Programmable Keyboard
I have heard that when the original typewriter was created, the letters were arranged in such a way that it would slow the typer down. The purpose of this was to keep the (now-archaic) machinery of the typewriter from malfunctioning and/or jamming. And out of traditional standard, that arrangement has never been revised. It is because of this that I think a new keyboard should be created with blank individual keys that have LCD or LED technology in them that could display any letter, character, kanji, or symbol according to any language or purpose. Software then could be set up on the computer to where the user could adjust the arrangement of characters to his/her preference. Language Scholars could create “New Standard” arrangements that are more efficient for the user to type, or, the user could create his own personal arrangements. I think that one day this will be realized. Either that, or it already has been in avant-garde technological circles.
The QWERTY keyboard is the standard for all modern computer keyboards. The very keyboard this article was typed on was most likely a qwerty keyboard. It was created so that the most used letters are closest to the home row making it very efficient for typing. The qwerty keyboard was designed well after the orignal typewriter. As far as a LCD keyboard, sounds pretty interesting as long as the color, font, and brightness could be changed.
Thank you for reading my blog. That article was written using a QWERTY keyboard, but involuntarily so. The QWERTY system was created some time after the invention of the first typewriter, yes, but it was created during the popular use of the typewriter. Which is evidence enough that it is now archaic. Not to mention it was created in the 1860s (140+ years ago).
“The QWERTY keyboard layout was devised and created in the 1860s by the creator of the first modern typewriter, Christopher Sholes, a newspaper editor who lived in Milwaukee. Originally, the characters on the typewriters he invented were arranged alphabetically, set on the end of a metal bar which struck the paper when its key was pressed. However, once an operator had learned to type at speed, the bars attached to letters that lay close together on the keyboard became entangled with one another, forcing the typist to manually unstick the typebars, and also frequently blotting the document.[1] A business associate of Sholes, James Densmore, suggested splitting up keys for letters commonly used together to speed up typing by preventing common pairs of typebars from striking the platen at the same time and sticking together. The effect this rearrangement of letters had on maximum typing speed is a disputed issue. Some sources assert that the QWERTY layout was designed to slow down typing speed to further reduce jamming.[2] Other sources assert the rearrangement worked by separating common sequences of letters in English. Ostensibly, the hammers that were likely to be used in quick succession were less”
“Because modern keyboards do not suffer from the problems of older mechanical keyboards, the QWERTY layout’s separation of frequently used letter pairs is no longer necessary. Several alternative keyboard layouts, such as Dvorak Simplified Keyboard arrangement (designed by Dr. August Dvorak and William Dealey and patented in 1936), have been designed to increase a typist’s speed and comfort, largely by moving the most common letters to the home row and maximizing hand alternation. Some studies have shown that alternative methods are more efficient, but Dvorak and other alternative typists most often cite comfort as the greatest advantage. QWERTY’s inventor, Christopher Sholes, patented a key arrangement similar to Dvorak’s, but it never became popular.”
Quotes are from Wikipedia.
Thanks again,
Taylor