Microsoft gets cleverer with multitouch screen keyboard
Oh, those smart rascals at Microsoft are on a roll. I love their Courier tablet concept, and now they may have found the way to make on-screen multitouch keyboards actually work great--even for touch typists like me.
The problem with screen keyboards is that you actually have to look at the screen to hit the keys correctly. With real keyboards, touch typists have a physical reference to position their hands. That's why they type blind. With a flat screen keyboard, however, you lose the physical reference frame.
The patent for this screen keyboard, however, uses multitouch technology to automatically align the keys to the position of the hand. Since the keys are always in the same relative position to your fingers, you will always have a physical point of reference: Your own hand. That way, you can blindingly hammer your keys against the screen, knowing that your fingers will always hit the keys they are aiming for.
The patent also details the way this virtual keyboard would appear anywhere on the screen: Just place your hands as you would normally do while typing, and the keyboard will pop up. [USPTO via WMPowerUser]
This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.
Despite using those little typing tutors, I've just never been able to switch over to the "correct" use for that key, and it is centered relative to your hands, so a duplicate is a nice addition. It would also make sense to duplicate the 6 key.
If you look, the artist simply has the whole keyboard shifted due to a too-short shift key. The A shouldn't be right of the Z but left of it, putting V right of F. Then the keyboard splits between TGB and YHN.
But the missing 'G' cannot be intentional.
That's what makes iTap such a pain--it's great for about 3/4 of what you type, but all those exceptions really add up even for day-to-day messages.
The iPhone / Touch do add words over time, but they all get wiped out with each OS update that is released so you have to start over from scratch.
The Palm Pilot had some neat featuers where it would learn from your style and adapt to it.
Hey mate if its missing a G how do you type Bing?
[win+r]
"charmap"
[enter]
double click G at the end
Bingo.
At least it doesn't require you entering 2 Gs.
Damn Google and their 2 Gs, it should be Goole. Or Oogle. Oh yeah.
But of course some will choose to be superficial and focus on the irrelevent.
No this looks naff. That said, I did like fold out double screen pen computer. Isn't a pen the way to go?
I agree a keyboard is always going to be faster, but this kind of system isn't for writing significant amounts of text on - is it? I can't imagine typing very much on dead glass - no matter how clever the software is. I'll be honest, given how few people can actually touch type and how many of those will fill find typing onto a dead glass surface appealing, I doubt this will ever make it onto a shipping product. As for voice, well it can be useful, but given the fact that this is probably going to be a portable system I doubt it will be very useful (some of the time it'll be too noisy, some of the time it'll be socially unacceptable). So I still like their pen/multitouch system more.
Apple's usually first with these types of patents.
Okay, we get it. You're an Apple fanboy. That's fine. Not everything has to be about Apple.
Keyboards are around today and there isn't any thing in the offering currently for development that is likely to change this any time soon, no matter what you like to say... again and again and again. Somehow I don't think Apple is going to stop allowing keyboards to be used on their systems simply because you have decided that they are passe.
Yup, they have been trying to kill off buttons for years.
I turned out to be right. Apple only holds the patent to their own version of multitouch.
And the Zune HD does multitouch better than any Apple device...faster , smoother.
So I could see MSFT`s screen keyboard being truly excellent. ;)
I'm a Mac user, and my MacBook Pro has a keyboard... crap, I must have gotten the 1800s model.
Oh... you DO use a keyboard? Why are you still using technology from the 1800s.
At least for the next twenty years or so, the keyboard is here to stay. You can say whatever you want about voice being the next wave, but do you really want to be in a room full of people typing by talking to their computers? I can't even imagine the computer labs in my school's library which are supposed to be silent. Hopefully they still make computers that have keyboards so that I can do things like type quietly, have a conversation while using my computer, not have to say out loud what I'm writing. That would get pretty old.
Nah, I like keyboards. I think they're here to stay.
I'd like to meet the people who said that Palm and MST wouldn't have multitouch. I never heard anyone say that.
Here you go- have a banana... keyboard.
On the other hand, we are using an alpha-numeric system that was devised some two thousand years ago and upgraded over the centuries - so using something 'old' ain't so bad.
@jumpjetta. They led when it came to dropping the floppy but they are lagging when it comes to adopting the blue ray."
There is no reason to adopt a dying technology such as Blue Ray
http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_han_demos_his_breakthrough_touchscreen.html
I guess that what happens when you use the " MSurface sorta multi-touch, sortaTED, sorta not, iPhone interface wanna be key board".
Just an IDEA not reality people.
Only problem I have with it, is how in the heck will this impact me? .....not much....I suspect this is more for work environments really. I can't see this being useful for gamers for example.
CNET did NOT use it correctly.
the difference between an adjective and an adverb is like 2nd grade stuff. so 1) cnet writer kinda sucks. and 2) everyone defending his use of the word is also pretty stupid.
things ARE cleverer. things GET more clever.
basic english, people. seriously basic english.
:D
Look at it this way ... your adding code to your web page. You make an error but it still shows up on your page. Some browers will read it some won't. It is still the wrong code.
So...when you can't spell correctly or use proper grammar it may be readable but it's still not correct. Either a person is disciplined and does things right or their slackasses who don't give a rat's ass that someone may think they are idiots.
Microsoft GETS cleverer ... that's an adverb. (see the "gets"?) ... MORE CLEVERLY is what they are looking for.
now if they said "micosoft IS cleverer" ... that would be correct.
so... it's a word. but it's used incorrectly here. different words are used in different situations.
so all you morons saying "that's a real" word.... you are right, but still a moron.
I also did not childishly attack anyone, as you did. So, who is the moron?
- by dccarino September 27, 2009 7:59 AM PDT
- ASDF JKL; I was taught that these are supposed to be the home keys. the diagram above has the right hand home keys as HJKL. Am I wrong?
- Like this Reply to this comment
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- by Dalkorian September 28, 2009 12:18 PM PDT
- Not at all. You've proven you understand computers better than M$ does.
- Like this
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