A keyset or chorded keyboard is a computer input device that allows the user to enter characters or commands formed by pressing several keys together, like playing a "chord" on a piano. The large number of combinations available from a small number of keys allows text or commands to be entered with one hand, leaving the other hand free. A secondary advantage is that it can be built into a device that is too small to contain a normal-sized keyboard.
The technology of computer keyboards includes many elements. Many different keyboard technologies have been developed for consumer demands and optimized for industrial applications. The standard full-size (100%) computer alphanumeric keyboard typically uses 101 to 105 keys; keyboards integrated in laptop computers are typically less comprehensive.
QWERTY is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six keys on the top letter row of the keyboard: QWERTY. The QWERTY design is based on a layout included in the Sholes and Glidden typewriter sold via E. Remington and Sons from 1874. QWERTY became popular with the success of the Remington No. 2 of 1878 and remains in ubiquitous use.
A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectively against the paper with a type element. Thereby, the machine produces a legible written document composed of ink and paper. By the end of the 19th century, a person who used such a device was also referred to as a typewriter.
In economics, vendor lock-in, also known as proprietary lock-in or customer lock-in, makes a customer dependent on a vendor for products, unable to use another vendor without substantial switching costs.
The QWERTZ or QWERTZU keyboard is a typewriter and keyboard layout widely used in Central and Southeast Europe. The name comes from the first six letters at the top left of the keyboard:.
Caps Lock⇪ Caps Lock is a button on a computer keyboard that causes all letters of bicameral scripts to be generated in capital letters. It is a toggle key: each press reverses the previous action. Some keyboards also implement a light to give visual feedback about whether it is on or off. Exactly what Caps Lock does depends on the keyboard hardware, the operating system, the device driver, and the keyboard layout. Usually, the effect is limited to letter keys. Letters of non-bicameral scripts and non-letter characters are generated normally.
Arrow keys or cursor movement keys are keys on a computer keyboard that are either programmed or designated to move the cursor in a specified direction.
The Blickensderfer typewriter was invented by George Canfield Blickensderfer (1850–1917) and patented on April 12, 1892. Blickensderfer was a nephew of John Celivergos Zachos, the inventor of the stenotype. Two models, Model 1 and Model 5, were unveiled to the public at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Model 5 was a stripped-down version of the bigger, more complex Model 1. These machines were intended to compete with larger Remington, Hammond and Yost typewriters, and were the first truly portable, full-keyboard typewriters. The design also enabled the typist to see the typed work, at a time when most typewriters were understrike machines that concealed the writing. When Blickensderfer unveiled his small Model 5, its compactness and novel features attracted huge crowds and many orders.
The PLUM keyboard is a keyboard layout which differs from the traditional QWERTY keyboard in both physical key layout and letter arrangement. Unlike most keyboards, the PLUM keyboard organizes keys in a square grid, as opposed to the staggered rows of a typewriter. Though the Plum Keyboard is currently off-line, it is still being promoted.
The Optimus Maximus keyboard, previously just "Optimus keyboard", is a keyboard developed by the Art. Lebedev Studio, a Russian design studio headed by Artemy Lebedev. Each of its keys is a display which can dynamically change to adapt to the keyboard layout in use or to show the function of the key. It was launched initially in 2007 and is no longer available to new orders.
Kinesis is a company based near Seattle that offers computer keyboards with ergonomic designs as alternatives to the traditional keyboard design. Most widely known among these are the contoured Advantage line, which features recessed keys in two bucket-like hollows to allow the user's fingers to reach keys with less effort. Moreover, the keys are laid out in perfect vertical rows to avoid the need for lateral movements during typing. In addition, the modifiers such as enter, alt, backspace, control, etc. are moved to a central location so they can be pressed with the stronger thumbs rather than the pinky fingers.
A Hebrew keyboard comes in two different keyboard layouts. Most Hebrew keyboards are bilingual, with Latin characters, usually in a US Qwerty layout. Trilingual keyboard options also exist, with the third script being Arabic or Russian, due to the sizable Arabic- and Russian-speaking populations in Israel.
The Apple Extended Keyboard is a computer keyboard that was first sold separately alongside the Macintosh II and SE starting in 1987. It was replaced in 1990 by the Apple Extended Keyboard II which was pre-packaged with Apple Professional Desktops starting with the Macintosh IIsi.
TouchPal is an alternative input method for mobile devices, designed and developed by Shanghai-based CooTek. It is a software application running on multiple platforms, including Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, and Windows 8. It simulates a keyboard on the screen of the device, which is used to enter text by tapping on the screen or sliding a finger between letters to construct the word. It is an optional text input method to the traditional physical keyboards and default keyboards provided by the device manufacturer.
A computer keyboard is a peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. Replacing early punched cards and paper tape technology, interaction via teleprinter-style keyboards have been the main input method for computers since the 1970s, supplemented by the computer mouse since the 1980s.
Dvorak is a keyboard layout for English patented in 1936 by August Dvorak and his brother-in-law, William Dealey, as a faster and more ergonomic alternative to the QWERTY layout. Dvorak proponents claim that it requires less finger motion and as a result reduces errors, increases typing speed, reduces repetitive strain injuries, or is simply more comfortable than QWERTY.
A keyboard layout is any specific physical, visual, or functional arrangement of the keys, legends, or key-meaning associations (respectively) of a computer keyboard, mobile phone, or other computer-controlled typographic keyboard.
Typewise is a Swiss deep tech company that builds text prediction AI. In January 2022, the company filed a patent for its technology which it claims outperforms that of Google's and Apple's.
