Carol, I agree entirely. However, the Happy Hacking keyboard is chosen for 2 reasons: - being small enough to strap onto ones fore-arm (for wearable input) - it has "normal" key spacing. We are planning on using these for portable applications, hence the tradeoff on functionality for size. Even with my long arms (I'm 6'5" tall), this keyboard is longer than the distance from the crook of my arm to my wrist (which is between 9 and 10 inches, depending on where you define the wrist location). However, it will be much better than a traditional keyboard, which would look more like riot-gear if worn. BTW: the L3 systems keyboard is a better choice, and we will support both of them, plus the Twiddler USB. But the Happy Hacking unit (which is made by a joint venture of Matsushita (Panasonic) and Fujitsu Limited) is the lowest cost unit, and Techsol is promoting portable technology by pushing hardware prices downward. Brian Carol Stein wrote: > > Hi, Brian E, et al -- > > Thanks for the neat pictures.... > > As I used to explain waaaay back (when my manager wondered why my tech writers should have their own WP machines, instead of giving their work to secretaries to type for them -- remember secretaries?!?), the difference between writers and others who have to write is that writers actually spend more time RE-writing (also called "editing") than writing. Now, it's true there aren't many writers left, but practically all those who still write professionally still need a keyboard that facilitates scrolling back and forth through text (preferably one-handedly), and making corrections. > > Cognitively speaking, one never wants to focus on mousing when one is attempting to edit, because that drags one's attention away from the flow of the text, or its formatting. Mousing, unlike keyboarding, CANNOT be performed without visual attention, btw. The mouse is an inherently flawed input device, for a writer, because it doesn't match how we work, cognitively speaking. > > A well-designed WP program either offers, or permits one to create one's own, keyboard combinations. Common corrections need to be so simple they basically require no attention -- which means, thought remains focused on the writing, rather than on operating the keyboard or mouse (the physical process of writing). An objective measure of how good a WP/keyboard combination is: how many keystrokes (including combinations) did it take to accomplish the edit? Secondly, how intuitive (or, easy to recall) were the keystrokes? > > That's why those dedicated cursor movement keys are so important to me, and to other writers (as opposed to those who just hack out e-mail or the occasional memo). Even programmers (many of whom now can take advantage of those nice development environments) don't require the ease of use a writer really *needs*. > > Admittedly there are people like Christy Brown, who was born with CP and had to write using only the toes of his left foot. The actual writing of his great book _Down All the Days_ (the earlier version _My Left Foot_ was just the basic story; DATD covers the same material, but as retold by a mature writer) required disproportionately huge amounts of his attention and effort... which explains why he only wrote one great book in his short life. Even more rarely, we see a Shakespeare -- who apparently never re-wrote. But most of us need better keyboards! > > The Happy Hacker's keyboard is good for hackers, but it is not good for writers, because it lacks those dedicated keys. The keys such as PgDn, Home, End, etc. are needed to create distinct, meaningful combinations, which is why it's bad to embed them on the arrow keys. Of course, since most youngsters only know Word (at best), they don't understand any of this. Keyboard shortcuts are not programmable in Word, and those that exist are very limited. But I can do things like highlight part of a sentence (say up to the first comma), go up two paragraphs, and copy the fragment to become the second sentence in that paragraph, in about 6 keystroke combinations, using decent (and customizable) WP software. > > Seriously, I could argue that MS's overhyping of Word destroyed not only WP software, but keyboards, too. Few folks now understand why Alt, Ctrl, Home, End, PgDn, etc. were (are) so useful -- why would anyone need to use something like Ctrl-F8, for example? Alt-Ctrl-F3 -- what's that about?! But if F3 means something, and Alt-F3 means a related (perhaps larger scope) operation, and Ctrl-Alt-F3 means the opposite of that.... > > As to light-colored keys... yes, I used to have to work in dark environments (taking notes in an auditorium or conference room during a slide show, for example). But also, as a touch-typist, if I have to look at the keys at all it's because I need to find something I hardly ever use normally, maybe a tilda or the caret, for example. So make it easy for me to look! > > Less relevant, because my situation is not that common, I am currently disabled to the extent that I probably spend about 75% of my time lying in bed. (I can sit on a kneeling chair about 45 minutes at a time.) Normally, my keyboard is about even with my eyes as my head rests on the pillow -- but it extends away from me horizontally. So seeking a particular key visually is a chore, and (of course) I don't have a light above the keyboard, other than the monitor. (One does not want an "overhead" light shining directly into one's eyes.) > > In future, as we become freer -- or at least less tethered to desktop boxes -- we will still need keyboards, no matter how well voice recognition works (unless we do end up living in those tiny individual cubicles featured in the sci-fi of previous decades). We will need keyboards that can sit flat when we are at a flat surface such as a table, but can also be used while we walk, or talk with others. Probably, we will want one of those virtual keyboards with a "re-orient" key-combination (or "gesture") added. > Note: The re-orient gesture/key-combination tells the machine you are *now* redefining the placement of the home keys (which perhaps, by then, will NOT normally be "f" and "j"). I don't know if this gesture exists yet; if not, I hereby define it. Keyboard makers: please steal this idea. > > I know many would-be "stealth" wearable fans want less obtrusive keyboards, so they are willing to sacrifice speed. But if you think about it, the days of stealth wearables are limited anyway (barring events that take us back to the Stone Age): When wearables are ubiquitous, we will all assume everyone has one. Right? Think about it! > > So why not maximize our input ability with a decent keyboard, even if it's not stealthy? > > My bet is, the best keyboard will be virtual. If, however, I were given one of those virtual keyboards today (bands worn around the wrist, for example), the first thing I would do is to get a folded (hinged) piece of flat, light-weight plastic, and stick small round bits of foam on it where the letters go (using the least dense foam I could find), and put a raised dot on the home keys. My fingers would need the tactile feedback of these non-functioning "keys"... In the old days, when I used laptops with non-backlit displays, I kept typing even on trains going through a tunnel, even when the lights went out... Experienced writers *don't* need continuous *visual* feedback during text entry mode, though of course it's critical when rewriting. Touch typists such as secretaries -- I know, you don't get to see them much anymore, so you might not have noticed this -- aren't looking at their screens; they're looking at the paper they're copying from. > > Writers DO need visual feedback when interviewing: Skilled writers (including some print reporters) can appear to focus their attention on the informant sufficiently that the speaker feels s/he has the note-taker's full attention, although in fact the note-taker is referring back to notes quite often during the interview. > > Finally, my lightweight plastic "tactile support" for the virtual keyboard needs a mechanism to prevent its flopping around, and I don't have any idea yet what that might turn out to be. This is the sort of problem that our hands need to play with before we solve it... Those who design our interfaces with technology should learn a bit about how our minds and bodies interact. The visual cortex takes up a very large part of our brains, and visual cues have high priority (especially moving visual cues), because of the importance of such cues to our survival. Thus, visual input can easily distract us when we're trying to perform cognitively demanding tasks. That's just built into us. Another thing that's built into the human animal is the very extensive wiring between our hands (fingers & thumbs) and our brains. But what our hands are doing does *not* distract us; it may even help us think, or think creatively, when our hands are engaged in activity relevant to what we're trying to > think about. Thus, keyboards (or something like them). > > Sorry this is so long and rambling. That's what happens if you fall asleep before 9pm and wake around 1am! > > Cheers -- > Carol > > -- > Subscription/unsubscription/info requests: send e-mail with subject of > "subscribe", "unsubscribe", or "info" to> Wear-Hard Mailing List Archive (searchable): http://wearables.blu.org > Please, *PLEASE* don't subscribe through a forward/expander/false domain -- Brian ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian Empey, P. Eng. President Technical Solutions Inc. Unit #1 7157 Honeyman St Delta BC Canada, V4G 1E2 www.techsol.ca eMail:
Tel: 604 946 TECH (8324) Fax: 604 946 6445 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- Subscription/unsubscription/info requests: send e-mail with subject of "subscribe", "unsubscribe", or "info" to
From Wear-Hard Mailing list Archive (WH)
Maintained by R. Paul McCarty
Archive created with babymail