blocking what it is you're trying to scroll through. It's unfortunate that Palm never got this right (there were hacks to fix it up to OS3) and no other PDA manufacturer has gotten clued into the need for configurable vertical scrollbar positioning.
I am becoming gerund, destroyer of verbs.
I was always taught that programs and computers should be designed to make things easier for the user, not harder.
Making "things" easier can make other, more important things harder. Case in point: The "every user is an administrator" policy of Windows 9x and the "new accounts default to local administrator" policy of Windows XP led to users unwittingly delegating authority over their PC to botnet operators.
I think programs should be designed to make mistakes harder, which makes the legitimate task easier. So Windows Vista and Ubuntu create limited users who can elevate to administrator when needed. And if you hit a dead space between keys in this layout or in any other layout with adequate dead space, you'll get the immediate feedback of no key-click sound and no letter appearing, as opposed to seeing only later that the wrong letter appeared.
Although this seems like it might be useful on a physical keypad, TFA talks mainly about using it on the iphone.
I can't imagine how this would help for the iphone because as stated the keys still occupy the same amount of space. This being added to a touch screen would make things worse in the sense that you would be hitting blank space instead or the wrong key instead of just the wrong key. The only added benifit might be a placebo effect of making users more accurate of where they touch their fingers by making the target appear smaller.
So the design fails, since my goal is to hit the RIGHT key.
Your goal is to know 1. whether you hit a key or didn't hit a key, and 2. whether you hit the right or wrong key. If you hit no key, there is feedback: no key click from the speaker and no glyph appearing in the text box. The thinking is that you can hit no key, realize what happened, and hit the right key faster than you can hit the wrong key, hit other keys, realize you made a spelling error, backspace, and retype.
Would it break the patent if I made the key shapes into hexagons and just put a gap between them?
From the article:
Baker told Register Hardware today that each triangular key has significantly more dead space around it than youÃ(TM)d find on a standard Qwerty layout.
[...] making it even HARDER to type accurately [...]
Bingo!
I predict that the smaller keys will cause users to hit the keys less often, and that the decrease in key hits will be spread out uniformly randomly.
One consequence is that there will be fewer false hits (you unintentionally hit a key). But unless the user has a sub-50 accuracy percentage (true hits vs. false hits), the decrease in false hits will be smaller than the increase in false misses (you miss a key you intended to hit).
You'll make fewer errors of one particular kind, but overall you'll make more errors.
(at least until you adjust to the new shape; then you might approach your regular old typing speed and accuracy)
HexaBoard
I'm surprised no one has picked up on QWERTY being deliberately designed to slow down typing.
Best way to speed it up is to switch to DVORAK.
Nice idea though.
I've seen triangular keys on a touchpad before. I think may in turn have been enclosed in a circle. Can't remember where I saw this, but the image is fairly clear in my mind.
This ad space for rent.
funny, when i saw the screenshot it wasn't what i had pictured in my head. seems more obvious to me to have the keys alternating between triangles pointing up and triangles pointing down. that would be a more efficient layout imho. since ppl would be drawn towards pressing at the base of the triangle, so it should reduce typing errors. just my 2c...
When using a tiny touch screen with pressure detection, you could have a "magnifying glass" that shows part of the keyboard larger. When you move your finger gently on the screen, the magnified area of the keyboard moves, and when you press harder the key is pressed. There - now if anyone wants prior art on the inevitable patent dispute over this basic idea, this post is the prior art you can say you derived your product from. Anonymous Coward
On the other hand, as a pessimist I believe that this has already been patented despite the fact that it proved absolutely unusable when they tested it :)
A shark has multiple rows of teeth just like the picture, and everyone knows anything is better with sharks with friggen' lasers on them!
or you know, braille
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Baker told Register Hardware today that each triangular key has significantly more dead space around it than youÃ(TM)d find on a standard Qwerty layout. Consequently, users are more likely to press the correct key each time they tap.
So, if the keys were tiny little dots, in theory, less spelling errors? wtf.
caps key to "hold down" another key.
Wouldn't that be an awesome "autorun" for W (or A as is my asdf preference instead of wasd)
How much is your data worth? Back it up now.
That's one of the really nice things about Android... the soft keyboard uses a totally open API that any 3rd party can develop too and give the user the choice to use.
tasty electronic music vittles
Is this idea better than a design -- and -- new and useful (for regular keyboards)? Keep the raised squares and the angled edge on all four sides without printing the characters on the top of the key. Then, using an application to reprogram the position of the characters into any sequence the typist desires, the mechanical redesign would have the characters appear in a electronic display on the bottom angled edge (or the pad or lower half, etc., and viewable by the typist), perhaps being on a small screen (lcd or something better?) and capable of being "lit up". So, for example, you may want to reposition the alphabet (based on your language) to be left-to-right or right-to-left and top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top; or the vowels in one location and the consonants in another; or, perhaps they could be positioned by letter usage, say from highest to lowest (in English, it's probably e,t,a,i,o,n,); or a trained traditionalist would leave it alone, since viewing the keyboard is unnecessary. And so on. And of course, those who prefer to hunt-and-peck could either have a field-day or leave it as-is. After all, the days of using the qwerty format to slow down the typist due to mechanical limitations existing in the original type-writer are over. It remains mostly because of tradition and the hassle of making the change to a better or faster format now allowed by electronic keyboards. This might be a solution that would make it easier to make the change. So what is missing here possibly making me be: clueless? Has it already been tried and found impractical; or is it on the market at a prohibitive price? However, if not and there is general agreement this does have potential, I realize putting it in the public domain by posting it here on Slashdot has nullfied any chance of making an original claim.
Yesterday's Weirdness is Tomorrow's Reason Why
I want them star-shaped, with one of Elton John's eyes in the center of each. That'll make typing a fun activity for the kids, promote literacy.