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Aucbvax.2354 fa.works utzoo!duke!decvax!ucbvax!works Sun Jul 19 08:28:38 1981 Collected responses on terminal input devices >From WorkS-REQUEST@MIT-AI Sun Jul 19 08:17:18 1981 This collection of 9, relatively short messages continues the WorkS discussion of interchangeable keyboards, touchpanels, and other terminal input devices. Enjoy, RDD

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Date: 17 July 1981 12:17-EDT From: Steven H. Gutfreund <SHG AT MIT-AI> Subject: chordsets To: csd.pratt at SU-SCORE cc: WORKS at MIT-AI

Actually I don't know how I would feel after using a chordset all day. What I am interested in is finding an alternative to QWERTY input. There must be something with better ergonometrics than a matrix of keys laid out to suit 18th century designers of mechanical devices.

- Steven Gutfreund

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Date: 18 July 1981 07:50-EDT From: Brian P. Lloyd <LLOYD AT MIT-AI> Subject: Interchangeable keyboards To: SHRAGE at WHARTON-10 cc: WORKS at MIT-AI

The Convergent Technologies system has the ability to change the keyboard encoding and the font on the display. We have experimented with AZERTY, Dvorak, and special purpose keyboards. We have used the unencoded mode of the keyboard to simulate a chord keyboard. The only thing we lacked was a simple way to relabel the keys (do you have any concept of how difficult it is to make 98 little self-adhesive labels and stick them on your keyboard every time you make a change?). I would be interested in the re-label-able keyboard if you get more info.

Brian

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Date: 18 Jul 1981 (Saturday) 1148-EDT From: SHRAGE at WHARTON-10 (Jeffrey Shrager) Subject: LCD interchangeable keycaps. To: lloyd at MIT-AI, works at MIT-AI

Well, let's let our imaginations run wild for a moment. It might be possible to construct a 50x50 (or even less could do it) LCD display with individually addressable points. Since the time that an LCD takes to fade is very long, a rather slow Z80 would be able to keep up with the updating of 50 or 60 of these. The problem is really in fabricating the LCD and in wiring the keys since there would have to be all these wires to each key (LCD is not XY addressable as far as I know). The trick is to minimize wires to the key. Typically this is done by putting encoding onboard (onkey). Then we would only need two or three wires to each key. I would think that if someone set their mind to it the technology exists to do this job right.

Here are two other alternative in case you don't happen to have an LCD fabrication plant in your back yard: (1) put LCD strips just above the separated rows of keys. The problem here is that the separation of the keys could make it rather difficult to type. (2) Train people to type on totally blank keys by reading a "keyboard icon" that is ALWAYS displayed at the bottom of the screen. This is my favorite idea and I'll bet that it is not hard to so train typists. Well, give it a try and let me know what you discover.

-- Jeff

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Date: 18 July 1981 23:17-EDT From: Brian P. Lloyd <LLOYD MIT-MC AT> Subject: LCD interchangeable keycaps. To: WORKS at MIT-MC, SHRAGE at WHARTON-10

CT has an interesting keyboard diagnostic along the lines you proposed. The program displays a facsimile of the keyboard on the screen, and echoes what you type by turning the corresponding key reverse video. It even shows whether or not the LEDs on the keys are lit. I see no reason that this display couldn't be shrunk and placed in its own window at the bottom of the screen.

Good idea you had!

Brian

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Date: 16 Jul 1981 20:53:37-PDT From: CSVAX.rob at Berkeley Subject: Tablets, mice, etc.

There is a very nice tablet available from Kurta Corporation (206 S. River Dr., Tempe, Arizona, 85281 (602)968-8709). It comes with either a parallel or serial interface, so if you choose you needn't decode 9600 baud ASCII (a major break- through...). It's about 8"x11", and if you ask for the Bell Labs cursor you'll get a 3-button cursor much like a mouse. We have a couple here, and are pleased with them. People using them mostly feel they prefer the tablet to a mouse.

Rob Pike (research!rob@berkeley i think. or (for sure) robt@mit-mc)

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Date: 17 Jul 1981 18:44:25-PDT From: decvax!duke!unc!smb at Berkeley To: duke!decvax!ucbvax!WorkS@MIT-AI Subject: touching mice

I'm not too crazy about any of the pointing systems I've seen described here, because I don't like having to take my hands off of the keyboard. Besides, menus tend to have too few options (can you imagine a menu for the UNIX command set) and they impede the user who knows what he/she wants to do next. But there seem to be enough folk out there who LIKE to worship icons, so.... an idea I've seen suggested for a pointing device is a light pen that's worn as a thimble or attached to a ring. One must still remove a hand from the keyboard, but at least there's no need to grope for squirmy mice. This idea works best, it would seem, in situations where there's a fairly large amount of pure text work, as well as commands -- say, a text editor.

--Steve Bellovin, UNC, Chapel Hill

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Date: 16 July 1981 13:54 edt From: MPresser.Multics at MIT-Multics Subject: Tracking balls To: WorkS at MIT-AI In-Reply-To: Message of 15 July 1981 09:32 edt from Joe.Newcomer

I have used a reasonably good tracking ball on a system that did the automatic recognition of human chromosomes. Every so often, the system would get confused and not be able to separate two chromosomes that were, or appeared to be touching. The ball was used like a scissors to cut the surface, so that two disconnected objects appeared. Our ball was homemade, and the most circuitous of cuts to be made in next to no time. The principle used was that of extreme gearing down, so that very fine motions could be made. For these purposes, the thing was very useful. I'm not sure how it would have worked for menu manipulation. We used the terminal keyboard for that.

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Date: 16 Jul 1981 0924-PDT From: Chris Ryland <RYLAND SRI-KL AT> Subject: Bill Park's message To: WorkS at MIT-AI In-Reply-To: Your message of 16-Jul-81 0400-PDT

Bill Park's message mentioned what I believe XEROX marketed as a "cat" on the 850-series word processors: a small area which you stroke to move the cursor. Since these systems were fixed-font oriented, I don't know if these cats would be useful in a more high-resolution environment.

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Date: 18 Jul 1981 (Saturday) 1110-EDT From: SHRAGE at WHARTON-10 (Jeffrey Shrager) Subject: Visionary terminals To: minsky at MIT-AI, works at MIT-AI

If you sneeze does it blow all the icons off the screen?

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End of collected responses on terminal input devices ****************************************************

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