The future of the keyboard...

[Santaman]

I've got two of those old IBM keyboards.. they're absolutely marvelous.

 

[Saturn0660]

Indeed, i've still got the "clicky" style keyboard of my old XP machine. So much better then typing on my iMac.

However, i do remember back in the 90's reading about these two 5 button pods that would replace your keyboard. pushing different combos of button gave you your letters.
I do remember it saying 80wpm wasn't out of the question.
But i can't remember who made it.

 

[Geckothan]

However, i do remember back in the 90's reading about these two 5 button pods that would replace your keyboard. pushing different combos of button gave you your letters.
I do remember it saying 80wpm wasn't out of the question.
But i can't remember who made it.

Sounds kinda pointless, imo

It's not exactly hard to do 80 wpm on a membrane, let alone a mechanical keyboard, and a QWERTY layout, at least if what you're trying to type requires so little thought that your brain can actually keep up with your fingers. Unless you're copying something down or your writing is incredibly verbose, you'll probably never need to type at those speeds anyway.

 

[Psion]

The problem with those is lack of tactile response. Makes high speed typing difficult.

The lack of tactile response is no problem for the generations to come. You only depend on it because you are accustomed to it.

Wrong. Tactile feedback is essential to high speed touch typing, because it lets your fingers know where they are by feel, freeing your eyes up to look at other things (the screen, typically).

If you're typing on a flat featureless touch-screen keyboard, you'll have to be continually looking at your hands.

I used to think this too. But a couple years ago, there was a demo circulating for a product called BlindType, and now I have a doubt. BlindType was subsequently snatched up by Google and -- supposedly -- is used in the Ice Cream Sandwich version of the Android OS (which I have not yet been able to test).

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9b8NlMd79w[/yt]

 

[RAMA]

http://singularityhub.com/2012/06/05/buttons-morph-out-of-your-touchscreen-with-tactus/

Nifty...morphing keypads...

 

[sojourner]

http://singularityhub.com/2012/06/05/buttons-morph-out-of-your-touchscreen-with-tactus/

Nifty...morphing keypads...

Old news.

 

[Sheep]

I used to think this too. But a couple years ago, there was a demo circulating for a product called BlindType, and now I have a doubt. BlindType was subsequently snatched up by Google and -- supposedly -- is used in the Ice Cream Sandwich version of the Android OS (which I have not yet been able to test).

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9b8NlMd79w[/yt]

I'm doubting this technology was included in the ICS keyboard considering how much trouble I had typing this morning on a moving train. It certainly didn't look anything like the sample video.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

The problem with those is lack of tactile response. Makes high speed typing difficult.

The lack of tactile response is no problem for the generations to come. You only depend on it because you are accustomed to it.

Wrong. Tactile feedback is essential to high speed touch typing, because it lets your fingers know where they are by feel, freeing your eyes up to look at other things (the screen, typically).

If you're typing on a flat featureless touch-screen keyboard, you'll have to be continually looking at your hands.

I got my sister this for her birthday. She claims it is the most useful thing I've ever given her.

Either I'm a crappy brother, or keyboards are kind of important for cardiologists.

 

[B.J.]

http://singularityhub.com/2012/06/05/buttons-morph-out-of-your-touchscreen-with-tactus/

Nifty...morphing keypads...

Interesting, but I think they've still got a way to go to be really useful. The buttons are there, but it's still a touch screen, which means you can't rest your fingers on it like you can with a traditional keyboard. Right now, I can find the right keys on my keyboard without ever looking at it by swiping my fingers across and finding the home row. I think that would send current touch-screen devices into a tizzy.

Not only that, but I can't imagine that a deformable surface nearly as scratch-resistant as the gorilla glass used in most devices now.

However, I am curious to see how this develops in a few more years.