"ironically, QWERTY was actually designed to slow down the typist to prevent jamming the keys, and we've been stuck with that layout since."
This is a myth that has been around for a while and it just isn't true. C. L. Sholes was the guy behind the first commercial typewriter, and eventually qwerty. qwerty was not intended to slow down a typist, but rather to speed up typing by eliminating jams. The first typewriter was sluggish and it did clash and jam when someone tried to type with it. But Sholes was able to figure out a way around the problem by rearranging the letters.
The first typewriter had its letters on the end of rods called "typebars." The typebars hung in a circle. The roller which held the paper sat over this circle, and when a key was pressed, a typebar would swing up to hit the paper from underneath. If two typebars were near each other in the circle, they would tend to clash into each other when typed in succession. So, Sholes figured he had to take the most common letter pairs such as "TH" and make sure their typebars hung at safe distances.
While I genuinely applaud the efforts to bring secure communications to the masses I am left wondering what kind of person requires a digitally encrypted AIM session...
Slashdot Mirror
Matters to me, sure as hell won't be buying anything from EA anymore.
"ironically, QWERTY was actually designed to slow down the typist to prevent jamming the keys, and we've been stuck with that layout since." This is a myth that has been around for a while and it just isn't true. C. L. Sholes was the guy behind the first commercial typewriter, and eventually qwerty. qwerty was not intended to slow down a typist, but rather to speed up typing by eliminating jams. The first typewriter was sluggish and it did clash and jam when someone tried to type with it. But Sholes was able to figure out a way around the problem by rearranging the letters. The first typewriter had its letters on the end of rods called "typebars." The typebars hung in a circle. The roller which held the paper sat over this circle, and when a key was pressed, a typebar would swing up to hit the paper from underneath. If two typebars were near each other in the circle, they would tend to clash into each other when typed in succession. So, Sholes figured he had to take the most common letter pairs such as "TH" and make sure their typebars hung at safe distances.
Microsoft announces new line of "smart" cell phones along with new catchphrase "This IS where you'll go today"
While I genuinely applaud the efforts to bring secure communications to the masses I am left wondering what kind of person requires a digitally encrypted AIM session...