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Markov Keyboard: keyboard layout that changes by Markov frequency (2019)

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Re: Markov Keyboard: keyboard layout that changes by Markov frequency (2019)

#12
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There were, for awhile, some security systems had on-screen keyboards that would change layout on every key press.

I think that this is an attempt to stop the “clean key” problem. Security system keypads (especially outdoor ones) tend not to be cleaned, so as time passes, it is easy to spot the dirty keys. Dirty keys are not being pressed and are therefore not in the passcode. So look for the clean keys and try combinations from there. In a 4 digit (0-9) keypad, knowing the clean numbers drops the possible codes from 9999 to 24 (…

Also spy robots with thermal imaging eyeballs.

Re: Markov Keyboard: keyboard layout that changes by Markov frequency (2019)

#13
I learned recently that there are way, way more alt-layouts than the ones you've heard of: Dvorak & Colemak.

Not only that, people just change them to suit their needs! They use things like Hands Down [0] as a guide, and make up their own layout.

Wild.

[0]: https://sites.google.com/alanreiser.com/handsdown

Re: Markov Keyboard: keyboard layout that changes by Markov frequency (2019)

#14
post #7

Nice! I wrote about something similar for rectangular layouts: https://maxhalford.github.io/blog/dynamic-on-screen-keyboard...

thats wonderful. id like that to not change the order of the letters - but change the highlight order. Do a round 1 of frequency order first (just do first say 6 letters) then do a round 2 which is standard order..

i probably am not making much sense. Look at where I'm coming from in the world of Assistive Tech - https://docs.acecentre.org.uk/products/echo (go to around 5 min mark in the vide)

Re: Markov Keyboard: keyboard layout that changes by Markov frequency (2019)

#15
post #13

I learned recently that there are way, way more alt-layouts than the ones you've heard of: Dvorak & Colemak. Not only that, people just change them to suit their needs! They use things like Hands Down [0] as a guide , and make up their own layout. Wild. [0]: https://sites.google.com/alanreiser.com/handsdown

Thank you for the link! That looks fascinating. I have instantly added it to my "keyboard" bookmarks folder!

I will promptly forget it exists and keep typing on the random layout I learned to touch type on 20 years ago, all the while suffering from terrible finger acrobatics and wishing for a better layout every single day.

Re: Markov Keyboard: keyboard layout that changes by Markov frequency (2019)

#17
post #11

Very interesting, I wonder if you could incorporate text prediction so that you can write a sentence in just one key (aside from space).

Repeatedly pressing the home row keys almost always turned into word end sequences like erere, I assume from words like there/were/here. I'm not sure how to go further with single character frequencies.

Re: Markov Keyboard: keyboard layout that changes by Markov frequency (2019)

#18
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There were, for awhile, some security systems had on-screen keyboards that would change layout on every key press.

I think that this is an attempt to stop the “clean key” problem. Security system keypads (especially outdoor ones) tend not to be cleaned, so as time passes, it is easy to spot the dirty keys. Dirty keys are not being pressed and are therefore not in the passcode. So look for the clean keys and try combinations from there. In a 4 digit (0-9) keypad, knowing the clean numbers drops the possible codes from 9999 to 24 (…

It would be 24 if all digits are distinct

It actually drops from 10^4=10000 to 4^4=256 combinations

Re: Markov Keyboard: keyboard layout that changes by Markov frequency (2019)

#19

This is not a bad idea. It's not dissimilar from an autocomplete engine. If reset per word and using a static probability table it will work its way into muscle memory. In practice fingers will only need to leave the home row for some initial letters.

What letter is a good start if you do a reset at every word boundary? Maybe whatever letter is most common?
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