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

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.

Comments

No Touch Feedback?

[Zorro]

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.

Re:No Touch Feedback?

[youngone]

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

Re:No Touch Feedback?

[phantomfive]

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).

Re: No Touch Feedback?

[Misagon]

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.

Re:No Touch Feedback?

[Misagon]

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.

Re:No Touch Feedback?

[Agripa]

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.

Re:No Touch Feedback?

[Agripa]

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.

Re:No Touch Feedback?

[Agripa]

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.

Microsoft bought slashdot

[goombah99]

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

Input methods

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Not likely

[phantomfive]

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.

Re:Tablet and slate

[Misagon]

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

Re:Microsoft's Windows is dead.

[Zontar The Mindless]

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

USB ; Bluetooth ; etc.

[DrYak]

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.

Adendum: keyboard

[DrYak]

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.

Re:Microsoft's Windows is dead.

[JDHannan]

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