http://www.techradar.com/news/computing ... ard-983619

Is that really different to what we have in various devices today? Strikes me as just more patent bollocks

A little bit, yeah. Especially as it seem to recognise gestures too. So in theory it could do away with separate trackpad/mouse.

Mark

*wants*

I am a keyboard lover - I’ve always found typewriters magical - and the way the keyboard has evolved and developed is fascinating to me. I think the time for a configurable, programmable keyboard is long overdue, and it will allow us to easily access more of the glyphs from fonts which the mechanical keyboards of yore denied us.

Flat keyless keyboard? Sounds like a touchscreen or one of THESE. They've been around for a while.

I 'd kind of always assumed a keyboard was a keyboard. But I really notice it now when I use my parent mid 90's keyboard. The keys have to move a thousand miles to work Modern ones are much better.

Three letters - RSI.

I know I'm not in the majority with this but I really like typing with the iPad keyboard (I'm on it now).

The only feedback I need is the visual darkening of the keys and the click as I hit them.

I don't know if I'd like a physical haptic feedback though. Maybe if it was subtle and VERY quick.

Another thing that allows me to type more quickly recently is the auto correction. Not entirely sure if I like it on my MacBook Pro but on the iPad it's a godsend as I don't really need to double check spelling at all.

Having said that, this patent does remind me a lot of... this

So not really sure how the patent can stand up?

The issue I have is not really the haptic aspect as the the ergonomic one. Keys don't only server a haptic function, they also 'damp' the impact of your finger on the keyboard. Virtual keyboards don't have that 'cushioning'. I think you can type on them as accurately but I think if we all went to virtual kb's we'd see a large increase in hand fatigue and eventually more carpal tunnel style injuries. If you could build some sort of dampening into the enclosure the 'keyboard panel' was in that would probably help a lot.

Jon

Finally I can get a Klingon keyboard!

Indeed. I'm struggling to see anything "new" here.

It's odd; the mechanical keyboard has been with us relatively little changed for decades but to my mind it takes a lot of beating. Every innovation so far has failed to gain mass appeal. It's only on small portable devices such as phones and tablets where it's omitted as a compromise.

I'd never seen that before. It's a concept but hopefully they have patents covering the tech needed to make it a reality.
I wonder if the specifics of the individual devices and patents are sufficiently diverse enough to each be able to be brought to market.
Competition is always a good thing.

Mark

Apple have made gradually worse keyboards since the mid 90s, it looks like it is set to continue.

I want a keyboard with full travel and proper keys with switches, not a membrane piece of s***. I can understand, that they want to move people away from typing, but they should concentrate on making an alternative experience, rather than making the act of typing as miserable as possible, without giving the user a viable alternative.

Dave, has anyone ever told you you're beginning to sound like an old grump?

I love the action of the current Apple aluminium keyboard. At the Treacle Mines, I have one of the original black pro keyboards that shipped with the G4 series, and it's painful to use. I ache to get home and use the alu one again.

I'm with dave on this. I hate the Ali keyboards.

I’m with Heather on this. It took me a while to get used to the new aluminium keyboard, but now I find the older style ones painful to use. I can’t say that any sign of RSI (which I have suffered from in the past) has shown its ugly face since I started using them.

The iPad shows use the way. No haptic feedback yet (which is what I miss), and the *click* sound is about as real as the sounds digital cameras make when taking a photo. However, I expect we’ll see key-less boards in a few years. No more mice. No more trackpads. It’s going that way.

And, Dave, Apple do have handwriting recognition in Mac OS X - but it’s nowhere near as good as the Newton’s though.

I have the new ali keyboards and old crumb catchers. I prefer the new keyboards as they are much easier to clean.