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Englebart had a iOS app that allowed you to chord type as well.
Difference is one is generic for typing anything, and the link there is purpose-built on a per-application basis, but the idea of having a small amount of keys for a precise job is very interesting.
(Side note, anyone remember the Optimus Maximus, where each key was an LED screen? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimus_Maximus_keyboard)
I miss the pipe character :) How can I use this for SSH?
Reminds me a bit of this really cool project I saw the other day: https://there.oughta.be/a/macro-keyboard Difference is one is generic for typing anything, and the link there is purpose-built on a per-application basis, but the idea of having a small amount of keys for a precise job is very interesting. (Side note, anyone remember the Optimus Maximus, where each key was an LED screen? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O…
I'm in love with this, I have to build it. Thanks for the recommendation!
> (Side note, anyone remember the Optimus Maximus, where each key was an LED screen? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimus_Maximus_keyboard)
Yeah, what happened with that? IIRC it never materialized.
That is very cool! I think the double-presses and three-button presses are pushing it for usability. I wonder if there is a version where you can keep the general form and idea and increase the ease-of-use. I'm thinking add a 5th side-key and a second top-key and use the top ones solely as toggle, not as letters. This way you have 3*5 keys total and fill in the rest with a predictive model, maybe? Or how about a layo…
Personally, I'd rather have the chords than have toggles—a keyboard should really be stateless. Even the existing rarely used states (num lock, caps lock) do more to cause me frustration than help.
This is called a chorded keyboard [1]. Like seemingly everything invented in the following 40 years, it was introduced by Douglas Englebart in the Mother of all Demos in 1968. Englebart had a iOS app that allowed you to chord type as well. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorded_keyboard
This is a simpler version of Twiddler: https://twiddler.tekgear.com/
That is very cool! I think the double-presses and three-button presses are pushing it for usability. I wonder if there is a version where you can keep the general form and idea and increase the ease-of-use. I'm thinking add a 5th side-key and a second top-key and use the top ones solely as toggle, not as letters. This way you have 3*5 keys total and fill in the rest with a predictive model, maybe? Or how about a layo…
I think this would be great if you can bind them to an IDE's Debugger Shortcuts. Step In/Out/Thru.
That's an interesting idea, and you can, but if you have an entire keyboard anyway why not use that?
It would be so cool to mount a Soviet nuclear control room type panel under my monitor with those keys spelled out. Oh and a mute button.
> Then we can type up to 2^5 = 33 characters Typo. 2^5 = 32, but should probably say 2^5 - 1 = 31, since not pressing anything is a no-op.