Want information on "odd" keyboard.
J Dana Eckart
Some number of years ago (8?) I remember seeing an announcement for a
keyboard that consisted of two separate hemi-spherical parts, one for
the left hand and one for the right. The idea seemed to be that the
shape was a better fit for the human hand. In addition, you could move
the two pieces apart, allowing work to be placed directly in front of
you rather than off to the side.
Does anyone remember something fitting this description? Are keyboards
like this still around? What was the final verdict? Better than
conventional keyboards? Worse?
J Dana Eckart UUCP: ...!(gatech | pyrdc)!gmu90x!dana
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G. Clark Brown
> Some number of years ago (8?) I remember seeing an announcement for a
> keyboard that consisted of two separate hemi-spherical parts, one for
> the left hand and one for the right. The idea seemed to be that the
> Does anyone remember something fitting this description? Are keyboards
> like this still around? What was the final verdict? Better than
> conventional keyboards? Worse?
I saw a keyboard made for one hand called the "One-hander", I think. It
was a sphere with four thumb keys and two rows of four keys for the fingers.
It could generate the range of ascii by pressing more than one key at a
time. I haven't seen anything about it in a long time.
Clark
Jonathan A. Fischer
>
>Some number of years ago (8?) I remember seeing an announcement for a
>keyboard that consisted of two separate hemi-spherical parts, one for
>the left hand and one for the right. The idea seemed to be that the
>shape was a better fit for the human hand.
The TRON project in Japan has specified this (or a similar)
keyboard as the standard for all TRON systems. Interesting concept,
and it may well succeed in Japan, but I couldn't see this new keyboard
concept ever gaining foot in North America. Unless perhaps it was
pushed on unsuspecting young'uns in public school...
I second the request for info on how to obtain one of these
things, though. I'd love to try it out.
--
-Jonathan Fischer
Mr. Walkman
Jack Jansen
It is a symmetrical keyboard with the keys in 'comfortable'
places (i.e. if you nonchalantly put your two hands on it you
will hit all keys at once).
As far as I remember Velotype was developed by a Dutch firm, but
I don't remember which. I remember seeing ads for two models, one
to replace a PC keyboard and one for use with a VT100.
There was a demonstration on TV once where they subtitled the whole
news *in real time*. Truly impressive.
I'm not too sure of the principles involved, but I think that the
idea was that you typed chords of letters, and that the keyboard
knew something of language so that it would be able to order
the characters in the right order. Moreover, combinations that
were frequently used were conveniently located with respect to
one another (like on the dvorak keyboard).
Unfortunately, the whole thing was a failure for non-technical
reasons. At first, no velo-typists were available, so they weren't
bought. Then, when some employment agencies started teaching
velotypists, offices still wouldn't buy them, because only a very
small percentage of the typists would be able to use them.
So, the velotypists got out of training, and we're back at the
beginning of the story again.
Note that all this is just from memory of reading things in
the papers with only a slight interest in the matter, so most
of it is probably untrue:-)
--
Fight war, not wars | Jack Jansen, ja...@cwi.nl
Destroy power, not people! -- Crass | (or mcvax!jack)
John Onorato
In my most recent issue of MacUser, there is a little sidebar on page
142 entitled "Type the A-Frame." It describes a keyboard that sounds
like one of those plastic toys with wire in them... you know, the ones that
you can bend into just about any shape that you want (and it'll stay there).
The article describes it as Earth Shoes for your hands (or Birkenstocks,
perhaps).
The article gives a name and address; if anyone wants more info on the
product, feel free to mail me, and I will send you more.
wizard
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Bill Vermillion
>In article <15...@gmu90x.UUCP> da...@gmu90x.UUCP (J Dana Eckart) writes:
>>
>>Some number of years ago (8?) I remember seeing an announcement for a
>>keyboard that consisted of two separate hemi-spherical parts, one for
>>the left hand and one for the right. The idea seemed to be that the
>>shape was a better fit for the human hand.
Several years ago - probably in the '78 to '80 time frame there was an
article, and my rusty memory thinks that it was in Interface Age, about a
SINGLE hemispherical input device. The reason for 1 is the same as that of
the mouse today.
But the buttons were distributed in such a way that you did very little finger
movement. It was combinations of keys that produced each letter, instead of 1
key 1 symbol and a standard keyboard, or 2 keys 1 symbol in shifted mode or
control key mode.
The device was on the cover of the magazine, and was red. If not Interface
Age, it may have been Byte, Rom, or one of the other early computer mags.
--
Bill Vermillion - UUCP: {uiucuxc,hoptoad,petsd}!peora!rtmvax!bilver!bill
: bi...@bilver.UUCP
Marcus S. Lewis
> A quick synopsis: get a rubber ball that comfortably fits your hand.
> Cut it in half. Insert all the above-mentioned switches into the hemi-
> sphere you decide to use, trying to place them comfortably. Switches
> with short bodies work best, as you don't want them all hitting in the
> center of the ball. Get a key debouncing chip (can't remember the
> number, but there are several TTL types out there), run its output
> into a latch, and voila'! A Write- (or Left-) Hander.
As I recall, it was a CMOS, a 14411 or some such that was teh major component
of the write-Hander. The problem I had with the thing (couldn't afford to
buy one) was finding suitable switches. We had the ball already, and also
had a problem with the chip.
The mode of operation was that the thumb controlled the 3 MSB's
and the four fingers each controlled a single bit position. The article
mentioned that some incredible speeds were achievable, as I recall (this is
ALL from memory), and pointed out applications in data entry, among other
things.
The difference between a write- and Left-hander is the arc of the switch
array across the top of the ball. Put your hand on top of a hemisphere and
mark the positions of the fingertips, then follow a full arc of your
thumb and divvy that arc up into four spots. There are eight switches for the
thumb, and thumb motion is, obviously, important.
I hope you find the article.
Marc Lewis
The Demented Teddy Bear
> In article <13...@nmtsun.nmt.edu>, I write:
> > A quick synopsis:
>
> I hope you find the article.
Well, here goes:
Q W E R T Y I S O B S O L E T E
by Sid Owen
from Interface Age, January 1978
reproduced w/o permission
(do they even remember this article? do they even still exist?)
The venerable typewriter keyboard has remained virtually unchanged
since it was first produced nearly 100 years ago. This was truly an
inspired design. Even the introduction of electric typewriters did
not allow significant improvement on the basic keyboard. Modern
electronics, however, has recently permitted a completely new design
that obsoletes the familiar old keyboard, colloquially called Qwerty
for the first siz letters in the upper row. This article discusses
the features and describes how to build the new keyboard.
Many millions of typewriter, teletype and other keyboards were built
over the years and the standard keyboard became essential to business
and communication. There were, however, several limitations inherent
in its mechanical design. For example: 1) The typewriter itself is a
large machine that must sit directly in front of you, occupying
valuable desk space and obstructing your view. It is heavy and
awkward to move when not in use. 2) To type, you must sit erect with
both hands poised in an unnatural position for long periods of time.
3) Each printing character and machine control is assigned to a single
key, with very little logic to the key location. Consequently,
learning and maintaining typing skill takes much time and effort.
Now that home computers are becoming a way of life, many hobbyists are
buying keyboards and experiencing all of the above problems,
frequently for the first time.
There is a better way! A radically new keyboard, called the
Writehander[*] has been designed which solves all these problems. It
was originially conceived and developed for physically handicapped
people, but there is no reason why all cannot enjoy its advantages.
You can build it yourself from the information supplied in this
article[#], or you can buy it completely assembled and tested directly
from the NewO Company.
[*] Writehander (Pat. Pend.) is a registered trademark of the NewO
Company, 246 Walter Hays Dr., Palo Alto, California.
[#] I'm not even going to *try* to reproduce the diagrams --djm.
The front cover photo shows a close up of the details of the
Writehander and Photo 1 shows it in use. As you can see, it is used
by the right hand only, leaving the left hand free to hold papers or
the phone, etc. The small hemisphere may be placed anywhere on your
diesk or even in your lap while sitting in an easy chair. You can
relax while using the Writehander. The weight of the forearm can rest
on your desk and the weight of your hand will naturally rest on the
hemisphere since each finger never moves from its single key. Only
the thumb changes position. Thr four thumb positions are: Capital
letters, Lower case letters, Numbers and symbols, and Control
characters. In each position the thumb is rocked forward or backward
to close one of two switches. By using various combinations of
fingers and thumb, the Writehander generates the entire 128 characters
of the ASCII code.
The electrical interface is ASCII code on seven parallel lines, fixed
parity on the eighth, Strobe, Acknowledge, power, and ground.
This configuration does not require a computer in order to operate a
terminal. While the Writehander is an ideal keyboard for computes,
terminals such as the Diablo, Teletype, modified Selectric, or video
monitor that accept 7-bit parallel ASCII signals can be directly
connected to the Writehander. Provision for 5V at 200 ma. is the only
modification sometimes required. This also has provisions to regulate
higher voltages down to 5V.
Learning to type with the Writehander is surprisingly easy, partly
because the finger keys correspond directly to the lower four bits of
the very logical ASCII code. As can be seen on the chart of Figure 1[@],
the fingers select the character to be typed, while the thumb
determines if it is to be lower case, upper case, control or numeral.
Numerals, incidentally, are selected by the fingers in binary: i.e.
the keys have values of 1, 2, 4 and 8; corresponding to the index,
middle, ring and little fingers respectively. Letters are also in a
binary sequence, with the result that the fingers correspond to A, B,
D, and H.
[@] At the end of the text --djm.
The Writehander is analogous to some musical instruments that require
pressing several keys to select a particular note, but it is much
easier since the fingers never move from their single key: they
simply press or relax as required by the particular character, and you
use only one hand.
Figure 2 shows a circuit to convert key closures to ASCII code. [U1
and U2 are MC14490 debouncers, U3 is a 74100 8-bit latch, U4 a 74148
8:3 encoder, U5 a 74123 dual timer, and U6 a 7474 flip-flop --djm).
All switches are connected to one of two debounce chips, U1 and U2.
The finger switch signals then go straight to the output latch, U3,
but the latch will not accept the signal until one of the thumb
switches is closed. U4 converts thumbs switch signals to the
appropriate upper 3 digits of the ASCII code and also commands one
half of U5 to start a short time delay. At the end of the delay the
latch is enablled during a short pulse from the other half of U5 to
accept the finger switch code and the three bits resulting from the
thumb switch closure. The finger switches can be closed for any
length of time prior to a thumb switch closure. However, after
learning to type, they are all closed at approximately the same time.
There will be a slight variation in closure times.
The delay of each signal through the debounce chips, U1 and U2 is also
variable; it depends upon the contact bounce time of the individual
switch. The time delay provided by U5 is longer than these two
variables so that the signals are settled when the latch is enabled.
Capacitor C1 sets the frequency of the interanl shift register clock
of U1 and U2, thus setting the minimum debounce period.
Termination of the delay pulse triggers the enalbe pulse, and
termination of the enable pulse triggers flip-flop U6 to send a Strobe
signal to the interface. An Acknowledge pulse from the interface
resets U6. Jumpers permit selection of positive or negative polarity
for each of these signals and another jumper determines whether the
parity line is fixed at a positive or negative level.
The electronic circuit is not critical, but if you build your own
unit, pick the switches carefully. PCB surface-mount key switches are
the best selection. Pushbuttons generally rquire too much activation
pressure for comfortable typing, many tend to be electriclaly noisy
and few have snap action. Most keyboard switches are too large for
close mounting at the surface of the hemisphere, since they converge
radially inside. Long life is essential since one single typewritten
page may contain more than 3500 characters.
Several baby toys on the market can be the source for the five inch
plastic hemisphere. Also, some plastic toy balls can be cut in half
to get this part. Locate the switches by drawing around your finger
tips and arc your thumb over a wide range to locate the thumb
switches. If you will be the only user, locate the switches under the
pads of your finger tips. The switches can, however, be located even
below the top finger knuckles if someone with much smaller hands will
also be using the keyboard. it will still be comfortable and easy to
use. Drill holes for the switch contact pins and bond the switches on
with epoxy cement.
Better yet, order your Writehander directly from the manufacturer.
For the price of $98 you will receive a completely assembled and
tested Writehander, built with prime quality components, socketed ICs,
color coded keys and interface flat cable, a heavy wall injection
molded ABS plastic hemisphere, a code chart and complete operating and
interface instructions [good luck --djm]. These options are
determined by PCD [sic] jumpers and may be changed at any time. The
sphere is available in two sizes. Spread your hand on the cover of
INTERFACE AGE Magazine. If your thumb pad is centered on the binding
edge and our little finger pad is centered on the oppposite edge,
specify Large Pattern [about 8 inches --djm]. Otherwise specify Small
Pattern.
Now you can cuild or buy a small, light weight, high speed keyboard
that is operated by one hand in a natural relaxed position. It is
easier to learn and use than a typewriter keyboard and it eliminates
the most common typing error, namely using the correct finger but the
wrong hand. The printing or video terminal may be permanently
positioned on a separate stand out of your way and attended only to
change paper.
Qwerty has done a century of fine service, but now, the Writehander
does the job better.
Figure 1:
The columns are arranged as four major columns (control, numeric /
special, lower case, upper case) of two minor columns each (upper /
lower thumb switch row). Think of the thumb switches as being in
pairs, the upper switch in each pair selecting the right minor column,
the lower switch selecting the left column.
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--
Welcome to the island. You are number six.
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