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A different kind of keyboard

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Re: A different kind of keyboard

#141

Post by seoulmetro »

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…

You should look up the Korean alphabet on 9 (?) keys. It's really cool that you can type anything in Korean using 6 or so keys.

It works because in Korean, characters are made up of base characters. So you can essentially build a character out of two other characters, and then a syllable out of three of those characters. Then words out of a match of syllables.

Edit: It's 10 keys sorry. Example:

https://img1.daumcdn.net/thumb/R720x0.q80/?scode=mtistory2&f...

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#142

Post by aasasd »

david_allison wrote: post #139
aasasd wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By the way, besides the wacky keyboard blind people also have another, erhm, ‘perk’ in their use of phones: they, pretty obviously, keep the brightness at zero. Gonna last a long time on a charge. I keep thinking occasionally that some things that I do with the phone could be done with a small one-handed wireless remote/controller and audio output—so I could trigger them while doing something else, e.g. walking outsi…

> Anki already supports either a specific remote or bluetooth remotes in general, and has TTS. Have you considered a gamepad designed for phones? I use a GameSir T1s for my Anki reviews while out walking. Only downside is the screen is lopsided in the controller due to the volume buttons, but this could be fixed with a more expensive gamepad which wraps the sides.

I guess you mean holding the gamepad with both hands and staring at the screen, in the usual gaming manner. But, you see, as a keyboard worker I (partly) go for walks precisely to give the shoulders and the neck some workout and stretching—and using a regular gamepad is the opposite of that, as I already discovered in practice. Otherwise I could just use the phone as normal—which is also pretty bad for the shoulders, though one at a time.

So I was thinking of using something in this vein:

https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1q033QVXXXXb0XpXXq6xXFXXXW/4-I...

https://872c4715dbe9f10b83d1-0b39dab3ba460c18aad59cf32aacf5c...

Might come in handy in more occasions than just walking. E.g. home chores when I still have one hand free—currently such time is occupied with more passive podcasts and audiobooks.

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#143

Post by girvo »

shultays wrote: post #48
bodge5000 wrote: post #42

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…

Phones (at least android ones, don't know about apple ones) allow you to change your keyboard and there are all kind of keyboards. I was using a "swipe" keyboard before, looks (and can work) similar to a normal keyboard but you could also swipe your finger over the keys you want to type without raising your finger and it was doing a pretty good job at predicting what you wanted to type. I wouldn't be surprised if the…

Apple support custom soft keyboards now too :)

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#144

Post by mlang23 »

aasasd wrote: post #128
aasasd wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

By the way, besides the wacky keyboard blind people also have another, erhm, ‘perk’ in their use of phones: they, pretty obviously, keep the brightness at zero. Gonna last a long time on a charge. I keep thinking occasionally that some things that I do with the phone could be done with a small one-handed wireless remote/controller and audio output—so I could trigger them while doing something else, e.g. walking outsi…

Yeah, "screen curtain" is a pretty essential feature for some of us. I also do that on my Linux laptop. Helps againnst sholder surfing and saves hours of battery time.

Regarding your remote-controller idea, check out the Rivo: https://rivo.me/en/index.html

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#145

Post by tsimionescu »

mlang23 wrote: post #87
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.

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.

The problem of sending braille printed text to a blind person and the problem of being able to type braille personally are entirely separate. I can type on a normal keyboard and print out the document as braille. The fact that braille printers are rare is a very sad fact.

The discussion above was not about hand writing (embossing) braille. That is a separate consideration, and I have personally never sent a letter to a friend of any kind, so not being able to send a letter to a blind friend doesn't seem like such a problem to me personally. If I were in the habit of sending hand-written letters to friends and acquaintances, I do think it would be a nice effort to learn braille in case I ever need to send such a letter to a friend.

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#146

Post by mlang23 »

detaro wrote: post #96
mlang23 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> But I guess this sort of human interaction isn't worth the effort, right? Parent didn't say that. Do you really think adding that ending is making your comment more convincing?

Looking into a mirror can really hurt. Guess what, I dont care. I have been belittled, ignored, swept aside, manhandled, pushed across a street, you name it. I dont feel particularily bad if someone outside of my bubble is confronted with how their priviledged utterings make other people feel.

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#147

Post by smallpipe »

goodpoint wrote: post #132
smallpipe wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

When you can buy 2 everyday keyboards for 30 euros in total it's difficult to justify the shocking prices of split/mechanical/ergonomic keyboards. I could buy an ErgoDox but it feels too much like a status symbol rather than a working tool.

For me the desk space makes it worth it (but the clackity clack is definitely an added bonus)

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#148

Post by david_allison »

aasasd wrote: post #142
david_allison wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Anki already supports either a specific remote or bluetooth remotes in general, and has TTS. Have you considered a gamepad designed for phones? I use a GameSir T1s for my Anki reviews while out walking. Only downside is the screen is lopsided in the controller due to the volume buttons, but this could be fixed with a more expensive gamepad which wraps the sides.

I guess you mean holding the gamepad with both hands and staring at the screen, in the usual gaming manner. But, you see, as a keyboard worker I (partly) go for walks precisely to give the shoulders and the neck some workout and stretching—and using a regular gamepad is the opposite of that, as I already discovered in practice. Otherwise I could just use the phone as normal—which is also pretty bad for the shoulders,…

Ah! I understand. I can use my controller one-handed if necessary and get a much better angle than staring down at my phone, but I typically don't have the neck/back problems that others do.

A lot of med students use the 8bitdo Zero 2[0] with Anki one-handed, but I believe a standard bluetooth clicker would be more ergonomic as it'll be designed for one-handed use.

For audio cards, you typically want a controller with 6 keys: 4 answer buttons, replay audio, and undo.

Native key remapping will be available in AnkiDroid 2.16. AnkiMobile (iOS) supports it, and there's various programs/addons for the desktop version.

There's a fair number of reddit threads with further opinions which should be helpful

[0] https://www.8bitdo.com/zero2/

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#149

Post by aasasd »

david_allison wrote: post #148
aasasd wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess you mean holding the gamepad with both hands and staring at the screen, in the usual gaming manner. But, you see, as a keyboard worker I (partly) go for walks precisely to give the shoulders and the neck some workout and stretching—and using a regular gamepad is the opposite of that, as I already discovered in practice. Otherwise I could just use the phone as normal—which is also pretty bad for the shoulders,…

Ah! I understand. I can use my controller one-handed if necessary and get a much better angle than staring down at my phone, but I typically don't have the neck/back problems that others do. A lot of med students use the 8bitdo Zero 2[0] with Anki one-handed, but I believe a standard bluetooth clicker would be more ergonomic as it'll be designed for one-handed use. For audio cards, you typically want a controller wit…

Thanks! Didn't expect this much info, but then I looked into your profile, which explained things.

BTW, perhaps this could be of interest in regard to this topic: I previously was able to use Tasker to remap headphones' control buttons to keyboard keys, and thus trigger AnkiDroid's buttons. However, this turned out to be pretty awkward for me—but it's a generic mechanism for remapping, so may come in handy for someone who has other not-natively-supported inputs. (Though it will likely require additional paid addons for Tasker, namely AutoInput.)

Re: A different kind of keyboard

#150

Post by david_allison »

aasasd wrote: post #149
david_allison wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah! I understand. I can use my controller one-handed if necessary and get a much better angle than staring down at my phone, but I typically don't have the neck/back problems that others do. A lot of med students use the 8bitdo Zero 2[0] with Anki one-handed, but I believe a standard bluetooth clicker would be more ergonomic as it'll be designed for one-handed use. For audio cards, you typically want a controller wit…

Thanks! Didn't expect this much info, but then I looked into your profile, which explained things. BTW, perhaps this could be of interest in regard to this topic: I previously was able to use Tasker to remap headphones' control buttons to keyboard keys, and thus trigger AnkiDroid's buttons. However, this turned out to be pretty awkward for me—but it's a generic mechanism for remapping, so may come in handy for someon…

Definitely useful information to relay, thanks!

I didn't have the time to get Bluetooth headphones working this release cycle, but it'd be great to do so if it doesn't require too many permissions.

Bluetooth headphones go through a different API than physical buttons/controllers/keyboards, and Google's changed the APIs a few times. At first glance it seemed like a minefield (either managing a media session, or managing Bluetooth devices, in both cases which we'd be competing for Bluetooth access with proper media players which have a legitimate want for the buttons).

Anyway, I digress. Thank you for the pointers, and I'll have another look when there's less maintenance work to carry out.

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