Keyboards
Twiddler
HandyKey Corp.
1-800-638-2352
(516) 474-4405
141 Mt. Sinai Avenue
Mt. Sinai, NY 11766
handykey@mcimail.com
http://www.handykey.com Handykey's web site
Thad prefers the Twiddler and has reached speeds of 50 wpm on it.
It includes a tilt sensitive mouse and retails for around $200, which
is quite reasonable for a keyboard/mouse combo. Learning the alphabet
takes 5 min. (it's sequential), touch typing in an hour, and 10+ wpm
over a weekend. Thad says it was uncomfortable to use at first, but
over a week of use you learn how to hold it properly for your size and
shape of hand. The default key layout is more optimized for speed
than is first expected. The user defineable macro package pushes word
rates significantly higher over letter typing (supposedly > 4000
button combinations are possible). Macro packages can be reloadable
depending on the application.
-
Twiddler driver for Linux v.1.01, for X and console (by Jeff Levine-tarred and
gzipped-with thanks to Mark Eichin). This Linux driver should be
relatively efficient with regard to memory/cpu. It can run in both X and
console mode. The mouse works and has various speeds/resolutions.
Comments to tornado@media.mit.edu.
- ETAOIN SHRDLU alternate Twiddler keymapping (by Brad Rhodes). This key
mapping makes the most commonly typed letters the easiest to reach.
Whether it's better than the default settings is probably more a matter of
taste than anything.
- Macintosh (680x0) interface to the Twiddler (courtesy Philippe Riviere, riviere@ina.fr).
We tried this; it works.
- General technical info on Twiddler
The BAT by Infogrip
Their web site.
You may also be able to get these (or a variant) from:
Select Tech
(215) 277 4264
1657 The Fairway
Suite 151
Jenkintown, PA 19046
DataEgg
Both the Chord Keypad and the DataEgg represent good solutions to
one-handed keyboarding. The advantage they have over the Twiddler is
instant access to the typing hand (the Twiddler requires the strap to
type comfortably). Thus, these keyboards are good for providing
wearable computer support for emergency crews. The 7 button typing
standards have also been around for a longer period of time.
Preliminary Image (34k gif)
Gary Friedman
(916) 983-2249
Half-QWERTY
The half-QWERTY is just like it sounds: half a normal qwerty keyboard with
a modifier key to let you type the other half with the same hand. A blurb
for Matias' software to turn a mac into a one-handed keyboard is here.
Contact:
Edgar Matias
The Matias Corporation
178 Thistledown Boulevard
Rexdale, Ontario, Canada
M9V 1K1
(416) 749-3124
Gary Friedman
Home grown/specialized keyboards
Steve designed and built this Keyboard/control for early 1980s wearable computer
system. Unit is built into the handle of an electronic flash lamp housing
to allow for simultaneous one-handed control of computer, camera,
and flash lamp. The original
design had one microswitch for each finger and 3 possible microswitches
for thumb. With the advent of the Twiddler this keyboard
has become obsolete, though it still hangs in Steve's
closet, and still works. (Now the Twiddler has replaced it
in the current version of the WearCam system).
The original version ran a 6820 Peripheral Interface Adapter (PIA) on an
Apple ][ (6502) architecture, but you can easily build one to work on a PC
architecture. The simplest interface is via the parallel port of a PC,
where the eight (4+3 = 7) switches can be wired right to the parallel
port. By far this is still the lowest cost form of keyboard, as a set
of microswitches can easily be found from surplus equipment.
A good source for more keyboard information
Visit the keyboards web page.
Last modified: Sun Feb 20 23:39:41 EST 2000
