February 7, 2011 at 9:25 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Life Without Keyboards
February 8, 2011 at 12:44 am
I guess it's more of how one has grown up with things. When I was in school, one of the "skill" subjects that we had was typing (the good, old fashioned type-writter). Because of this influence during of my schooling days, I find it very difficult to type on a touch-pad - the mind just doesn't feel at home. Give me an old fashioned keyboard, and I would be the happiest person around.
I recently had visited the local Apple store and found that for things like reading books and watching photographs or movies, I am comfortable in using my hands because that is natural (I use my hands to flip through the pages on a book, so I don't find it unnatural to do the same on a touch-screen).
I also felt that I would be more inclined to use a touch-screen if I had to do something standing up or in a "hostile" environment like on the industrial shop-floor.
That's just my opinion, and will be looking forward to reading the opinions of others in this discussion.
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February 8, 2011 at 4:31 am
I compare this to the Kinect that I got for the XBox last year. I love it as you do not need a controller to play games, but a die hard frist person shooter like myself (I have a couple of Gears of War tattoos that I myself will be buried with) will not give up the feel of the controller and the Kinect is best suited for those other action games like sports, dancing, exercise...but certainly not suited for a FPS. I cannot immagine me taking cover behind my coffee table when I need to in a game.
However trivial, I do think Microsoft is onto something for the future of how we interact with our own homes and businesses with Kinect and Surface technologies.
I always think there will be a place and a need for a keyboard (as there will be my XBox controller), but many of these technologies might be able to first replace the mouse. I am looking forward to the day when I can walk into my home and have the Kinect sense who I am then turn on the lights, turn on the tv to what I prefer or play the music through my Zune service that it knows I like.
February 8, 2011 at 5:55 am
In the article the authors state
we resolve the location ... by analyzing mechanical vibrations that propagate through the body
There are all manner of things that cause vibrations in the body. I guess they are usually considered "output" though, but never in polite company. 😀 I wonder how they deal with those vibrations?
<><
Livin' down on the cube farm. Left, left, then a right.
February 8, 2011 at 7:01 am
Love that picture again Steve. 🙂
A virtual keyboard was developed a few years ago. It used a small projector that projected an image of the keyboard on the desk. It worked OK but there was no tactile feedback. I think most of the time people want and need the tactile feedback from the keys.
February 8, 2011 at 7:16 am
If they ever master creating a really reliable voice activation system I can imagine moving to speaking instead of typing. Pretty much everything I type for could be transitioned into spoken words or commands.
Thus I CAN see a day when the keyboard goes completely away. Maybe not in my lifetime but certainly in my daughter's.
February 8, 2011 at 7:18 am
I think there are quite a few opportunities for keyboard-less or reduced-character keyboards in specialized applications. I remember putting touchscreens out on the manufacturing floor in 1997. We were just fine with numeric input only, so I built an on-screen number pad.
My biggest problem with touchscreen keyboards is a side effect of the capacitive touch screens now in use and the lack of alternate keyboard layouts. I can do over 50 wpm on the iPad's on-screen keyboard, but on a small device like my smart phone, a full keyboard is quite difficult for me to use with my (fat) fingers. When I was using my old Palm III, the combination of stylus and FITALY layout let me input text at over 40 wpm. I've tried a few different keyboards on my smart phone, including ones with predictive typing, and struggle get past about 15 wpm. In this area, we seem to have gone backwards and I don't see any good way forward. You can get a stylus for capacitive screens, but they are all still pretty fat tips, so I'm not encouraged that it will get me the accuracy I need to really take advantage of something like FITALY.
February 8, 2011 at 7:25 am
OCTom (2/8/2011)
Love that picture again Steve. 🙂A virtual keyboard was developed a few years ago. It used a small projector that projected an image of the keyboard on the desk. It worked OK but there was no tactile feedback. I think most of the time people want and need the tactile feedback from the keys.
That may catch on for simple text entry. But, I don't speak in the same manner as I type. I may mis-state or mis-pronounce a word. I may stammer occasionally and really mess the computer up when I have to stop and think aloud. What do you do with speech impediments or where the quality of voice makes it hard to understand?
Voice to text products ahve been out for awhile already. They have not replaced keyboards.
I wouldn't want to be in a room where everyone is talking at the same time. It would be very distracting.
February 8, 2011 at 7:30 am
OCTom (2/8/2011)
OCTom (2/8/2011)
Love that picture again Steve. 🙂A virtual keyboard was developed a few years ago. It used a small projector that projected an image of the keyboard on the desk. It worked OK but there was no tactile feedback. I think most of the time people want and need the tactile feedback from the keys.
That may catch on for simple text entry. But, I don't speak in the same manner as I type. I may mis-state or mis-pronounce a word. I may stammer occasionally and really mess the computer up when I have to stop and think aloud. What do you do with speech impediments or where the quality of voice makes it hard to understand?
Voice to text products ahve been out for awhile already. They have not replaced keyboards.
I wouldn't want to be in a room where everyone is talking at the same time. It would be very distracting.
Where do you work, and how do I get on there? People are constantly yammering around me in other cubicles. (and then asking me to turn down my headphones(!))
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February 8, 2011 at 7:36 am
A voice activation system wouldn't be all that useful if it could not account for a speaker's occasional stuttering, or verbal "processing, please wait cues" (read "uuuuhhhhhhs") :-).
<><
Livin' down on the cube farm. Left, left, then a right.
February 8, 2011 at 8:38 am
Voice Recognition - Ugh! I cannot and do not want to think about an entire building of cubilcles talking continuously. ARGGGGHHHH!!!:crazy:
MG
"There are two ways of constructing a software design. One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies. And the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies."
Tony Hoare
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February 8, 2011 at 10:14 am
I've used several PDA's over the last 8 years, as I had to support them (being in desktop support).
The Blackberry Storm's touch screen was pretty good, but a year ago I finally made the leap to an iPhone and love it! While I could type faster on the older devices with an actual keyboard, I've gotten much better at using the touch screen for typing. The trade off for typing vs. the variety of apps I gained, was really a "no brainer".
I've also had the same "Epiphany" during the transition from a true keyboard to touch screen. I'm always amazed at how these new technologies are used. Just the basic ability to shrink/expand by "pinching" opens up so many areas for use, when combined with a camera. Double tap to increase the font size is a great example. Being able to navigate around on the map is also a great use for a touch screen.
On the topic of voice recognition, the app Shazam is great example.
Although, I think it really uses the BPM (beats per minute) to make the comparison instead of voice?
The best part about these technologies, is the plethora of free apps that are already utilizing them.
February 8, 2011 at 11:18 am
OCTom (2/8/2011)
Love that picture again Steve. 🙂A virtual keyboard was developed a few years ago. It used a small projector that projected an image of the keyboard on the desk. It worked OK but there was no tactile feedback. I think most of the time people want and need the tactile feedback from the keys.
I need something. I find that I can type at 60-70% of my keyboard speed on the iPad virtual keyboard, but I need the audible clicks. Without them, I'm a little lost.
February 8, 2011 at 11:23 am
My wife works for a speech recco company, and in many ways it works quite well. It was handy for her when she broke her arm, and for transcription items, like for doctors, it works very well.
However for me, and for her with two arms, it's too slow. I make a living with a keyboard and the speed of the best speech systems leaves a lot to be desired. It will become more widely used, but I'm not sure it replaces a keyboard in all situations.
February 8, 2011 at 11:28 am
kslusser (2/8/2011)
... While I could type faster on the older devices with an actual keyboard, I've gotten much better at using the touch screen for typing. ...
I hear that a lot, but I'm pretty much the opposite. I've never liked the hard keyboards. Thumb-typing is both slow and very hard on my thumbs. The soft keyboards with custom layouts like FITALY have always been much faster and easier for me. I used to joke that I wouldn't buy a smart phone until they either got rid of the hard keyboard or provided one with a FITALY layout 🙂 Well, they don't have an official release, but I see that someone has created a FITALY layout for the AnySoft keyboard for Android.
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