Keyboards

[chiark]

Very, very neat - though I think the join could be smaller...

[Da_Blitz]

very true, i have aproblem with the split keyboard densign of the targus keyboards, the space button dosent go all the way to the center causing me to hit an empty pot

actually thinkng back i did get used to the microsoft natural keyboard with the split fairly quickly but it did kill my one handed typing

[cycle_55]

i am intrested in what you would like to see in the keyboard

some things i would like:
lots of shortcut keys: i do alot of VT switching and have them bound for that
Backlit: with one or two colors
Laptop like keys: keys simmilar to a laptop rather than the hard button cxx00 or membrane
dvorak layout as well as qwerty: perhaps printed on the same keyboard layout to reduce variations

one idea that i have had )not sure how much you will like it) is to use a corded aproch where a letter is made up of 1 or more button pushes (common keys are one button, less common are two or more buttons pushed at the same time)

the advantage is that you could have full sized keys and it should help with some anoying key combos (try doing a ctrl+c without sticky keys on a cxx00), the problems however are that you would need to learn a new keyboard, maximum typing speed is slowed down slightly

i will of course not be shiping it unless its specified but i belive that one or two people may be intrested, mainly those who are into wearable computers, with a screen rotation it would allow you to have your computer and your keyer in one

any other proposals, normal or otherwise, for the keyboard
[div align=\"right\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

I would be happy with something like this. [a href=\"http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/half_keyboard_review]http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/half_keyboard_review[/url]
Wonder if it could be made to work.

cycle_55

[Da_Blitz]

might have to track one of them down. actually my idea was a bit like that with the stoaway with the c3000 screen filp things so that you had 2 halfs to make a keyboard or fold it against itself so you only had one half. i have been reworking the design a bit so that instead of a twist its a slide mechnism but i still dont think that it would be apreciated (basically the 2 halfs sit one above the other and when you want the full keyboard rather than 1/2 of one you slide it apart

[cycle_55]

might have to track one of them down. actually my idea was a bit like that with the stoaway with the c3000 screen filp things so that you had 2 halfs to make a keyboard or fold it against itself so you only had one half. i have been reworking the design a bit so that instead of a twist its a slide mechnism but i still dont think that it would be apreciated (basically the 2 halfs sit one above the other and when you want the full keyboard rather than 1/2 of one you slide it apart
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=146587\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]

I am going to try one, because the more I think about it the more I think that one handed keyboard use may work quite well  in a mobile situation. When sitting at a desk one could possibly use one of the new laser projected keyboards. I am following this discussion with great interst even though I am not qualified to help at the very basic hardware or programming level. Since getting my Z and seeing all the small format hardware available these sorts of thoughts have been rolling around in my head. I had been thinking of assembling something into a highend leather wallet when I stumbled onto this forum and am now anxious to see where this goes. I would definitely be interested when it comes down to ordering. Thanks.

cycle_55

[Ragnorok]

- I've already mentioned I like Psion keyboards.  (grin)  A good compromise between key travel, typability, mechanical strength, and size.
- Stowaway keyboards are very nice as will.  Wifey has one for her Treo that she just loves.  If something like that were employed it could be acceptable, but I'd still lean towards a Psion or Psion-like keyboard because it's all one piece, and less likely to give trouble over time.
- Backlighting would be seriously cool.  I wish Hiro had backlighting.  I often tilt the screen towards the keyboard to type in the dark.  (chuckle)  I agree it should have a dimmer as well.  Wifey's Treo has a lighted keyboard that's outright painful to behold in full dark.
- I also like the larger Enter key, but that could be a real issue with keyboard real estate at a premium.

- On a different note, in college I had an HP-41C that I paid $400 for, when a pair of them were the backup orbital insertion computers on the space shuttle.  The first winter I owned it, I was driving home from college in upper Michigan, and it was seriously cold.  When I got home and pulled the calculator from my luggage in the trunk, there were ice crystals on the display, and when I tried to turn it on, it only emitted baleful squeaks and then fell silent.  Since it normally didn't make a peep on power-up, and it looked completely dead, I freaked.  But as luck would have it, I popped the batteries and let it warm up over night and alles war gut.  Whew!  After that the 41C always rode in the passenger compartment!

[Da_Blitz]

http://www.patentmonkey.com/pm/patentid/7221330.aspx

must steal this idea!!!!

truely its good, only need 2 touchscreens then. when you dont need the keyboard you can remove it

[Ragnorok]

- Looks cumbersome imho (shrug)...