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A different kind of keyboard

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Re: A different kind of keyboard

#111

Post by amosj »

egypturnash wrote: post #107

This reminds me a lot of the "Mirrorwalk" layout for the Twiddler chording keyboard: https://forum.tekgear.com/t/mirrorwalk-config-the-walking-la... Each letter is a two-button chord, but in practice, each letter is an arpeggio because the Twiddler only sends a key event when you release a button. The layout is designed so that when writing English, there is a very high probability that the second button you press fo…

That's an awesome layout, I will have to try it. I actually have two twiddlers - the dream was to split the layout between the two, so that all letters would have easy 2-button chords and to achieve a higher wpm. It works fairly well but I never practiced enough to really make it productive... might have to try that mirrorwalk layout though

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#112

Post by dom111 »

mumblemumble wrote: post #89
rualca wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

This is exactly how I feel about it, thanks for clarifying!

I'm in a very similar situation, life is busy. Working at a computer doesn't feel like it should constrain me to a boring office, I could be in nature enjoying the fresh air, thinking about a problem and test out a solution right there.

When my dog was around, he'd have had the time of his life if my office was truly mobile!

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#113

Post by tsimionescu »

jhy wrote: post #38
tsimionescu wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

There are definitely electronic Braille reading devices. They're called refreshable braille displays, and are often also combined with a specialized keyboard. Wider adoption could conceivably improve these interfaces through more users and commercial interest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refreshable_braille_display

Awesome, I wasn't aware of this! Thank you for the link! I believed Text-to-Speech is the only option used for HCI by people who can't see a screen.

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#114

Post by dom111 »

throwaway23091 wrote: post #61
dom111 wrote: 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…

Zack freedman made a video [0] last year where he created a wearable glove that tracked hand movements to achieve something similar to what you describe. Seemed really cool, and I'm sure we will get something better than this in the not-too-distant future. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6raRftH9yxM

Definitely cool! I guess I'm just being impatient. I would definitely like to be an early adopter of this type of tech. I'm kinda sad the initial mainstream hype around wearables died down so quickly, but looks like I need to source out details specifically for more info. Thanks for sharing!

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#115

Post by mumblemumble »

dom111 wrote: post #112
mumblemumble wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

This is exactly how I feel about it, thanks for clarifying! I'm in a very similar situation, life is busy. Working at a computer doesn't feel like it should constrain me to a boring office, I could be in nature enjoying the fresh air, thinking about a problem and test out a solution right there. When my dog was around, he'd have had the time of his life if my office was truly mobile!

Yeah. Also, when I'm doing thinking work, I'm definitely more productive when I'm on my feet and in the fresh air.

There's wisdom to the idea of not mixing business and pleasure, and maintaining work/life boundaries. But I don't think that the principle is meant to imply that a joyless working environment is the secret to a happy life.

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#116

Post by reaperducer »

boomskats wrote: post #54

I'm a Blackberry fanboy. My Key2 was far, far superior a device to the latest gen iPhone I own. I have tried for years to get used to glass, and while I'm ok with it, it's still a massive compromise. My second favourite mobile-device keyboard was that of the Ericsson T28 [0] from about 20 years ago. At some point I accidentally discovered a feature I just found outlined at the bottom of page 28 of the T28 user manual…

pressing the number 2 button normally resulted in a B, holding the volume up and pressing 2 gave a C, and holding volume down and pressing 2 gave a D

The SonyEricsson M600 series had something similar. The keys were rockers. Press the left side of a key and it was an Q. Press the right side and it was a W.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Sony_Eri...

Interesting to use, and I wrote a lot of text on it while on buses and trains. But the keys were necessarily very hard and so your fingers would hurt after a while.

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#117

Post by mkl »

jeofken wrote: post #88
mlang23 wrote: 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.

Braille characters are formed by six dots/bumps in a 2×3 grid. On a Braille keyboard, each of the six main keys correspond to one dot, and for each character you press the keys for the dots you want simultaneously, then lift up and repeat. There's also a space key. My grandmother used to volunteer transcribing things into Braille, and she taught me how to use the machine as a kid.

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#118

Post by ruffrey »

I applaud any effort to rethink keyboards from first principles.

After years of shoulder, neck and back pain I discovered that the root cause was the standard keyboard design. It causes rounded shoulders. Perhaps my shoulders are just too wide. This pinched all sorts of muscles, tendons and nerves. Doctors and physical therapists just failed to identify the issue. Weight lifting didn't help all that much, even with a strong back I had to scrunch and round the shoulders to type.

I finally picked up a second keyboard, and used one for each hand. It was surprisingly easy to convert to. Just added some larger rubber nub things on home row.

It's been life changing. Years of pain was gone in days. No special design necessary.

Each keyboard is arranged at an outward angle, distanced so my shoulders are in a natural position.

I can't recommend this enough.

On Mac it required a system preference tweak (Karibiner app) so each keyboard can share shortcut keys.

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#119

Post by smallpipe »

ruffrey wrote: post #118

I applaud any effort to rethink keyboards from first principles. After years of shoulder, neck and back pain I discovered that the root cause was the standard keyboard design. It causes rounded shoulders. Perhaps my shoulders are just too wide. This pinched all sorts of muscles, tendons and nerves. Doctors and physical therapists just failed to identify the issue. Weight lifting didn't help all that much, even with a…

Are you aware of split keyboards? I use a mistel barrocco (essentially two normal keyboard halves tied together with a USB cable) and j can’t recommend it enough

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#120

Post by hundchenkatze »

ruffrey wrote: post #118

I applaud any effort to rethink keyboards from first principles. After years of shoulder, neck and back pain I discovered that the root cause was the standard keyboard design. It causes rounded shoulders. Perhaps my shoulders are just too wide. This pinched all sorts of muscles, tendons and nerves. Doctors and physical therapists just failed to identify the issue. Weight lifting didn't help all that much, even with a…

I was experiencing the same – narrow hand position causing lots of back pain. Keeping my arms/shoulders in a natural position seems to have fixed it.

There's also tons of split keyboards available now.

https://github.com/diimdeep/awesome-split-keyboards

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