Half-keyboard

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A half-keyboard is a specially designed and programmed keyboard used in limited space situations or when the typist needs a hand free to answer the phone, hold documents, etc. [1]

The "Half-QWERTY" keyboard, invented by Edgar Matias, [2] consists of only the left-hand half of a normal QWERTY keyboard, but when the space bar is held down, it switches to the right half of the keyboard, allowing a person to type with only one hand.

It is said to be quick to learn, because human bodies can easily replicate one motion on one side to the other side, and almost as fast as a normal keyboard. [3]

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References

  1. Morley, Deborah; Parker, Charles (2013). Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow (14th ed.). Boston: Cengage Learning. p. 665. ISBN   9781133190240 . Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  2. Matias, Edgar; MacKenzie, I. Scott; Buxton, William (1993). "Half-QWERTY: a one-handed keyboard facilitating skill transfer from QWERTY". Proceedings of the INTERCHI '93 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems: 88–94. ISBN   90-5199-133-9.
  3. Lawrence, Elaine; Pernici, Barbara; Krogstie, John (30 August 2004). Mobile Information Systems. New York: Springer Science+Business Media. p. 332. ISBN   9780387228518 . Retrieved 24 November 2014.