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Windows 10 is Adding SwiftKey, Laying the Groundwork For Dual-Screen Tablets (cnet.com)

Posted by msmash on from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.

Sean Hollister, writing for CNET: Microsoft-owned SwiftKey was one of the first virtual keyboards to offer intelligent, predictive swipe-typing on Android and iOS phones, and now Microsoft has announced that it will become the default keyboard for touchscreen-equipped Windows 10 computers as well. "SwiftKey will now power the typing experience on Windows when using the touch keyboard to write in English (United States), English (United Kingdom), French (France), German (Germany), Italian (Italy), Spanish (Spain), Portuguese (Brazil), or Russian," reads a portion of Microsoft's blog post. Which could be pretty handy if the rumors are true: Microsoft is reportedly planning to ship several new Surface tablets this year, including a new low-cost Surface slate and the dual-screen "Andromeda." Dual screens were a theme among laptop manufacturers at Computex last week, too.

41 comments

  1. Okay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Guess that is okay!

  2. No Touch Feedback? by Zorro · · Score: 1

    How are you supposed to touch type without any feedback from the keys?

    You will be reduced to hunt and peck and very short documents.

    1. Re:No Touch Feedback? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anyone who knows how to type has little use for "virtual keyboards". For one thing, perhaps the most important, you can't do "home" keys on a screen.

    2. Re:No Touch Feedback? by youngone · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't worry too much about it. Microsoft will find a way to make this un-buyable.

    3. Re:No Touch Feedback? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just wipe a couple boogers on the screen, it's no big deal.

    4. Re: No Touch Feedback? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why can't you do a home key on a touch screen?

    5. Re: No Touch Feedback? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Totally man. Their products are so unusable that theyâ(TM)re worth a measly $850 billion.

    6. Re:No Touch Feedback? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      so - when you're faced with a tablet and no physical keyboard, how do you type?

      Do you just use your overwhelming sense of superiority to shame the text into appearing?

    7. Re:No Touch Feedback? by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      Put your wrists on the edge of the tablet, and have your fingers memorize the distance to the keys (virtual keys). It sounds miserable but you can do it (and yes it is miserable).

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    8. Re:No Touch Feedback? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who cares if the typing works or not. If it is touchscreen feature, it must be good. I'm 100% certain MS will force push this as a replacement to physical keyboard to all Win10 laptops which happen to have touchscreen too. They will force everyone to change back to physical keyboard, but they will continue doing this change again on every update.

    9. Re: No Touch Feedback? by Misagon · · Score: 2

      I think he meant homing nubs on the home row's keys. They are used to find the right hand position by touch alone.
      Look closely at the F and J keys on a physical keyboard!

      I think a bigger issue though is that you can't use muscle memory from physical keyboards on touch screens. Physical keyboards have a very specific layout with each key allocated a 3/4" by 3/4" square and rows being offset 1/2 and 1/4 key. Even Apple's keyboards adhere to that standard (except slightly smaller on the vertical).
      Touch screen keyboards very rarely have keys exactly that size, size, shape and staggering. A touch screen would have to be at least 25 cm / 10" wide to fit a regular keyboard layout, which few do.

      --
      "We mustn't be caught by surprise by our own advancing technology" -- Aldous Huxley
    10. Re:No Touch Feedback? by Misagon · · Score: 2

      Indeed. Most current Microsoft tablets are neither functional tablets nor functional PCs but still crippled half-arsed compromises.

      The devices need ports, to be able to receive power and forward power to a device that has a single USB lead.
      I often use a 8" Lenovo Yoga Tab with Windows 10. The hardware is pretty good except for having only one port. I want a proper OS on it that allows me to do file management.
      But Windows' user interface in "tablet mode" is half-assed, and would be completely unusable if the device in question did not support a pen to simulate a mouse. Then there is the issue of screen scaling.
      Windows 8 was released to developers in 2011 already. That's SEVEN YEARS in which they could have made it proper.

      --
      "We mustn't be caught by surprise by our own advancing technology" -- Aldous Huxley
    11. Re:No Touch Feedback? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you're supposed to dictate to cortana and it will 'type' for you.. because microsoft wants to harvest everything.

    12. Re:No Touch Feedback? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He said "little use" not "no use".

      Virtual keyboards are ok for short messages. If you have more to write then you'd probably switch to a device with a proper keyboard.

    13. Re:No Touch Feedback? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FWIW, you can do home rows on touch screen, along with the little nubs that tell you where you are. They sell transparent overlays that have raised nubs on F and J (or D and K, if you're used to one of those sorts), and have very small raised lines between the keys. You could make one yourself very easily:
      * get a screen protector
      * use clear silicone or hot glue to make the lines and bumps where needed
      * apply over keyboard area

      For comfortable typing though, the most important aspect to me is having the display be far enough from the keyboard that I'm not hunched over the thing so I can look over my hands at the rest of the tiny screen... a separate keyboard connected via bluetooth or USB is far better in all cases for typing (making it an LCD panel would be a useless added cost that would reduce typing performance, usability, and comfort).

    14. Re: No Touch Feedback? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Swyping is almost as fast as a good touch typer. Just use that.

    15. Re:No Touch Feedback? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, so it'd be really good if there was some way to make it a better experience.
      Some sort of predictive text system.

      If only someone could think of doing that for Windows tablets....

    16. Re:No Touch Feedback? by Agripa · · Score: 1

      How are you supposed to touch type without any feedback from the keys?

      You will be reduced to hunt and peck and very short documents.

      Touch typing is only supported on enterprise versions of Windows. Consumers are not licensed to produce content.

    17. Re: No Touch Feedback? by Agripa · · Score: 0

      Swyping is almost as fast as a good touch typer. Just use that.

      Do you work for the Handicapper General?

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    18. Re:No Touch Feedback? by Agripa · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't worry too much about it. Microsoft will find a way to make this un-buyable.

      So you mean make physical keyboards unbuyable? Now that I can believe.

    19. Re:No Touch Feedback? by Agripa · · Score: 1

      Indeed. Most current Microsoft tablets are neither functional tablets nor functional PCs but still crippled half-arsed compromises.

      The devices need ports, to be able to receive power and forward power to a device that has a single USB lead.

      Microsoft is just following Apple's lead on how to be courageous. Nobody needs a physical keyboard when a virtual one will do so ports are legacy items which will be deprecated.

    20. Re: No Touch Feedback? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let me know when you finally use a smartphone. Until then, you can have no valid opinion.

      I can type around 70 WPM and I can casually Swype 60 WPM. The difference is negligible and I'm sure I could improve Swyping speed if I paid attention while doing it.

  3. Tablet and slate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What's the difference between a tablet and a slate? Is a slate what the Flintstones call a tablet? I don't get it.

    1. Re:Tablet and slate by Misagon · · Score: 1

      That's only Microsoft's terminology... Used to make Windows tablets feel special and different from other tablets.

      --
      "We mustn't be caught by surprise by our own advancing technology" -- Aldous Huxley
  4. Microsoft bought slashdot by goombah99 · · Score: 1

    You probably have been wondering about why every third post is some Microsoft trivia announce late adoption of some tired standard.

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re:Microsoft bought slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This keyboard has been on my Windows phone for two years. It is also available from, Microsoft, on Android and iOS and has been for years. Late adoption? Hell dumbass Microsoft created it.

    2. Re:Microsoft bought slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ever since buck feta, it's felt like a M$ PR site.

      Thank goodness for SOYLENTNEWS!

    3. Re:Microsoft bought slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was posted by M$ Mash. Guess where he got his name from.

  5. Input methods by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Great! That gives me TWO screens that voice recognition programs won't recognise, not just one! That's twice the frustration!

    I do wish that normal speakers of English didn't have to sound like Americans to speak to a computer.

  6. FINALLY! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why did it take so fucking long? I must have asked for this feature 8 trillion times.

  7. Not likely by phantomfive · · Score: 1

    We've had plenty of dual-screen devices (mainly phones), and they are really cool. They just don't have any use case, they are toys. No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  8. False, I bought Slashdot! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    False, I bought Slashdot thanks to my AmazonTM long tail revenue streams! But for now, my lawyers won't let me touch content.

    I find AmazonTM the greatest thing since sliced bread and helps taking care of my health at retirement with the Amazon long tail revenue streams!

    All you need to do is find a website with a permissive TOS, say, Slashdot, create a Python script to scrape your own comments, sprinkle Amazon affiliate links in various posts, and then re-post past links whenever possible. You can even make video of yourself going to pick up AmazonTM parcel at the convenience store and post it on your youtube channel for more redundant revenue streams.

    They also have a wide supply, the best of latte and clif/power bars at the best cost, especially if you make a friend buy them for you with your own affiliate link!

    Also, I still use my iPhone 6s and reduce my monthly bill from $80 to $50. As a phone and a video camera, the iPhone 6s isn't obsolete and I use it to make my videos on youtube. As a Sprint very special customer for 20+ years, Sprint will always give me a new iPhone for free if I decide to stop using the 6s as a phone in the next several years.

  9. YES! More mandarory crapware shoven into the OS! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hope they port Haiku to Talos II so you can get an actual personal computer in the future.

  10. Microsoft's Windows is dead. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Microsoft's Windows is a toy.
    A broken one.
    For rather retarded kids.

    Face it. Windows is obsolete.

    1. Re:Microsoft's Windows is dead. by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      You can fix your haiku by replacing "is" with a dash.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    2. Re:Microsoft's Windows is dead. by JDHannan · · Score: 1

      ah yes, the old 7-4-7 haiku structure we all love

  11. Duel screen tablets, what a mess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have to wonder who at Microsoft is obsessed with duel screen tablets and how exactly that will work in the real world? Windows is a total mess when it comes to basic tablet functions let alone duel tablet screens. Wonder how long before users start to abandon Windows altogether and find a more simply and useful OS instead of all these gimmicks.

  12. USB ; Bluetooth ; etc. by DrYak · · Score: 1

    so - when you're faced with a tablet and no physical keyboard, how do you type ?

    By plugging in a physical keyboard.
    Either actually physically plugging on the USB-OTG port, or connecting over bluetooth.

    As a side note, the 4-part foldable (W-shaped) keyboard by Stowaway / ThinkOutside are great. Fit easily in a big pocket, once folded out has the size of a standard 88-key desktop. (As opposed to the current popular "cram everything in a tiny space, size the same as the screen tablet")
    I still have my bluetooth one from back in the PalmOS-era, works great with my current smartphone (Sailfish powered, so full blown GNU/Linux, but the keyboard also works nicely with Android)

    There's a company called Geyes that tried to resurrect the form factor (I've got their USB "GK108"), reportedly using the same molds (they even have empty compartement where the fold-out stand or where the PDA serial port giant edge connector used to be), but I find the build quality lacking a bit compared to the original.

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  13. Adendum: keyboard by DrYak · · Score: 1

    Do you just use your overwhelming sense of superiority to shame the text into appearing?

    Cue in comment about IBM type M keyboard and prying it from someones' cold, dead hands.

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  14. You Don't Touchtype by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is for two-fingered keyboarding only. Which actually is a decent fit for the tablet use-case anyways.

  15. Wrong, with extra wrongness. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No Microsoft did not create it, mr Dumas. They merely bought the company that did create it -- for android.