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A different kind of keyboard

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Re: A different kind of keyboard

#81
post #78
post #52

I'm really keen on things like this. I love (in theory at least) the concept of being able to work from literally anywhere, and the concept of some sort of smart display (glasses, lenses, etc) but having a physical keyboard to type out code is always a major barrier. Something like this starts to edge towards that vision which is cool. I wonder as well if there's a way to have some sort of bracelet (but probably some…

Like this? https://www.tapwithus.com/

I have a Tap2 keyboard. It's really fun. They have a prototype v3 that's just a bracelet instead of the knuckles.

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#82

I've always thought it was a bit odd that for touchscreen phones we just decided to grab the near exact keyboard layout we use with physical keyboards, and just stick them on a tiny touchscreen. Sure, everyone knows how to use it and its fine for early smartphones, but it seems like a really terrible place for a full keyboard to go; imagine using a keyboard the size of your phone keyboard (so about the third the size…

> I've always thought it was a bit odd that for touchscreen phones we just decided to grab the near exact keyboard layout we use with physical keyboards, and just stick them on a tiny touchscreen This happens with technology all the time. When the printing press was invented the first books were designed to look like their handwritten counterparts. Similarly, when electronic maps happened they were just like paper ma…

I think the electronic maps were limited more by technology than vision.

Google Maps (any many map systems even today) used pre-rendered tiled images, which means you could only zoom at the levels which were rendered and rotating the grid was hard (especially on old hardware)

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#83
post #75

My favorite phone input method by far is MessagEase, with which you don't need autocorrect. I've gotten pretty fast with it too.

I felt like autocorrect on regular mobile keyboards on both Android and iOS was actually slowing me down. I kept having to correct the corrections, so I turned autocorrect off a couple years ago. It ended up being way better, now I can type faster (~80 wpm) and can write exactly what I want.

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#84
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like this? https://www.tapwithus.com/

I have a Tap2 keyboard. It's really fun. They have a prototype v3 that's just a bracelet instead of the knuckles.

How is the experience? Have you ised to writein an airplane? Whas happens when the novelty ears off?

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#85
post #71
post #52

I'm really keen on things like this. I love (in theory at least) the concept of being able to work from literally anywhere, and the concept of some sort of smart display (glasses, lenses, etc) but having a physical keyboard to type out code is always a major barrier. Something like this starts to edge towards that vision which is cool. I wonder as well if there's a way to have some sort of bracelet (but probably some…

Some people already can and do this. See e.g.: - Steve Mann: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mann_(inventor) - https://chordite.com

Or you could be like Stephen Wolfram and walk around with a laptop harness https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2019/02/seeking-the-prod...

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#86
post #76
post #73

iOS actually has a multi-touch based braille keyboard built-in. So you can have a rather similar behaviour, however, without extra hardware, with native iOS. In Settings > Accessiblity > VoiceOver, add "Braille keyboard" to the rotor options, and then use two fingers in a circular motion until you hear "Braille input". You can now hold the screen away from you in landscape mode, and use three fingers from each hand t…

A demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wueLXCbm_KY

Oh sweet, thanks for digging that up!

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but if you have a few keys to press, why not go all the way and make it a Braille keyboard? It would teach sight-able people how to write braille.

> It would teach sight-able people how to write braille. Is this an interesting goal? I absolutely understand why it would be extremely valuable for most people to know their local sign language for communication with those who can't hear, but I fail to see how wider learning of a very special writing system (one that anyway can't be currently read from electronic devices) would impact the sight-impaired community.

The daughter of a coworker of mine has an elementary-school friendship with a blind girl. When she wanted to write a letter to her, I embossed the text for her, because, you know, I can write braille. I was told the little girl was very thrilled to receive a piece of paper she could actually read. But I guess this sort of human interaction isn't worth the effort, right? :-( Sad to read your attitude.

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#88
post #73

iOS actually has a multi-touch based braille keyboard built-in. So you can have a rather similar behaviour, however, without extra hardware, with native iOS. In Settings > Accessiblity > VoiceOver, add "Braille keyboard" to the rotor options, and then use two fingers in a circular motion until you hear "Braille input". You can now hold the screen away from you in landscape mode, and use three fingers from each hand t…

I found this mapping between Braille symbols and the alphabet[0], but how does the buttons in the Braille keyboard map to these symbols? Trying to understand as it could be cool to type without having to look at the screen.

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#89
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about “one day I'll be able to walk around in the forest while working”?

Why not just walk around in the Forrest? I mean, why do you feel it's desirable to shoehorn doing work into any and all type of human activity? GP has a good point: that sounds terribly dystopian.

I've got ~40 hours a week during which I have to work, and right now I have to spend them stuck in a chair.

Outside of that time, particularly on weekdays, I'm generally pretty busy with house and child care. That means that my time for just walking in the forest generally has to be crammed into the weekends. Usually on no more than one day per, since, on the weekends, even if I've got nothing else keeping me busy, I've still got to convince a couple other people who would much rather just play in the yard to come with me before I can go. And then, even if we have done that, I still can't really daydream much, since I've got to pay attention to and manage them.

Not so much the work time, though. A lot of it is spent sitting and thinking and reading and taking notes. The only thing about those tasks that's tying me to a place is the awkwardness of doing them while ambulatory, and that's really just an equipment problem. With the right tooling, that could happen anywhere. I wouldn't even need to sit or stand still to do it. Which means that I could perhaps get much more time walking in the forest than is otherwise possible. I could perhaps even make it a daily thing rather than a once-a-week-if-I'm-lucky thing.

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh man I remember ME from when I had my Palm V, it was such an improvement. I think these days swipe input on querty has got it beat, at least for words that are in the dictionary. A one-touch way to switch between the standard keyboard for swipe and ME for the rest would be killer.

Haven't heard of swipe (or swype) before, maybe I will try, thanks.

Android and iOS both have it built in these days. For Android you may have to install the Gboard keyboard.
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