3 ms·

Up until a year or so ago, you could buy a one-handed input device called the Twiddler: http://www.handykey.com/ http://www.handykey.com/ You may still be abl

by jcl 19y ago

Up until a year or so ago, you could buy a one-handed input device called the Twiddler: http://www.handykey.com/ http://www.handykey.com/ You may still be able to find it secondhand. It has more than five buttons (12?), but they are chorded like Engelbart's design to access the 100-some necessary scan codes. Some users reported typing speeds approaching QWERTY, and supposedly with less RSI problems. Edit: Wikipedia has links to a number of other prototypes and (mostly defunct) production models at the bottom of its chorded keyboard article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorded_keyboard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorded_keyboard

mechanical_fish 19y ago
The problem with RSI is that it's extremely personal. One person's wonder-working invention is another's torture device. I don't doubt that there are many users who could benefit from a one-handed chorded keyboard -- I once met a programmer with the use of only one hand -- but many others will see no benefit, and others might have bigger RSI problems with chording than with regular keyboards. Meanwhile, I find that the phrase "speeds approaching QWERTY" is not a very effective sales pitch. :)
- jcl 19y ago
  I agree entirely (hence the various qualifiers in my post). The amazing WPM cited on the Twiddler page comes from a quote from Thad Starner, who is a prominent wearable computing researcher and one of the Twiddler's leading advocates. Some of his research on actual typing speeds, here: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/Thad.Starner/030_research.htm http://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/Thad.Starner/030_research.htm
- wallflower 19y ago
  > The problem with RSI is that it's extremely personal. As someone who manages their RSI problems, I agree. My only bit of advice on this is if you find that you can pound out code for an extended bit of time and start to feel pain/soreness and after a little while recover...STOP - that is a major warning flag that I ignored tens of times - there is a cumulative effect/straw that breaks the camel's back, such that recovery time doesn't get you back to 100% you never really recover (baseline level of aching). That is RSI

by jcl 19y ago

mechanical_fish 19y ago

The problem with RSI is that it's extremely personal. One person's wonder-working invention is another's torture device. I don't doubt that there are many users who could benefit from a one-handed chorded keyboard -- I once met a programmer with the use of only one hand -- but many others will see no benefit, and others might have bigger RSI problems with chording than with regular keyboards. Meanwhile, I find that the phrase "speeds approaching QWERTY" is not a very effective sales pitch. :)

jcl 19y ago
I agree entirely (hence the various qualifiers in my post). The amazing WPM cited on the Twiddler page comes from a quote from Thad Starner, who is a prominent wearable computing researcher and one of the Twiddler's leading advocates. Some of his research on actual typing speeds, here: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/Thad.Starner/030_research.htm http://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/Thad.Starner/030_research.htm
wallflower 19y ago
> The problem with RSI is that it's extremely personal. As someone who manages their RSI problems, I agree. My only bit of advice on this is if you find that you can pound out code for an extended bit of time and start to feel pain/soreness and after a little while recover...STOP - that is a major warning flag that I ignored tens of times - there is a cumulative effect/straw that breaks the camel's back, such that recovery time doesn't get you back to 100% you never really recover (baseline level of aching). That is RSI