Engelbart's Keyboard Available For Touchscreens 160
An anonymous reader writes "Doug Engelbart should be known to everyone on Slashdot — he did invent the mouse after all, among many other inventions all of us rely on today. There was one more obscure device he came up with that never really took off, though. It was called the Chorded Keyboard, and consisted of a system that allowed you to type using just one hand. The key to this system was finger combinations, which allowed up to 32 different characters — more than enough for the alphabet. Now that one-handed keyboard has been ported to work with touchscreens, and it could end up being quite popular. The key benefit is the fact you can type anywhere on the screen and don't even need to see where you are typing. The only difficulty is learning all the key combos, but once you have them cold you may be able to type faster than with two hands on your smartphone or tablet." Bonus: being software-only and open-source, it's much cheaper than a Twiddler.
I wonder where this will go (Score:5, Funny)
Wait, fellow poster! Please reconsider before you write that joke!
EMACS? (Score:4, Funny)
Just wait till the Emacs people come along... they're gonna have a gasm. Wait for all the keybindings in 3.... 2... 1....
Number of Hands? (Score:2, Funny)
I have two hands you insensitive clod!
Re:EMACS? (Score:5, Funny)
It's a bit like an Emacs user's reductio ad absurdum : a keyboard that is all modifiers.
Re:Shoot me (Score:5, Funny)
Unless my life depended on it, I doubt I could ever train myself to use 32+ memorized "chords" to type all of the letters and numbers.
Unless my life depended upon it, I doubt I could ever train myself to use a 101+ key keyboard...
Re:EMACS? (Score:5, Funny)
Someone needs to make a keyboard with ELEVEN modifier keys. For that extra push over the cliff.
That's nothing (Score:5, Funny)
Ha! With my typing system, I needn't use more than just one finger!
PS: any advice on getting first post? It seems impossible.
(or what joke were you referring to?)
Re:EMACS? (Score:5, Funny)
Seven modifier keys. Seven.
I've always wondered what kind of moderation would result if one pressed Hyper-Super-Meta-ThumbsUp while clicking the Moderate button here on Slashdot.
Re:EMACS? (Score:5, Funny)
I may be slow, but how would that be different thant Emacs today??? :)
hawk
Re:EMACS? (Score:5, Funny)
suddenly a lot of questions I have about emacs just fell into place.
Oh My God! You're right!
Seven modifiers. Seven Fingers. Lisp. It all fits.
Emacs is designed for aliens!
Twiddler? Really? (Score:4, Funny)