What is Digg?135 Comments
- pmuse, on 11/02/2007, -10/+38With proper haptic feedback, touch sensitive keyboards are going to replace normal ones in the near future:
The versatility of multi-touch displays is something that will enhance the way we use computers immeasurably. Imagine being able to have your "regular" keyboard transfer into a musical keyboard when you're using a music program. Take that idea and let your imagination run wild, thinking about all the different applications it could have, and all the new interfaces it creates.
The only thing holding it back is that people need response from their interfaces, like traditional keys provide. Smart haptic feedback will be able to replicate that tactile response, and soon this technology will take off. - THUMPerRTE, on 11/02/2007, -7/+31Have you ever even used (more than just blubbering around an apple store) a macbook or a new keyboard? Sure people have they're own...preferences...but from the sound of it thats just an opinion of how it looks. IMHO I think it feels above and beyond that of any other keyboard. Just like anything new, you gotta get used to it, but don't diss it if you haven't tried it.
- rebotfc, on 11/02/2007, -1/+19"cheapo" and "Optimus" don't belong in the same sentence.
- skoles, on 11/02/2007, -3/+20It's going to make using shortcuts a pain in the ass unless they figure a way around that. My fingers know where they are based on feeling rather than general location.
- modix, on 11/02/2007, -0/+16Haptic is to touch as Optic is to sight.
- terminalpariah, on 11/02/2007, -0/+15Yeah I figured I'd trade the aluminum keyboard away for a classic one, but man - best keyboard I've ever owned. It doesn't *look* like it, but it's really comfortable and has the right about of clickiness.
- ThinkFr33ly, on 11/02/2007, -5/+17I can see having a combination touch surface / key based keyboard, but all touch based? I don't think so.
Tactile feedback (no, not vibrations or some crappy replacement for tactile feedback) is a fairly essential part of a good keyboard. I've typed on "touch" keyboards before, and it's pretty horrible.
Haptic can't replace the feeling of a key being depressed, providing predictable resistance to that press, and then stopping the motion when the key stroke has been recorded. - xOpifex, on 11/02/2007, -1/+13That's a sweet idea, but I don't know if I would like it, especially since most people rest their hands on the keyboard while they are typing. That seems like it would cause a lot of problems and take a lot of getting used to.
- yoda17, on 11/02/2007, -0/+10The Atari 400 had this 20+ years ago. Maybe they were onto something.
http://oldcomputers.net/atari400.html - inkyblue2, on 11/02/2007, -0/+10"Haptic technology refers to technology which interfaces the user via the sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations and/or motions to the user." -wikipedia
- rebotfc, on 11/02/2007, -3/+13Or you could just not buy one?
- treed, on 11/02/2007, -0/+9I'm not sure that's true. Let's re-evaluate this when we get an iPhone the size of a keyboard.
- thefandango, on 11/02/2007, -1/+10unless you were referring to the transformers you bought in mexico
- pyrates, on 11/02/2007, -0/+9star trek anybody?
- treed, on 11/02/2007, -7/+15I can type 40 WPM on my iPhone. And that's with two thumbs.
So... what's not practical? - Landeyda, on 11/02/2007, -2/+9Even with modern keyboards, I always choose the loudest and most 'clicky'. I -liked- the keyboards of the 80's and early 90's, and the way they sounded and felt.
- SNIPE07, on 11/01/2007, -0/+6http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/
Has been done, not quite the same, but 10x cooler. - Tyr7BE, on 11/02/2007, -0/+6>With proper haptic feedback, touch sensitive keyboards are going to replace normal ones in the near future:
It's those first words that are the problem. Right now there's zero haptic feedback, which is what makes futzing around on an iPhone so awkward. Give me a touch interface that lets my fingers know what it's doing, and you've got yourself a customer. - noahhoward, on 11/02/2007, -0/+6Anyone familiar with Job's button hatred should have seen this coming. I was hoping to see it, now I can't wait to see how it gets implemented. A fluid layout keyboard would be really cool.
- cyberwiz01, on 11/02/2007, -0/+5Someone needs a hug.
- Dumbledorito, on 11/01/2007, -0/+5A giant-size Nintendo DS?
- spect3r, on 11/02/2007, -0/+5I hear Duke Nukem uses an Optimus Keyboard
- MadKennyP, on 11/02/2007, -0/+4I agree. I've tried the Chcklet keyboard on my wife's iMac and I'm picking one up this weekend for my own Mac. It's personal preference and I really didn't think I'd like it, but it is very nice. And I usually prefer old, clicky keyboards that I started with in my IBM 3270 days.
- ScrabbyDoo, on 11/02/2007, -0/+3modix, he's talking about touch screen displays, you dufus, not real keyboards.
- cmiller1, on 11/02/2007, -1/+4I can't wait to see dual screen laptops made using this technology :D
- gmprunner, on 11/02/2007, -1/+4How does looking at your phone make you a moron? Does not having to look at the screen when you type somehow make you cool?
And who cares how long you've had your phone? What does that have to do with any of this?
Lame, man. Lame. - logandurand, on 11/01/2007, -0/+3Someone has already made a pad with magnetic keys that can be arranged in any manner you choose. Not sure how useful that is, though.
- modix, on 11/02/2007, -0/+3I could understand trying to change the mouse. It's an inefficient input device that could use tons of modifications.
When did keyboards need improvement? Besides the change needed to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome, the keyboard is one of our greatest methods of input. The years of muscle memory as well as a nice feedback from the keypress allow for fast, easy typing.
Removing the "feel" of typing would reduce the amount of information coming to the typer, and would cause slower, more mistake prone typing. - Firehed, on 11/01/2007, -2/+5Yeah, that's how innovation works.
Although a touchscreen-esque keyboard seems highly impractical when you have space for a normal keyboard (ie, on any laptop). A multi-touch trackpad, on the other hand, could certainly have its benefits. - Kazbaeden, on 11/02/2007, -0/+3I agree with this sentiment. As a violinist, I get no tatile or haptic feedback on where to place my fingers. The feedback only comes after I move the bow and hear a sound, so I can only know where to place my fingers based on their relative position to one another.
Muscle memory is extremely powerful; I play songs not from mental memory, but from muscle memory. That is my movements are very automatic (I don't actively think about where I'm going to place my fingers next) and accurate to a degree where 1mm can be the difference between a D and a D#. I also have to move very rapidly, much more so than typing 60WPM.
What I'm trying to get at is the power of muscle memory (when it is extremely perfected for an art like playing the violin) can be harnessed and applied to something less intensive like typing. The issue most people have is they want a way to know they pressed a button, and largely the answer I have is the fact that the letter appears on the screen is feedback enough (just as the sound from the violin is the only feedback I get) but you can also compound things like sounds and a small vibration, and I think that's more than enough. - bdurkin, on 11/02/2007, -5/+8I have an idea...lets fix some more things that are not broken.
- RyeBrye, on 11/02/2007, -0/+3
In the end, however, what they describe is a flexible surface which lays completely flat over the keys, and can be used as a smooth flat-surfaced touch-pad. When used as a keyboard, however, small bumps rise up under the flexible surface in each of the four corners of each key. This causes a tenting effect which provides a concave surface for each of the keys. By being tied to a mechanical system, the keys can effectively appear and disappear on demand. They even describe the software being able to tell when the keys are needed based on detecting typing motions (keyboard) vs swiping gestures (touch pad)."
Yeah, that sounds affordable. - nicku, on 11/02/2007, -1/+4My favorite is the pube and food collecting keyboard of the G5. Apple has had some horrific keyboards over the years.
- tyywebb, on 11/02/2007, -1/+4I would have used "tactile."
- Sedako, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2I don't see why people are digging you down.. All you're doing is voicing your opinion, and I happen to agree with you. I would never be able to enjoy using a keyboard that doesn't offer tactile feedback.
- NyteStarNyne, on 11/02/2007, -0/+2Besides all the main technical features, it would be great to have a keyboard that doesn't collect dust, crumbs & is coffee-proof.
- modix, on 11/02/2007, -1/+3I've been trying to come up with a single reason the touch keyboards would be advantageous, and I still can't think of one. I really don't understand who Apple hires for input device design, but they definitely don't have input efficiency in mind.
- SuperFarStucker, on 11/02/2007, -7/+9Apple has a history with input devices that is simply unprecedented elsewhere in the industry. They're completely oblivious to ergonomics and functionality. I remember using Apple iie machines in gradeschool and the reference nodes (concave circles in this case) were on the keys d and k. I was already a proficient typist and it was horrible. They've never really broken out of that mold.
An inexcusable string of horrible 1 button mice (puck mouse, mighty mouse...) and quite simply the worst keyboards ever concieved on their entry level portables. One's head cannot help but spin as to the gross level of incompetence they display over the most important external design consideration. - pmuse, on 11/02/2007, -3/+5I wasn't saying keyboards already provide haptic feedback. Please re-read my comment and post something that makes sense.
- Christbait, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2Same. And it would make touch typing a real pain in the ass.
- Spoomeister, on 11/01/2007, -1/+3There's always going to be a market for alternative input, for people with disabilities and/or personal preferences. I suppose an ergonomic version of this could be produced pretty easily - would probably even have the clean lines and rolling curves you'd expect from an Apple hardware product. But anyway. Even though carpal tunnel sufferers wouldn't use it, and the blind likely wouldn't use it, this is still pretty interesting.
- Disease, on 11/02/2007, -1/+3Try tapping on your desk like you're typing. You'll see that your fingers will get really tired without any feedback pushing on your fingers. I personally like the feeling of pushing actual buttons. A touch surface keyboard would be a nightmare for me.
- endlessoul, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2He plays Spore on it, mostly.
- funkytaco, on 11/02/2007, -0/+2It needs to have tactile feedback. They need to patentent a touch surface keyboard that allows programming this in with customized tactile surfaces - i.e. fuzzy dice feel, classic keyboard feel, nude skin feel. :)
- modix, on 11/05/2007, -2/+4To this day I will never understand how diggers digg down facts. I wasn't stating an opinion. Look up the definitions for those words. Our sense of touch is a multitude of sensation: pressure, propioception(sense of movement), hot/cold, pain, and texture. Tactile refers to the pressure portion of touch. Haptics refers to the whole range of sensation.
- Chirp08, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2A keyboard with no "feel" would suck. Without the keys actually moving you would have no sense if you hit anything, the last thing i want is for my keyboard to feel like im tapping my fingers on an empty desk.
- ozroy, on 11/02/2007, -0/+2If we didn't fix things that aren't broken then we would still be living in caves and hunting for our food because the spear still works.
- mlostracco, on 11/02/2007, -0/+2Thought I'd hate it. Bought one. After the first half hour or so, I thought I hated it. After I got used to it after a day or so, I found it's the best, incredibly solid, most comfortable keyboard I've ever used—by a wide, wide margin.
- energyblue, on 11/01/2007, -0/+2what way up would it open?
- fgsfds, on 11/02/2007, -0/+2Don't forget that the impact from hitting a touch screen is FAR sharper than hitting a key on a keyboard when engaging in normal typing activity. Keyboards that provide reduced dampening tend to cause more and more severe injuries.
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