So now I'm thinking about what kinds of technologies or approaches could be used to replace the computer keyboard.
An interesting exercise is to think about how a particular problem would be solved using current technologies. Keep in mind that the computer keyboard can trace it's origins back more than a century to the manual typewriter. Of course the wheel has been around a lot longer than that and nobody has improve on it. But is the computer keyboard like the wheel? I'm going to outline some requirements and see what if anything falls out.
Requirements:
- Provide a human/computer interface that allows for the transfer of information from the human mind to the digital world of the computer.
- Do so relatively quietly. (Which is not the case for voice recognition for instance)
- Do so relatively quickly. (This is subject to the skill of the typist of course)
- Do so accurately and do not require the user to look at the input mechanism itself. This means it's OK if the mechanism uses some sort of screen feedback as part of the data entry process, but not OK if most people must regularly look exclusively at the input mechanism even when they are proficient.
I should probably add a number five which would read "Makes people who have been using what it replaces comfortable or better yet, happier than they were" but that is desirable any time you're talking about a long established technology or way of doing something. That unlisted number five is the biggest barrier to acceptance even if you do come up with the proverbial better mouse trap. We human beings are generally not fond of change.
Based on past comments in this BLOG I'm clearly not a fan of touch screens as a replacement for the traditional keyboard. I find touch screens to be awkward and slow which gets in the way of my ability to create. In my more honest moments I do wonder though how much of that dislike is a lack of practice and familiarity. There are technologies available that up the bandwidth of data entry on touch pad. On my DroidX I use something called "SwiftKey" which does a pretty good job of guessing what word I'm wanting to type after only one or two letters. Right now I find having to look at the screen to see and pick the correct guess awkward but that might get better with more repetition and the technology continues to improve.
What if my phone or computer could read my lips? I wouldn't have to speak out loud which would make this a cubicle friendly solution.
I'm also still intrigued by the possibility of Kinect like technologies to help solve this problem. Giving computing devices and the programmers and engineers who create them the ability to interpret what users users are doing in the real world could lead to some interesting and innovative solutions to this and many other problems. Gestures and "ghost typing" are two possible input methods that come to mind using this kind of technology.
My biggest problem with touch pads is the lack of tactile feedback both in terms of hand positioning and typing. With a keyboard I quickly know where my hands are and where my fingers are typing based on how the keyboard feels. I don't get that with a touch pad. Of course having a fixed position keyboard on a touch pad seems a bit silly. Why can't I simply place my hands on the touch pad and have it adjust the key positioning according to where my hands are? This wouldn't solve the tactile feedback issue but it has the potential to eliminate a lot of errors in typing which would be a big improvement. Combine that with a SwiftKey like technology and maybe the keyboard would become a thing of the past.
Then there are all the solutions I can't think of because I either haven't heard of the technologies or I can't "step outside of the box" enough to figure out how they might be used. This is why prognostication and innovation are so difficult. It's kind of like the infinite monkeys writing Shakespeare concept only the monkeys are really smart and they aren't constrained to write MacBeth or one of the Bards other plays but can instead write something brand new. On second thought maybe it's nothing like the infinite monkeys.
There are a lot of very smart people and companies out there looking for problems to solve and coming up with solutions that get tested in the marketplace.
So, while my fondness for the computer keyboard is unlikely to abate I do hope that somebody comes up with a better alternative. If that turns out to be a touch pad based solution, so be it. Making users of legacy technologies happy is a big leg up on acceptance but it isn't always necessary.
Based on past comments in this BLOG I'm clearly not a fan of touch screens as a replacement for the traditional keyboard. I find touch screens to be awkward and slow which gets in the way of my ability to create. In my more honest moments I do wonder though how much of that dislike is a lack of practice and familiarity. There are technologies available that up the bandwidth of data entry on touch pad. On my DroidX I use something called "SwiftKey" which does a pretty good job of guessing what word I'm wanting to type after only one or two letters. Right now I find having to look at the screen to see and pick the correct guess awkward but that might get better with more repetition and the technology continues to improve.
What if my phone or computer could read my lips? I wouldn't have to speak out loud which would make this a cubicle friendly solution.
I'm also still intrigued by the possibility of Kinect like technologies to help solve this problem. Giving computing devices and the programmers and engineers who create them the ability to interpret what users users are doing in the real world could lead to some interesting and innovative solutions to this and many other problems. Gestures and "ghost typing" are two possible input methods that come to mind using this kind of technology.
My biggest problem with touch pads is the lack of tactile feedback both in terms of hand positioning and typing. With a keyboard I quickly know where my hands are and where my fingers are typing based on how the keyboard feels. I don't get that with a touch pad. Of course having a fixed position keyboard on a touch pad seems a bit silly. Why can't I simply place my hands on the touch pad and have it adjust the key positioning according to where my hands are? This wouldn't solve the tactile feedback issue but it has the potential to eliminate a lot of errors in typing which would be a big improvement. Combine that with a SwiftKey like technology and maybe the keyboard would become a thing of the past.
Then there are all the solutions I can't think of because I either haven't heard of the technologies or I can't "step outside of the box" enough to figure out how they might be used. This is why prognostication and innovation are so difficult. It's kind of like the infinite monkeys writing Shakespeare concept only the monkeys are really smart and they aren't constrained to write MacBeth or one of the Bards other plays but can instead write something brand new. On second thought maybe it's nothing like the infinite monkeys.
There are a lot of very smart people and companies out there looking for problems to solve and coming up with solutions that get tested in the marketplace.
So, while my fondness for the computer keyboard is unlikely to abate I do hope that somebody comes up with a better alternative. If that turns out to be a touch pad based solution, so be it. Making users of legacy technologies happy is a big leg up on acceptance but it isn't always necessary.
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