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TypeMatrix Keyboards in the News
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(Office Solutions: June, 2002;
pages 34, 35, and 36; showing about half of the first section - keyboards
)
"KEYING IN on the right input device"
"For many computer users, data input means one of two things
- using the keyboard or the mouse. Most likely, the keyboard or mouse in question
is the one shipped with the computer. But is that the only choice? More importantly,
is it the best choice for your application?
Keyboards
The computer keyboard we've come to know and love (or loathe, as
the case may be) has changed little since the first mordern computer terminals
showed up some three decades ago - basically a flat, rectangular slab with 100 or
so keys on it. Its design is based on conventions that originated with manual
typewriters more than a century ago.
Critics of conventional keyboard design say it positions the
wrists and arms so the wrists are splayed outward, causing strain that can aggravate
the symptoms of repetitive stress injuries (RSIs) like carpal tunnel syndrome. To
help alleviate this problem, numerous manufacturers offer "ergonomic" keyboards in
which the keys for each hand are separated from one another and positioned at an
obtuse angle with the keys closest to the middle raised higher than those at the
outsides of the keyboard.
Aside from being visually reminicent of Salvador Dali's painting
of the melting pocket watches, this "bent" keyboard design is meant to keep the
user's wrists in a more natural, less stressful position. Some variations on this
keyboard design omit the raised center section, whereas in others, the two halves
of the keyboard are separate units, tethered together with a short cable to allow
the users additional flexibility in positioning them.
Showing there is always room for a better mousetrap, the TypeMatrix
ergonomic keyboard (www.typematrix.com) offers several design innovations intended
to promote greater comfort, accuracy, and speed. Unlike conventional keyboard designs
in which keys are positioned in vertically staggered columns, the TypeMatrix has
keys in straight columns for shorter, less stressful reaches. Also it has dual
oversized backspace and enter keys positioned in the center of the keyboard for use
by the stronger index finger of either hand. Its compact size often allows the mouse
to be positioned alongside the keyboard, which is not always possible with a
standard keyboard shelf. Having the mouse close by and on the same level allows for
shorter, less strenuous reaches to save arm strain.
[...]"
by Edwin Powell
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