Xref: bloom-picayune.mit.edu sci.med:41530 comp.human-factors:2324 news.answers:1835 Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!mintaka.lcs.mit.edu!olivea!sun-barr!ames!data.nas.nasa.gov!news From: dwallach@nas.nasa.gov (Dan Wallach) Newsgroups: sci.med,comp.human-factors,news.answers Subject: The Alternative Keyboard FAQ, v2.3 [monthly post] Summary: everything you ever wanted to know about replacing your keyboard Message-ID: Date: 18 Jun 92 18:06:58 GMT Expires: 1 Aug 1992 18:06:52 GMT Sender: news@nas.nasa.gov Reply-To: Dan Wallach Followup-To: sci.med Organization: NAS Program, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA Lines: 809 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Supersedes: Archive-name: keyboard-faq Version: $Revision: 2.3 $ $Date: 92/06/18 11:06:22 $ The Alternative Keyboard FAQ By Dan Wallach or [Current distribution: comp.human-factors, sci.med, and e-mail to c+health@iubvm.ucs.indiana.edu and sorehand@vm.ucsf.edu] Table of Contents: ==1== Mailing lists, newsgroups, etc. ==2== The soda.berkeley.edu archive ==3== Vendors of alternative keyboards ==4== Thanks and gratitude ==1== Mailing lists, newsgroups, etc. USENET News: ----------- comp.human-factors occasionally has discussion about alternative input devices. comp.risks has an occasional posting relevant to injuries via computers. sci.med is the current newsgroup most suited to discussing wrist problems, and all the great medical treatments. There's also an RFD to create a more specific group, although there doesn't seem to be enough demand to create it. If you feel like you really want something like sci.med.computer.injuries or a similar group, send me e-mail. Possibly the hardest problem is deciding on a title and charter for the group. Mailing lists: ------------- The RSI Network: Available both on paper and via e-mail, this publication covers issues relevant to those with repetitive stress injuries. For a sample issue and subscription information, send a stamped, self- addressed business envelope to Caroline Rose, 970 Paradise Way, Palo Alto CA 94306. E-mail to $2 donation, requested. c+health and sorehand are both IBM Listserv things. For those familiar with Listserv, here's the quick info: c+health -- subscribe to listserv@iubvm.ucs.indiana.edu post to c+health@iubvm.ucs.indiana.edu sorehand -- subscribe to listserv@vm.ucsf.edu post to sorehand@vm.ucsf.edu Quick tutorial on subscribing to a Listserv: % mail listserv@vm.ucsf.edu Subject: Total Listserv Mania! SUBSCRIBE SOREHAND J. Random Hacker INFO ? . That's all there is to it. You'll get bunches of mail back from the Listserv, including a list of other possible commands you can mail. Cool, huh? What'll those silly BITNET guys think of, next? ==2== The soda.berkeley.edu archive I've started an archive site for info related to typing injuries. Just anonymous ftp to soda.berkeley.edu:pub/typing-injury. Currently, you'll find: Informative files: keybd.FAQ -- (this file) carpal.info -- info on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome tendonitis.info -- info on Tendonitis rsi-network/* -- archive of the RSI Network newsletter Pictures: accukey1.gif -- fuzzy picture accukey2.gif -- fuzzy picture with somebody using it bat.gif -- the InfoGrip Bat comfort.gif -- the Health Care Comfort Keyboard datahand1.gif -- fuzzy picture datahand2.gif -- key layout schematic kinesis.gif -- the Kinesis Ergonomic Keyboard maltron[1-4].gif -- several pictures of Maltron products mikey1.gif -- the MIKey mikey2.gif -- Schematic Picture of the MIKey twiddler1.gif -- "front" view twiddler2.gif -- "side" view wave.gif -- the Iocomm `Wave' keyboard Are you hurt? Go see a doctor. Not sure if you're hurt? Go see a doctor. Any other questions? Consult the info files from soda's archive. If you're unable to ftp to soda, send me e-mail and we'll see what we can arrange. ==3== Vendors of alternative keyboards Information in this FAQ has been pieced together from phone conversations, e-mail, and product literature. While I hope it's useful, the information in here is neither comprehensive nor error free. If you find something wrong or missing, please mail me, and I'll update my list. Thanks. All phone numbers, unless otherwise mentioned, are U.S.A. phone numbers. All monetary figures, unless otherwise mentioned, are U.S.A. dollars. Products covered in this FAQ: The Bat DataHand Comfort Keyboard System Kinesis Ergonomic Keyboard Maltron The Tony! Ergonomic KeySystem The MIKey The Wave The Minimal Motion Computer Access System Twiddler Half-QWERTY Microwriter Braille 'n Speak Products NOT covered very well, or not at all: Octima AccuKey Medinova Herzog any voice or handwriting recognition systems (if you have any useful info about the above companies or products, please mail the info to me. As you'll see below, what I have for them is pretty sparse, at best.) The Bat old phone number: 504-336-0033 current phone number: 504-776-8082 Infogrip, Inc. 812 North Blvd. Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802, U.S.A. Ward Bond (main contact) David Vicknair (did the Unix software) 504-766-1029 Shipping now. Supports: Mac, IBM PC (serial port -- keyboard port going through FCC approval). No other workstations supported, but serial support for Unix with X Windows has been written. PC and Mac are getting all the real attention from the company. If you buy a unit and ask nicely, they will ship out source to their Unix stuff as-is. It's not a product, it's a convenience. According to Mr. Vicknair, the Unix support generates X synthetic keyboard events, so all that's required for a port to a new machine is tweaking the table of keycodes generated. [Now that I think of it, you could just hack in the code from xmodmap that knows the current keycode mappings. Basically, modulo some software tweaking, you should be able to get the Bat working on just about any Unix box with X windows, and a serial port. Piece of cake, right?] Prototypes of "Notetaker", which fits in one hand, are expected in late summer, shipping by the end of the year. It's not really a keyboard for a computer, rather it's a portable notetaking thing -- carry it around and type to it -- it's got non-volatile RAM inside it, and presumably some sort of serial port to communicate. For the Bat: $495 (dual set -- each one is a complete keyboard by itself) $295 (single) PC version -- one is slaved off the other -- need to specify which is the "master" keyboard. Mac, both are "smart". [Whatever...] PC serial version doesn't work very well. Most DOS-based things work, Windows stuff doesn't work well. PC native keyboard port in late summer. Keyboard is modal -- various thumb things going into modal locks (e.g.: numeric mode, lower-case mode, upper-case mode, etc.) Reference card is "front and back of one page." DataHand 602-860-8584 Industrial Innovations, Inc. 10789 North 90th Street Scottsdale, Arizona 85260-6727, U.S.A. Mark Roggenbuck (contact) Supports IBM PC and Macintosh. Not shipping, but in beta. "Big backlog" -- could take 3 months to get one. Making them "as-needed." Made by hand. No thought about mass production until next year. $1000/unit for the pair. The order form they sent me mumbles about ordering a minimum of two units. Description: two pods -- one for each hand. Fingers hang down into cylinders with switches in them -- five per finger: down, left, right forward, back. Thumbs tweak modes. Normal layout corresponds vaguely to home row on a QWERTY keyboard. They sent me a 12-minute video tape. [It's pretty corny -- mostly footage from CNN. The video seemed to spend half of its time hyping the DataHand, and the other half trying to emphasize that there are now 28.5 million people with typing-related jobs, for which old keyboards are just a bad idea.] [Sounds and looks weird. Given the price and the strangeness factor, I wouldn't expect these folks to become major players in the keyboard alternative market. However, you never know...] Comfort Keyboard System 414-253-4131 FAX: 414-253-4177 Health Car Keyboard Company N61 W15150 Wigwam Drive Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin 53051 U.S.A. Jeffrey Szmanda (President -- contact) Bill Szmanda (the technology guy -- Jeffrey's brother) Rick Parsons (the electronics contractor) Voice: 602-435-1606 FAX: 602-435-7027 RJT Engineering 7575 N. 75th Ave., Suite 2 Glendale, AZ 85303 They expect to be shipping their product in July. No purchase orders will be taken, yet. They expect to take P.O.'s in a "couple weeks", as soon as the forms get back from the printers. Their electronics boards are ready to mass produce. The Comfort keyboard will likely be the first keyboard, of its kind, on the market. In first production, they will support PC and Mac (well, the first production run will be all PC, but they plan on getting Mac stuff out the door immediately afterward -- all the engineering is done). Other types will also be supported, but customized keycaps won't be available right away. You can still buy the keyboard, and it will still work just fine, you just won't have the cool cloverleaf symbol or whatever right away. [Darn. I'm depressed.] Interfaces supported: PC Mac Decision Data [which, I think, OEM's HP terminals, but I'm not sure] IBM 122-key layout [a 3270 thing] Unisys UTS-40 Sun Sparc Prices start at $590. The idea is that one keyboard works with everything. You purchase "compatibility modules", a new cord, and possibly new keycaps, and then you can move your one keyboard around among different machines. [IMHO, an extremely cool idea. If you have some really weird machine, this is the keyboard that you might actually be able to hack into it. I spoke to Rick Parsons, who they've contracted their electronic work to, and asked him about how hard it would be to support Silicon Graphics. After describing the keyboard to him, he said it would basically require some hardware to change voltages and a new ROM. The personality modules are really one module that can be really easily customized. You wouldn't believe how intelligent keyboards need to be...] It's a three-piece keyboard. The layout resembles the standard 101-key keyboard, except sliced into three wedges. Each section is on a custom telescoping universal mount. You can rearrange the three sections (have the keypad in the middle if you want). Each section is otherwise normal-shaped (i.e.: you put all three sections flat, and you have what looks like a normal 101-key keyboard). If you see a picture of this and the Tony!, you'll think they look virtually the same. The Comfort is very much more adjustable than the prototype Tony!. In theory, the production Tony! would be even more adjustable. [Everybody knows how much better vaporware is than hardware...] Also, I asked Jeffrey about his patent vs. Tony(!)'s patent. Jeffrey claims that his patent explicitly references Tony's patent. [I'm no patent attorney, so I can't even begin to interpret this. Jeffrey seems fairly confident that his keyboard will ship without any problems. Good luck!] Kinesis Ergonomic Keyboard 206-241-4595 206-241-9252 (fax) Kinesis Corporation 15245 Pacific Highway South, Seattle, Washington 98188, U.S.A. Shirley Lunde (VP Marketing) [Shirley is *extremely* knowledgeable about the issues involved with keyboards. We spoke at length about just about every keyboard on this list. Shirley also had some interesting things to say about chording strategies vs. rearranged "normal" keyboards.] Needs FCC approval. Expects to ship first production units late summer. Supports IBM PC standard. Mac and Sun Sparc in the works. Single unit (low volume) $690. Presumably, cheaper for more. This keyboard looks really neat. The design goals are to eliminate extraneous movements of your fingers, and to keep your hands in a comfortable position. The layout is more-or-less standard QWERTY, except, instead of the usual Return/Backspace/Shift/etc. locations, they're now on thumb buttons. The more you stare at it, the more it starts to make sense. Your hands are at shoulder width when you're typing, and you're not ever really going to have to pick your hands up. The keyboard has built-in wrist-rests, to which you can attach adhesive wrist pads ($30 for 3 pairs). The "keypad" is done by some sort of modal button which remaps keys for your right hand. Foot pedals are also in the works. Right now, their prototype pedal is hard-wired to Shift. Eventually, it should be configurable. [So, emacs people can type -x -c to quit :-] Apparently, Kinesis has borrowed/licensed/whatevered technology from a British company, PCD-Maltron Ltd. From looking at the pictures, you'll be able to see the similarities. Kinesis went to great lengths to simplify the Maltron, and keep your hands from leaving home row. Whether this is an improvement, I can't say, but it looks fairly elegant. Maltron (+44) 081 398 3265 (United Kingdom) PCD-Maltron Limited 15 Orchard Lane, Each Moseley Surrey KT8 OBN, United Kingdon Pamela Hobday (and her husband) -- a two person company U.S. Distributor: Jim Barrett Applied Learning Corp. 1376 Glen Hardie Road Wayne, PA 19087 Phone: 215-588-6866 Compatibility: PC's, Amstrad 1512/1640, BBC B, BBC Master, working on Mac Price: 375 pounds == 650 U.S. dollars (check with Jim Barrett for USA price) The cost is less for BBC computers, and they have a number of accessories, including carrying cases, switch boxes to use both your normal keyboard and the Maltron, an articulated arm that clamps on to your table, and training 'courses' to help you learn to type on your Maltron. You can also rent a keyboard for 10 pounds/week + taxes. [NOTE: I called Jim Barrett and nobody was home, no machine either.] Shipping: Now (in your choice of exotic colors: black or grey :) Maltron has four main products -- a two-handed keyboard, two one-handed keyboards, and a keyboard designed for handicapped people to control with a mouth-stick. The layout is fixed, but quite stylized to conform to your hands. You should really ftp the GIF's to get an idea what they look like. They look weird, but begin to make sense. All but the "mouth / head stick keyboard" can have a more-or-less normal QWERTY layout, or, by flicking a switch, can have a Maltron-proprietary layout designed to distribute the load evenly across both of your hands. [All in all, this looks like some fairly neat stuff. It's for sale now. Too bad it doesn't work on Mac or any of the workstations. The Kinesis keyboard is similar to the Maltron two-handed keyboard, and works with more computers. Both are worth consideration.] The Tony! Ergonomic KeySystem 415-969-8669 Tony Hodges The Tony! Corporation 2332 Thompson Court Mountain View, CA 94043, U.S.A. "Very close to being made, finally." -- Tony Hodges [the above number appears to be Tony's home number -- he answers the telephone "Hello." It appears that Tony is something of a one-man show, zipping all over the place, demonstrating his keyboard.] Tony! will support Mac, PC, IBM 3270, Sun, and DEC [not clear which DEC]. Tony refused to give me any dates, but emphasized that it would be "very soon." "By the fall." "October or November." "This year." He's taking bids from companies that may manufacture it for him (read: it's complete vapor right now). Pre-production cost: $625 (he wants a commitment now, and will put you in line to buy the keyboard. When it comes it, if it's cheaper, you pay the cheaper price. If it's more expensive, you still pay $625) The production Tony! should have separately adjustable keys -- height, angle, striking angle, key force, and even key location, including gross adjustments -- you can put any specific key *anywhere*. Tony's example is somebody putting the Return key closer to the middle of the keyboard. The prototype Tony! that he carries around with him is nothing nearly so fancy. The prototype is hinged in the middle and has a separate keypad. The keys are currently borrowed from a number of other machines (most notably, some of them came from an Apple //c). He came out here and demonstrated it. The whole thing is falling apart at the seams, the spacebar keeps getting stuck, etc. Typing with my thumbs up seems like a good thing, although otherwise, I wasn't too impressed. It's quite a hack, really. There's a normal Apple Mac keyboard underneath the thing, with ribbon cables dangling down into the excavated keyslots. Right now, it's quite busted. My phone conversations with Tony have been really weird. He had me typing in mid air and tweaking my wrist around from the normal position to the "Tony" position, and "proving" to myself that the "Tony" position is better. After all that randomness, I finally got all the above information out of him. In order to actually BUY one of these things, he wants me to generate, on an official piece of NASA stationary, some kind of an anecdotal transcript of the previously mentioned random exercises, along with some language that I have an "intent to purchase" his product. Then, once it's real, he'll actually want money, and ship the thing. The letter is something of a line place-holder. I asked Tony if I could ever find a Tony! in my friendly neighborhood ComputerLand or something, and he replied "Never!" He plans on doing direct sales, only, as he's afraid of anybody marking up his prices. Like most other vendors I've called, Tony asked me how I'd heard of him, and I mentioned the earlier post by Christopher Bekins. He was not very happy about the numerous other vendors making split keyboards, seeing as he holds a patent on his keyboard. Maybe we'll see some fun legal action in the future... Bleck. Basically, Tony runs around acting like he's the only guy in town with a "new" keyboard, and how he's the only good-old inventor, fighting the evil corporations who want to steal his ideas. If he doesn't get with it, you may never see an actual Tony! on your desk. The MIKey 301-933-1111 Dr. Alan Grant 3208 Woodhollow Drive Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815, U.S.A. Not in production. "Should be Available in One Year." Supports: IBM PC ("in one year"), Mac (maybe after that) Estimated street price: $200 Dr. Grant is an optometrist, and among all the paper he sent me, are two papers he's written, both for Optometry-related journals. The MIKey (MIK == Mnemonic Ikon Keyboard) has two design goals: to be easier for those with typing-related problems, and to be easier to memorize the key layout. For typing-related comfort, the keyboard is angled up and swept back, so your wrists are closer to a neutral, comfortable position. The angles are not adjustable. Some kind of thumb-operated mouse thing (which, I guess, is supposed to operate like an analog joystick) is under the space bars (yes, one for each hand). If you're a WordPerfect user, this keyboard might be ideal. The 12 functions keys are arranged in a circle at the far left of the keyboard, with a control, alt, and shift key in the middle. Hitting ctrl-alt-f7 is a fairly simple thing. However, you will have to lift your hands off home-row to use either the function keys or the number pad. The keys are color-coded in some sort of "WordPerfect Color Protocol." The theory here is that you learn where stuff is, faster, and, by not looking at the keyboard so often, you aren't as fatigued. [Of course, if you don't move your eyes off the screen eventually, focusing elsewhere, you'll get eye strain...] If you're a programmer, this keyboard looks *extremely* unpleasant. Control and Alt and *way* over on the left of the keyboard, inside the ring of function keys. Hitting Control-C, one-handed looks to be very uncomfortable. Hitting it two-handed would require moving both of your hands over to the left side of the keyboard, and then, your right wrist would be totally contorted in the wrong position. If you were going to remap the keyboard, you could put control above shift (currently, the tab key) and Escape above that (currently, print screen). The Wave (was: 213-) 310-644-6100 FAX: 310-644-6068 Iocomm International Technology 12700 Yukon Avenue Hawthorne, California 90250, U.S.A. Iocomm also manufactures SVGA monitors... and a basic standard 101-key keyboard (PC/AT) and 84-key keyboard (PC/XT). Robin Hunter (contact -- in sales) [Robin made the audacious claim that the Wave works with *everything*. I started off listing lots of random computers, and she backpedaled a little bit and said she'd get back to me with more info. Two weeks later, when I got their marketing literature, Robin threw in a hand-written note saying ``The keyboard will not work with large workstations or terminals. It is definitely not compatible with any systems either non-compatible or non-MsDos.'' -- translated -- it only works with PC's.] Cost: $99.95 (for any interface) + $15 for a set of cables Works with: PC only. The one-piece keyboard has a built-in wrist-rest. It looks *exactly* like a normal 101-key PC keyboard, with two inches of built-in wrist rest. [The wrist-rest doesn't look all that useful...] The key switch feel is supposed to be very light and crisp. They have all kinds of measurements of it's operating force, total-travel force, etc. It's clear that they've put some large amount of effort into getting the key feel right. They haven't really done anything about the positioning of the hands. [Basically, it looks like they took a garden-variety PC keyboard, added very nice keys, and made a new plastic case. I have no doubt it's better than most off-the-shelf PC keyboards, but it doesn't come close to most other keyboards here. The enclosed InfoWorld reprint (Vol. 11, Issue 47, Nov. 20, 1989) calls it ``ergonomically optimized for comfortable typing.'' You decide. Robin kept talking about relief from stress for carpal tunnel sufferers, but it's pretty clear that she isn't very knowledgeable about the problem, or knowledgeable about computers at all, for that matter. If you're not terribly hurt, this keyboard may be fairly effective. Otherwise, you'll probably want to get one of the more expensive ones.] The Minimal Motion Computer Access System 508-263-6437 508-263-6537 (fax) Equal Access Computer Technology Dr. Michael Weinreigh 39 Oneida Rd. Acton, MA 01720, U.S.A. Cost: InfoGrip-compatible: "a few hundred dollars" + a one-handed Bat For their own system: $300 (DOS software) + "a few hundred dollars" Getting it: these are custom-made, so an occupational therapist would make moulds/do whatever to make it for you. Different from ordinary chord keyboards: in a one-handed version, there is exactly one button per finger. In a two-handed version, you get four buttons per finger, and the thumbs don't do anything. You can also get one-handed versions with three thumb buttons -- compatible with the InfoGrip Bat. They have an amusing system for teaching how to type. Michael expects an experienced user could generate 60 w.p.m, but most people will get up to 30 w.p.m. It's PC software that hangs out on the side of your screen with a cheat sheet, telling you the current button mappings. The real feature of the Minimal Motion system is its configurability -- it is effectively custom-molded, just for you. The system was designed for handicapped folk with limited movement of their extremities. Michael doesn't guarantee that it would help people with carpal tunnel problems, although it sure would be comfortable. Currently, it sits on a desk or a wheelchair arm. Michael's interested in a hand-held version, but it isn't there, yet. Works on a PC under DOS, not Windows. Planning on Macintosh and PC/Windows support. No work has been done on a Unix version, yet. Currently, no FCC approval. A serial port version is in the works, which would have FCC approval. Michael is also talking to and/or working with InfoGrip, possibly making a compatible product, but at much lower production. They're also working on demo software that using the chording patterns on a normal keyboard. Twiddler 516-474-4405, or 800-638-2352 Handykey 141 Mt. Sinai Ave. Mt. Sinai, NY 11766 Chris George (President) Twiddler -- shipping. Full-function keyboard/mouse in-one. Price: $199. Works with PC's. Mac version is in the works. Various university folks are working on device drivers for Unix platforms. Chris says he'll get back to me on what works yet... They use serial ports, and then need 5 volts from somewhere. They do use the keyboard port on PC's, as well as supporting the PS/2 adapter. You get to keep you original keyboard, too. Most applications work, and Windows works fine. DESQview has trouble. GEOWorks also has trouble -- mouse works, keyboard doesn't. The Twiddler is a hand-held thing, a little bigger than a typical mouse. Your hand straps on to the side with your thumb going over the top and your fingers around the front. There are three buttons for each of your four fingers, and six thumb buttons on the back. There's also some kind of weird mousing thing on the back, too. You chord with the thumb buttons (modes) and fingers (specifics). Most normal keyboard buttons take one or two fingered chords. The mouse works by tilting the base, and is apparently good enough that you can do handwriting and stuff with it. There's also a way to change the sensitivity for fine/gross movement. The chording keyboard is pretty easy to learn -- said to take 3 minutes to teach your brain, 2 weeks for your fingers. You only get one thing, but you can use either hand in it. It's ambidextrous. You get your other hand completely free (hold the phone, drink your coffee, etc.). There was a review in Byte, March 1992, although, Chris says the picture showed the hand in the wrong position on the keyboard [*sigh*], but the picture seems designed more to show you what the thing looks like, rather than how you hold it. Various Unix folks playing with the Twiddler (according to Chris George): Mark Eichin (working on Sparc and 386BSD) Guy Goldstone (Columbia University) (working on Mach386) grad student for: Prof. Dan Duchamp, 212-854-8115 Mark Eichin says he's doing the work in an intended portable fashion, i.e.: read from the serial port, generate X key events. He intends to copyleft his resulting work. I haven't managed to get Guy Goldstone on the phone yet. Half-QWERTY (Canada) 416-749-3124 The Matias Corporation 178 Thistledown Boulevard Rexdale, Ontario, Canada M9V 1K1 E-mail: ematias@dgp.toronto.edu Supports: Mac and IBM (but, not Windows) Cost (U.S.): $84.95 ($79.95 + $5 shipping) (Canada): $90.55 ($79.95 + $5 shipping + $5.60 GST) (Ontario): $96.95 ($79.95 + $5 shipping + $5.60 GST + $6.40 PST) First off, this thing is purely software. No hardware at all. The idea is that you get to use your normal keyboard, but type one-handed. Hold down the space bar, and the keyboard mirrors. Just hit it, and you get a space, instead. They also support some kind of shift-lock, control-lock, etc., if you want it. They sent me a free demo disk, which I'll eventually get around to trying on my roommate's Mac. The software is just an INIT. I have no idea how their PC software works, but, judging by the trouble other vendors are having, I'm sure these folks are no different. This should offer moderate improvements over using a keyboard with both hands, because you can position yourself and your keyboard optimally for one hand (much like one of the three wedges of the Health Care Keyboard or the Tony). [Of course, this is a fairly simple concept. There's nothing to stop you from writing this software all by yourself, although they appear to have a patent pending. Alert the LPF!] AccuKey 703-961-3576 Vatell Corp. P.O. Box 66 Christiansburg, VA 24073 Cost: ?? (This info provided by Wes Hunter ) Availability: I believe that they are not shipping a product yet. Some arm twisting might get an evaluation unit. Specifications: 2" x 7" x 12"; 2 lbs.; 8 ternary keys; characters input by chording; emulates any conventional keyboard character set; plug compatible models for PC/AT, PC/XT, and all CRT terminals; no software mods needed Description: I haven't used this, so can't say anything that isn't listed in the spec. [from looking at the pictures, it's a pretty primitive chording system. It looks much like the Bat, except there are no thumb buttons, and it's a one-piece system. Maybe the keys feel better, but the layout of it doesn't seem as interesting as the Bat. -- Dan] Octima (Israel) 972-4-5322844 FAX: (+972) 3 5322970 (but, they've been having troubles with their machine) Ergoplic Keyboards Ltd. P.O. Box 31 Kiryat Ono 55100, Israel (info from Mandy Jaffe-Katz ) A one-handed keyboard. Microwriter AgendA (U.K.) (+44) 81 685 0300 FAX: (+44) 81 640 8813 Microwriter Systems plc 2 Wandle Way Willow Lane Mitcham, Surrey CR4 4NA, United Kingdom (Info from Carroll Morgan ) These days, they sell a thing called the `AgendA', a personal organiser. With it, you can buy software and a cable for communication with PC's, Mac's and printers; among the facilities offered is use of the AgendA as an alternate keyboard. Its about 7''x3''x1/2'', and the chorded input comprises 3 thumb keys and one key for each other finger of one hand (7 in all). The combinations seem to be organised along the lines of more-frequently- used-letters-get-simpler-chords. (Thus for example `space' is thumb, `e' is index finger... `j' is thumb-4-5.) It's black, with a lcd screen of only 4 lines of 20 (7x5) characters taking up the upper left quadrant. The remaining 3/4 of the front face contains the 7 microwriting keys and just under 60 very small buttons for text input and control functions ( new file, find, etc.) The small buttons are for people who don't want to microwrite, or are just beginning --- they are wholly duplicated by the microwriting keys. After getting used to microwriting, you don't use the small keys at all. (It wou ld be nice if they had a version without them.) These days, after about a year, I can type into it at about 40 words/minute without looking at its keyboard or screen; and I use it mainly as an organiser. When I have enough text to type to make it worth connecting up (to Mac), the appropriate posture seems to be feet up on the desk, in a reclining chair, AgendA in your lap, on your left hand, typing with your right --- very relaxing. There are slots on the back for extra ROM (utilities and so on), and for RAM cards (for backup). They advertise a BASIC compiler for programming it, but you do your development on a PC I believe, and then download. I don't think there's any development facilities on it proper. It costs just under 200 pounds, with 128K memory. (By the way, it's -very- good as an organiser; but it is not at all a palm-top computer.) Braille 'n Speak 301-879-4944 Blazie Engineering 3660 Mill Green Rd. Street, Md 21154, U.S.A. (information provided by Doug Martin ) The Braille N Speak actually gives blind users something that sighted people don't have: a computer terminal weighing less than a pound! [well, there are other lightweight chording things available...] The input can be either Braille or ascii data through a serial port; the output is either speech or serial ascii data. Instead of a screen, we have a tiny synthesizer/speaker. Instead of a full keyboard, we have seven keys: six of them (dots 1-6) for Braille, and a space bar. The six Braille keys can form 2**6 or 64 combinations. The space bar is pressed in conjunction with other key combinations (called chords by the manufacturer) to access special functions; e.g. 3-4-5-sp "three four five chord" opens a menu for adjusting pitch and speed of the synthetic speech. F-chord opens the file menu. These must be memorized by the user, although ?-chord opens a help file. The Braille N Speak uses any of several Braille codes for entering information: Grade I, Grade II, or computer Braille. Basically, letters a-j are combinations of dots 1, 2, 4, and 5. Letters k-t are the same combinations as a-j with dot 3 added. Letters u, v, x, y, and z are like a-e with dots 3 and 6 added. (w is unique because Louis Braille didn't have a w in the French alphabet.) ==4== Thanks and gratitude Thanks go to Chris Bekins for providing the basis for this information. Thanks also to NASA for letting me put this together, and put off my real job. Thanks to the numerous contributors: Doug Martin Carroll Morgan Mandy Jaffe-Katz Wes Hunter Paul Schwartz H.J. Woltring Dan Sorenson Chris VanHaren Ravi Pandya Leonard H. Tower Jr. and everybody else who I've probably managed to forget. -- Dan Wallach "One of the most attractive features of a Connection dwallach@nas.nasa.gov Machine is the array of blinking lights on the faces of its cabinet." -- CM Paris Ref. Manual, v6.0, p48.