Re: A product design project

Something that you may not have considered is Morse code. This would not 
be an improvement for workstations, but it has been discussed in the 
context of cell-phone SMS messaging or other situations where there 
isn't room for a proper keyboard, or where the eyes need to be directed 
elsewhere. I've heard that at least one phone manufacturer has used the 
Morse characters "SMS" (dididit, dahdah, dididit) to signal receipt of a 
message.

Unfortunately morse code must be learned, so the laziness of the 
consuming public is probably a show-stopper for this idea. There seem to 
be more wrong ways to learn morse than there are right ways, and the 
skill is doubtless as prone to mental blocks and similar problems as 
keyboard retraining. (The main issue for me is that I started learning 
morse at a slow speed, and so find it hard to listen for the "sound" of 
characters without thinking about their dot-dash patterns. To me, it 
seems unwise to start Morse at less than about 10 WPM, or faster if 
possible.)

I also wonder if the ergonomics of using one keypad button are much 
better than using eight or so. (Although may be over 150 or so years' 
worth of study on telegraph key ergonomics.) At any rate, I find the 
idea of a one-key interface intriguing.

Marcus
(K5MWB--dahdidah, dididididit, dahdah, didahdah, dahdididit)

Thomas Levine wrote:
> Awesome! I've always wanted to do something similar, and I've thought about
> it a bit, but I haven't come up with any precise idea. One idea that I heard
> about a while ago was integrating it into a touch screen, which would allow
> very natural pointing, typing and viewing. It would be something better than
> an on-screen keyboard. I don't especially like my DataHand; it's better than
> everything else I've used, but that doesn't say much.
>
> The point about buyers being lazy reminds me of AC Mandal's work with
> chairs. Have you read any of his papers or his book? A main problem with
> ergonomics in general is that people don't want to change their ways because
> their old habits are too strong. (Anyone who wants to see an awesome example
> of this phenomenon, read
> this<http://www.premus2007.org/abstracts/serratosperez-j1.pdf>,
> especially the last sentence of the results section.)
>
>
> On Nov 15, 2007 7:57 AM, matzkelon <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>   
>> So far, my initial research covered existing products and methods for
>> text entry, and my conclusions should not surprise the lot of you.
>> I have covered about five or more methods of text entry (I would dare
>> not limit myself to depressing keys), the QWERTY hell and the lacking
>> products in the category of "Alternative Keyboards".
>>
>>