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Cheap Flexible, rough and tough touchscreen B/W LCDs are not far away. Why not make smart Keyboards( especially for Laptops) out of those? The image of the keyboard will be displayed. A huge array of Force feedback Buttons can be laid down at the bottom(optional).Chose out of the many layouts.. or
customise the Keyboard to whatever layout *you* want. Helpful if you have been used to one kind of keyboard. You can even change its fonts! thus making it possible to change Languages as well.
You have this particular problem of hitting the CAPS button while pressing "A". Well, resize the caps button. You can have a "MOUSE" key on the keyboard. Press once and it transforms to a touchpad. draw what you want. more accrately. Even start writing- like on tablet PCs. Press again, AndHO! you have your Keyboard back.
Change it to game pads while playing games.
Change it to Piano Layout If you want to compose music.
Have it change the case of letters on keyboards when you press the caps or hold the shift button. Let your Operating system decide the logo for the "meta4" or WIN key. If you have Linux, like me, you can make it display a penguin instead!
You want a backlight? Buy it for a couple o more bucks.
Have Custom Short Cuts Display icons, Have special effects displayed when you press a key, have a typing tuorial flash the key you have to press next..
If you want, you can create and keep on a floppy, the keyboard layout of your choice and use it on someone else's keyboard, share the keyboard profile over the net, ....
Have a dj rack like thing for mixing songs..
I can go on and on like the enregizer bunny..
FingerWorks
http://www.fingerworks.com/
Given any thought to the input end of things? It's expensive, but check out the "MultiTouch Technology" section [tiromancer, Feb 05 2005]
Synaptics cPad
http://www.synaptic...m/products/cpad.cfm
In miniature [tiromancer, Feb 05 2005]
Belkin Nostromo N52
http://catalog.belk...=&Product_Id=157024
This is the programmable pad I use for gaming. It doesn't have a user-configurable display for a keyboard, but it is completely programmable, and excellent for use in a variety of games. Using shift options, you can get about 100 different keystrokes and macros out of it if you choose, tho for most games I try to program it with just the most frequently used commands, and go for consistency of commands between different games. Has significantly improved my gameplay experience. [Soterios, May 29 2005]
Optimus Keyboard
http://www.artlebed.../portfolio/optimus/
"Every key of the Optimus keyboard is a stand-alone display showing exactly what it is controlling at this very moment." [waugsqueke, Jul 15 2005]
OLED Keycaps, "The World's Coolest Keyboard"
http://www.t3.co.uk...he_keyboard_catwalk
Small article about the Optimus [bristolz, Jul 15 2005]
Touchscreen customizable keyboard
http://www.inducomp...0-panel-touch.shtml
Touchscreen customizable keyboard [kamathln, Oct 25 2005]
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Saitek used to manufacture this very item. |
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I bunned this idea even though the basic idea is baked. I like the idea of the fonts on my keyboard matching the font on my monitor when I type. And the resizable keys would be very helpful, as I often accidently hit alt when I'm trying to type a period[alt] |
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jaksplat, if it's baked, you [MFD] it and don't vote at all. |
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You don't say, "okay, it's baked, but I don't care." |
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If you DO vote, you don't give it a bun. |
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Bullshit. For what must be the hundredth time, being "baked" isn't grounds for deletion unless the poster knows it. |
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The keyboard would be unpleasant to type on for any amount of time...Try banging the tips of your fingers on your desk for half an hour and see what happens. |
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I like the idea of something like a customizable game sidekick to a keyboard, but I don't think it'd work as a main input very well... |
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``Make some gloves with clicky fingertips. |
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What jutta said, plus I looked at the links and kamathln describes features which are not available on the products I viewed. The font thing, resizable keys, piano keyboard, all good ideas. I like it, I bun it. |
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"The keyboard would be unpleasant to type on for any amount of time."
How about a transparent gel (or even just air) pad added over the keyboard, should be easier on the fingertips. |
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Gee was it baked?! I wonder why it was not properly advertised!! Well, time for defence ;) . I am talking about a bigger version, and to be built right into the laptop itself instead of the normal keyboards!
As for "not comfortable" thing:
"A huge array of Force feedback Buttons can be laid down at the bottom" i mentioned in the main post *might* solve the problem. And One more thing. I mentioned "Flexible" for that very reason. |
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Saitek's version was an LCD touch screen aimed at gamers. It was expensive, and seems to have disappeared without trace. I like the idea of a laptop that has screens on both halves - one as a display and the other primarily as a keyboard. I agree with Starchaser that it would be quite uncomfortable though. Perhaps the whole touchpad could be on rubber mounts to improve matters a bit. |
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Thats it! A detachable rubber mount for long typing times can be bought (optionally). And thats better . Hey i just understood y my idea is better : you wotherwise cant buy or change your Laptop keyboard if you want to change from one lang layout to other! And with the outbreak of open source world, constant changes to the keyboard layout too would be easier! |
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Most of the existing touchscreen technologies aren't well suited for use a s a keyboard. You could uses a keyboard membrane with many small contacts/keys, (~5mm square?) with grid of textured rubber over it. They key images would have to resize in a matching grid. It would be soft enough, but it would have very poor tactile feedback, worse than the current flexible keyboards. Not really suitable for touch typing, but I suppose if you have an LCD keyboard you'd want to be looking at it anyway. |
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I wonder what they did on the Saitek keyboard? |
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It would be horrible to type on, but the rubber overlay *might* overcome this (I wasn't enamoured of typing on the ZX Spectrum and fitted a proper keyboard on it instead). The benefit of this might outweigh the drawbacks in many instances though. |
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There is one real problem here though and that is that touchscreens can't handle multiple keypresses. Combos like Ctrl-Alt-Delete and using the shift key won't work, and neither will typing relatively fast when your key presses overlap. Playing chords in piano mode will be a no-go. I don't think there is a way around this at present - please prove me wrong someone. |
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My idea is already halfbaked.. see link |
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// Saitek used to manufacture this very item. // |
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Prove it? I haven't been able to find such a thing. |
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// Saitek's version was an LCD touch screen aimed at
gamers. It was expensive, and seems to have disappeared
without trace. // |
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// I like the idea of a laptop that has screens on both
halves - one as a display and the other primarily as a
keyboard. // |
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// There is one real problem here though and that is that
touchscreens can't handle multiple keypresses. // |
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What a difference two years makes. |
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