Keyboard Layouts for the 21st Century?

jules asks: "Trying to do some programming on an iBook the other day brought to my attention the fact that despite the constant improvements to the design of computer hardware and software, the keyboards we use are still a throwback to the early 1980s. I mean - my Mac doesn't have room for page up/down or home/end keys, but it devotes a whole key to a sort of double-S shape that I will never press. And my PC keyboards all waste plastic on a backwards-apostrophe key and a scroll-lock (+ LED!), while functions that you use all the time, such as switching between windows, cut/copy/paste, back/forwards, undo/redo etc, all have to double-up with other keys.. Have any organizations actually tried to re-invent the keyboard recently? (..not counting the manufacturers who stick a few 'multimedia' keys along the top for consumer PCs). Would this be doomed to failure because of the tens of thousands of legacy apps that expect things to be the way they are? What sort of keys would you include in your fantasy keyboard layout?" It's not just the keys on your keyboard that are important, it's also how you arrange them. What kind of keyboard arrangements might we see in the future?

This first post brought to you buy

[Anonymous Coward]

My super fast dvorak skills

Suck it qwerty (queer-ty) lovers.

"Backwards Apostrophe"?

[worst_name_ever]

And my PC keyboards all waste plastic on a backwards-apostrophe key

Must not be a *nix user if he has no use for the tilde key!

keyboards...

[Anonymous Coward]

that explode when someone types 'first post'

backtick

[aePrime]

And my PC keyboards all waste plastic on a backwards-apostrophe key

And he's a programmer? I believe it's called a backtick. I take it he's never written Perl, or LaTeX, or ... .

Back tick?

[sdhughes]

You never use the back tick? How's Microsoft Windows treating you?

where do i buy?

[yup2000]

yes, but where do you buy these things?
i tried to rearrange my qwerty keyboard, and ended up finding that the keys on row x are only meant for row x, and won't work on row x+1...!

i did manage to break my space bar too :)

so, my question is: if i have a keyboard that doesn't lend itsself to mod'ing, where can i find one of those fancy keyboards?

Re:To start press...

[ejaw5]

hmm..I see cat-tarl, and pig-up..uh.I think I'll just order me a Tab. Oops, the computer is starting, time for work

All keyboards should have VCR/TV functions...

[$$$$$exyGal]

We need:

• Fast-forward
• Rewind
• Pause
• Play
• Stop
• Record
• etc...

And most of all, all keyboards need an analog volume changer. With IBooks, you can change the volume using some function keys... but there needs a little spinny thing to change the audio (like what is in most refrigerator's to change the temp).

And lastly, I can't seem to find that double-S thing on my IBook?

--sex [slashdot.org]

Re:"Backwards Apostrophe"?

[sawilson]

And all my PC keyboards waste plastic on these little windows looking keys next to alt that seem to do nothing in linux.

I'd like a large red button,

[Anonymous Coward]

that makes things go bang.

One additional button

[NeoMoose]

Not necessarily a standard key, but if one of those keyboards with one-touch Internet buttons would add a "Pornography" button it would save me some effort.

Re:"Backwards Apostrophe"?

[rampant mac]

Must not be a *nix user if he has no use for the tilde key!

Ha! Show's what you know! When I drop to DOS on my Windows machine and do a "dir" all I see is:

Progam~1 [Directory]
Documu~1 [Directory]
ILoveY~1 [Directory]
Slamme~1 [Directory]

See? We're just advanced as you "Unix" users!

104-button mouse

[Xtifr]

I would be glad to dump my "obsolete" keyboard if I could replace it with a 104-button mouse. :)

Don't dis the Q.

[ArcSecond]

Hey man, I loved the QWERTY keyboard so much, I named my cat after it. She is a grey and white cat, and very friendly. And she'll punk your ergo-friendly Dvorak hamster in a second.

There'll be advances here, don't worry...

[Anonvmous Coward]

A lot of work is being done to simplify keyboard layouts. Soon all keys will be replaced with brightly colored rectangles. Instead of 101 keys, you'll have a few large buttons which, coincidentally, lend themselves beautifully to touch screens. Instead of one character per button, each one is labeled with a multi-digit number. This way they were able to greatly reduce the number of buttons needed.

Here's an example... [doroch.nl]

As you can see, they're very efficient. A panel like this can control an entire starship.

Re:where do i buy?

[uncoveror]

The keyboard layout would be much less confusing if Milton Crane would stop whining about his intellectual property, and let manufacturers mark the "Any" Key. [uncoveror.com]

Them Winders keys

[HisMother]

I've got a whole drawer full of them. It's oddly satisfying to pry them off with a penknife and toss them in the drawer, knowing you'll never need 'em.

My fantasy keyboard could talk!

[sam_handelman]

Salesman: Look, the new Cyrius Cybernetics keyboards can talk! Describe whatever layout you want, and the AI in the keyboard will implement it. His name is Marvin.

Customer: Hello, Marvin. What are all those blinking lights for?

Marvin: They hurt.

Salesman: Shut up, Marvin. They're primarily decorative, but Marvin can assign them to whatever LOCK keys you specify.

Marvin: I've had this terrible pain in all the diodes down my left side. I mean, I've asked to have them replaced, but nobody listens.

Customer: It seems unhappy.

Salesman: Well, Marvin would feel much better if someone took him home, if you take my drift.

Marvin: No I wouldn't.

Customer: Are you sure it will work with my Compaq 8000, at home?

Salesman: Definitely.

Marvin: They plugged me into a compaq once.

Customer: And what happened?

Marvin: It committed suicide.

Customer: Why are you so unhappy?

Marvin: I've got a brain the size of a planet, and look at what they've got me doing.

Customer: Do any of the peripherals here have better personalities?

Salesman: Oh, no...

Speaker: I wanted to let you know what a joy and a privelege it's been to make error sounds for your computer enjoyment! It's been really wonderful! Would you guys like to hear some public domain music? I used to be an elevator!

Re:where do i buy?

[SoSueMe]

Qwerty, Dvorak, what's the diff? Hunt and Peck r00lz!

The ultimate Macintosh keyboard

[Ignorant Aardvark]

I want to see the ultimate Macintosh keyboard ... one big white button in the center. That's it.

Apple keyboard

[rwise2112]

Well, if Apple had their way, the keyboard would only have one key. ;)

Re:Key?

[clueless idiot]

To begin, draw an S for snake, or dragon, or whatever, next we'll draw a more different S.

TROGDOR!

</Strongbad>

ok ok ok

[sawilson]

Me: Why did the chicken cross the road?

You: Why would a chicken cross a road to begin with?
As another poster said, you could cook the chicken
and make hotwings, or perhaps a good soup.

Me: No man, It's a joke. You know? Something that's
supposed to be funny?

You: What's a joke? Everything is supposed to be
serious on slashdot. Now about that chicken.....

I'd like to see one of these

[Neillparatzo]

Someday I am going to program my own JEFFKeyboard [somethingawful.com].

Re:The reason plus, Fujitsu 4725 is AWESOME

[Fnkmaster]

It can take all the pounding you can dish out, and the tactile and soft audible feedback make it a real pleasure to work with.

Hmmm, are you quite sure you're talking about your keyboard here?

Re:This first post brought to you buy

[jwdeff]

My super fast dvorak skills Suck it qwerty (queer-ty) lovers.

I could have typed that post so much faster than you on my qwerty keyboard.

In fact, lets have a contest to see who can type "qwerty lovers" faster. BWAHHAHA!!

Re:Keyboards not just for typing

[Rayonic]

> the input devices must make an evolutionary leap

I disagree. I think they should make a revolutionary step.

My fantasy keyboard:

[Bendebecker]

One that has the numberpad replaced with all the common hotkeys used in vi. That would effectively double the size of the keyboard though...

Dedicated-purpose keyboards

[chiph]

The original poster made much of the fact that there were several keys that he never used - the back-quote (used in word processing) and the Scroll Lock (used by many KVMs). Maybe manufacturers need to produce specialized keyboards based on what tasks you regularly perform.

Accountant Keyboard - Prominent numeric keypad and shortcuts to Excel macros. No caps-lock and only one set of Ctrl and Alt keys.

MS Office Keyboard - Microsoft has already done this. Don't really care for the mouse wheel located on the keyboard, but I only use Word and Visio to draw up requirements documents anyway. Has no brace {}[] keys.

Software Development Keyboard - No numeric keypad, but has assignable keys down the left like the original Northgate keyboards. Arrow keys are in inverted "T" pattern like God intended.

*nix Keyboard - Has no shift key (just kidding). Has the punctuation marks and numerics reversed on the keys along the top for easier shell script writing (must press Shift + $ to get a "4").

L33T 5p34k Keyboard - Looks remarkably like a cellphone, except the letters and numbers are randomly jumbled up.

Chip H.

Re:My Vision

[FueledByRamen]

I'd definately like that, but only if it came with an LCARS skin. Star Trek, here we come! Oh, and when the system crashes, the keyboard has to keep the buttons visible but make the backlight flicker. That would add the final touch of authenticity to it...

Re:Key?

[Scud_the_disposable_]

bwa ha ha ha... And the Trogdor comes in the NIIIIiiiiiIIIIIIiiiiiiIIIIGHT!!

eject

[trefoil]

just like a famous eject switch.. there better always be an eject button.. especially if I can trigger it remotely.. and it's attached to the other person's chair.. muahaha *evil laugh*

LCARS Panel

[Kenshin]

Oh, and when the system crashes, the keyboard has to keep the buttons visible but make the backlight flicker. That would add the final touch of authenticity to it...

No, the final touch of authenticity would be having it explode in your face when you take damage in a game.

I never did figure out why the Enterprise's workstations were built of explosive material...

Dvorak...

[microsost]

I just swapped a spare k/b over to dvorak... And hell does this make for slow typing.. But I'm getting a little faster.. Loving the A placement :).. Rp C jrgse cp/. uaoyfpvvvZZZZ

Hrm...

[autopr0n]

I'd heard that the phone company actually put the numbers on 'upside down' because they were worried about people typing the numbers in to fast.

Re:The reason plus, Fujitsu 4725 is AWESOME

[Anonymous Coward]

... You do realize that you can disable those, right?

Re:This first post brought to you buy

[Anonymous Coward]

This first post brought to you buy

??

I think i will keep my qwerty keyboard!

Re:Keyboards not just for typing

[jez9999]

Voice regognition??

"tab if Silent equals false left curly bracket newline tab tab printf left round bracket double quote percent sign s double quote comma space Output right round bracket semicolon newline tab right curly bracket space forward slash star space Output debug information space star forward slash newline newline ..."

I think i'll stay with my keyboard thanks.