Keyboard innovation brainstorm

[SirClickAlot]

Greetings,

I started this thread in order to make it possible to collectively innovate on the things we love most : the keyboard.

Over the last few months I had several ( maybe crazy ) ideas on how to improve the whole typing experience in order to be more productive ( typing speed : more work done in less time ) with a keyboard.
As I see it, there are 3 ways of receiving feedback from your keyboard( taste and smell aren't in yet ;-)  )  :
1. Auditory
2. Tactile
3. Visual

On all 3 I can think of cues that might help improve productivity( typing speed ) :
1a. Auditory : when a key is pressed, on the downstroke a voice tells you what letter you pressed.
1b. Auditory : After pressing a space or '.' recognized words are being voiced ( so you can even type blindfolded ).
2. Tactile : electronically varying keystroke weighting. You can set each individual keyswitch weighting via software.
3a. Visual : a little blip ( either on the keyboard or on the screen ) tells you a key has been registered on the upstroke. Maybe this helps you subconsciously?
3b. Visual : on the downstroke you see the letter you pressed on the cursor position. It is only registered if you keep your finger on the key during the upstroke. If you press another key whilst holding down the first one, the cursor switches to this last one you pressed. This could help beginning touch typists.

What do you peeps think? Other ideas?

Regards.

[dz_alias]

Greetings,

I started this thread in order to make it possible to collectively innovate on the things we love most : the keyboard.

Over the last few months I had several ( maybe crazy ) ideas on how to improve the whole typing experience in order to be more productive ( typing speed : more work done in less time ) with a keyboard.
As I see it, there are 3 ways of receiving feedback from your keyboard( taste and smell aren't in yet ;-)  )  :
1. Auditory
2. Tactile
3. Visual

On all 3 I can think of cues that might help improve productivity( typing speed ) :
1a. Auditory : when a key is pressed, on the downstroke a voice tells you what letter you pressed.
1b. Auditory : After pressing a space or '.' recognized words are being voiced ( so you can even type blindfolded ).
2. Tactile : electronically varying keystroke weighting. You can set each individual keyswitch weighting via software.
3a. Visual : a little blip ( either on the keyboard or on the screen ) tells you a key has been registered on the upstroke. Maybe this helps you subconsciously?
3b. Visual : on the downstroke you see the letter you pressed on the cursor position. It is only registered if you keep your finger on the key during the upstroke. If you press another key whilst holding down the first one, the cursor switches to this last one you pressed. This could help beginning touch typists.

What do you peeps think? Other ideas?

Regards.

This can all be done with software, or with the aid of software. So go write some software, and if people are interested, they'll use it.

Don't sit around on your ideas kicking them if they're any good or not.

[SirClickAlot]

Ah! Prototypes!

Good! But which one first? :-)

[Shawn Stanford]

Greetings,

I started this thread in order to make it possible to collectively innovate on the things we love most :

Boobies..? Boobies!

... the keyboard.

[SirClickAlot]

*cackle*

Truth is in the eye of the beholder :

If the cat was fighting to restrain itself from its natural born impulse I would say : success!

[WhiteRice]

Scratch and sniff keycaps, nuff said

[microsoft windows]

*cackle*

Truth is in the eye of the beholder :

If the cat was fighting to restrain itself from its natural born impulse I would say : success!

If that person's got mice in his room I bet he's got cockroaches too.

[SirClickAlot]

There is one keyboard with audio, visual AND tactile feedback.

That put me back 30 or so years in my dads workroom to type a school assignment which had ... you guessed it -> an Ibm Selectric. ( Forgot the version number )

Oh no! More is coming back! The tremendous, enormous weight of the beast, the Typex fluid smell when correcting something( the in-built corrector tape was always out ), the constant humming and the little bouncing ball in the middle ( no more intertwined key hammers ). The keys being rather heavy to type on and you could not physically press two keys down at the same time. You could almost smell it when it was on...

Keyboards have come a long way since then......

Thanx for triggering the memory,

Regards.

[Findecanor]

I have been wondering... How would a clicky computer keyboard with 8 mm key travel be?
The actuation/click point would be after 2 mm, but after that, resistance would only increase linearly. Would people bottom out at all while typing?

There are many old typewriters with even higher key travel, but you would almost have to bottom out on them.

[SirClickAlot]

I have been wondering... How would a clicky computer keyboard with 8 mm key travel be?
The actuation/click point would be after 2 mm, but after that, resistance would only increase linearly. Would people bottom out at all while typing?

There are many old typewriters with even higher key travel, but you would almost have to bottom out on them.

Nice idea!

I think you would learn not to bottom out on the keys a lot quicker....

Non clicky, non tactile, linear 8 mm travel would be like typing on air(?)

Regards.