Articles on keyboards

Why write about keyboards and other computer input devices? Easy. I’m a fast typist. Though I am an adherent of the Macintosh religion, I used DOS computers for years, particularly DOS WordPerfect, which at the time ran exclusively via keyboard commands – using every conceivable key. It got to the point that I could navigate four levels deep in menus in half a second, so familiar was I with the required keystrokes.

And besides, you have your fingers on your keyboard all day.

While others have produced reams of research on keyboards and other forms of computer-human interaction (CHI), my corpus of articles deals with direct user experience, usability, and industrial design.

• Keyboard allegiance: Why would some keyboard users rather fight than switch?
• The Apple Adjustable Keyboard: Two analyses (first, second)
• Pens: Mightier Than?, a 1996 article on pen computing, handwriting recognition, and word prediction, the latter in the news because the Nokia 7110 uses it
• Half-QWERTY: The sound of one hand typing