Alternative keyboards

[mithriltabby]

Anyone trying out the AlphaGrip? Just saw it announced on Slashdot. I’m curious about widgets like that, and the Twiddler. They might come in handy for getting high-speed input into a tablet PC.

Comments

[baronlaw.livejournal.com]

Fascinating!

[cmccurry.livejournal.com]

I would love to try one of those just out of curiosity. I can't imagine it being easy to use.

[mithriltabby]

Do you touch-type already?

[cmccurry.livejournal.com]

Yes indeed. It's just that the set up looked odd to me.

[mithriltabby]

I’ll see if I can bribe weregamer to lend me his sometime and give it a try... it’ll be interesting to see what it’s like to adapt to a different kind of keyboard.

[abditus.livejournal.com]

The AlphaGrip you mentioned looks really cool. But, as much as I conceptually dislike qwerty keyboards (I don't actually know any other form factors), I find the idea of relearning/remapping keyboard shortcuts frightening -- try using vi or emacs on a Dvorak.

Ultimately what I want is a gesture based input device similar to what was used in Minority Report (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181689/) in conjunction with code visualization and an interface similar to Squeak (http://www.squeak.org). Until then, any input devices that can improve typing speed without being disruptive to known key mappings and that prevent RSIs are welcome in my book. I've tried DataHand Keyboards (http://www.datahand.com) and have found them to be a bit too awkward for my taste -- too much coffee and you suddenly seem epileptic. Finger Works (http://www.fingerworks.com/) makes some gesture based keyboards in both qwerty and Dvorak which I would love to play with at some point, and they even have an Emacs mode.

[weregamer.livejournal.com]

I'm sufficiently interested in the AlphaGrip to pre-order one. They plan to have three sizes for different hand sizes, but the initial offering is for small-to-average hands. That might be too small for me, but it will be a chance to look at the idea even if it is.

I'm really unsure it will replace the keyboard for me, as a split keyboard already gives me no RSI and for most of my activities my typing speed can keep up with my thought processes. If I were writing more fluff I might be interested in pressing the limits, but I'm already a demon-fast typist (roughly 70wpm is my guess, though I haven't timed myself in years).

The real draw for the device is the chance to do some light typing while in a more relaxed position, and to be able to play games like CoH that (1) have enough hotkeys to make The Claw insufficient (2) require enough variety in their use to make a Nostromo's clumsiness too great (3) require full typing to converse with other players.