Re: [ba-unrev-talk] one handed chord keyboards
Chris, (01)
Henry is correct. Two-handed touch typing on an
ergonomic keyboard is about twice as fast as chording,
because serial stroking is pipelined by the nerves.
Even one-handed serial stroking is faster than
chording. To the extent that typing consists of
phoenetic alphabetic characters, it is also easier
to learn, because it plugs into our constant use of
natural language. These advantages insure that the
current keyboard/mouse system will dominate through
economies of scale, until an alternative system is
scientifically designed to beat it. This will have
to include all or most of the following: (02)
1)having machine abbreviation, as with stenography, (03)
2)allowing analog geometric motions to be performed
simultaneously with keying on the same limb in an
ergonomic fashion, (04)
3)having lots of degrees-of-freedom of chording
to increase its information bandwidth, (05)
4)allowing instantaneous switching between one-handed
and two-handed modes, (06)
5)having error correcting and detecting feedback to
facilitate learning of chording, (07)
6)having a serial keying mode to utilize people's
natural language channel skills, (08)
7)having software support that allows people to type
symbols onto overlays of multidimensional images
(photos, cartoons, virtual realities) and to
conveniently edit and highlight them, (09)
8)packaging the above in a cultural framework that
generates the social consensus that motivates
people to learn and efficiently utilize the system. (010)
Such a system will then become the dominant form of
professional communication, because it will be faster
and more reliable than either keyboard/mouse,
oral/whiteboard, or telephone/fax systems. Spoken
natural language and simpler, more specialized
systems will, of course, still be widely used. (011)
Food for thought, (012)
larens (013)
--- Henry K van Eyken <vaneyken@sympatico.ca> wrote:
> cdent@burningchrome.com wrote:
>
> > I'm sure this has come up on here before but I
> have an itch I'd
> > like to scratch: one handed, chorded keyboards.
> Where can I buy
> > one or try one to see if I like it. It seems ideal
> for me.
> >
> > I found Paul Fernhout's posting on the original
> unrev-ii list
> > about the Twiddler. I have one of those and after
> the first
> > couple of weeks of "oh, this is neato" set it down
> in
> > frustration: it's not well designed for the task I
> wanted: fast
> > one-handed data entry. It's pretty good for, as
> Paul says,
> > petting the dog while you type. I was able to get
> up to a
> > reasonable rate of typing, but my goal here is to
> go _faster_
> > than I touch type (and I type quickly) and have
> one hand for
> > typing and one for mousing, never leaving devices.
> I intend to
> > use it at a desk, not in a wearable situation.
> >
> > The most noted one handed chord system on the web
> appears to be
> > the Bat, but it looks a bit clunky. CyKey is
> another. Anyone have
> > experience with either of these?
> >
> > I've seen pictures of the chord keyset made at
> SRI. Simple, to
> > the point. I can't seem to find anything like
> that.
> >
> > Thanks for any suggestions or comments.
> >
> > --
> > Chris Dent <cdent@burningchrome.com>
> http://www.burningchrome.com/~cdent/
> > "Mediocrities everywhere--now and to come--I
> absolve you all! Amen!"
> > -Salieri, in Peter Shaffer's Amadeus
>
> Chris.
>
> Interesting you brought this up. It is something
> badly needed - reference:
> http://www.fleabyte.org/eic-1.html#2BE - and I have
> talked and corresponded
> about it with various people. I may be wrong, but I
> understand that you will
> not get faster with it than with two-handed
> touch-typing, but in terms of
> overall efficiency by having one hand free to do
> other important things it
> ought be a winner.
>
> I understand from someone thoroughly familiar with
> manufacturing that there
> must me assurance of returns. Cheap as these devices
> ought to be, one must be
> assured of being able to sell a very large number of
> units before a profit is
> made.
>
> I wrote the people at TT Tech, mentioned in the
> article referred to,
> suggesting they consider making a five-key
> derivative of their snap-on
> keyboard for handhelds. Frankly, I tend to believe
> that if, for example, the
> Blackberry came with a free snap-on chord, users
> would tend to experiment with
> it and eventually may well go for it. Having seen
> Doug work the chord,and
> having struggled with tiny keys on handhelds myself,
> the snap-on chord ought
> be a winner. And I am alone in this belief.
>
> I understand that Grant Bowman got one of the last
> surviving chords from Doug
> and that he repaired it. He may be able to tell how
> one could put one together
> (there is electronics involved, of course - maybe
> the Bootstrap Institute can
> put it hands on schematics, etc.). Nice volunteer
> project, or may be an
> academic project.
>
> Henry
> (014)
=====
larens imanyuel (015)
University for the Earth
Berkeley, California, U.S.A. (016)
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