Avoiding keyboard decisions

[Luke-Jr]

Would it be too difficult/expensive to use e-ink to change the key "labels" from software?

 

[moxie]

Yes.

 

[Granitehead]

It wouldn't just be expensive, it would be an engineering challenge. People here want a real keyboard, no additional touch screen which might be obtainable in the required sizes or not. So you would either need an eInk screen for every single key and then wire it up and put it together mechanically, or you could take one big screen for the whole surface of the keyboard and then try to mount a transparent keyboard on top of it.

The latter might be feasible in theory, I believe, that's something I would like someone to explore - by making a prototype based on some available product with a capacitive touch screen and publishing the results. Then maybe in five years ED could take it into consideration for a Pyra successor.

(I think with a capacitive touch screen, you should be able to lay something like a keymat on top: most of the keymat would need to be made from a material which isn't recognized by the touch screen, and only the parts which come down when you press the button would have some coat from a material with a capacitance similar to a human finger so the screen recognizes those touches. Everything would need to be transparent {probably the hardest part}. But possibly I just don't know enough about capacitive touch screens to know why this couldn't work)

 

[DAP]

One example of this technology:

http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus/popularis/

The keys are too big for the Pyra, and just the keyboard is $1500 US.

 

[comradekingu]

It would also be bad. There is no tactile feedback from a flat surface. While you arent getting monkeys arm from pushing a screen in front of you, by doing it on the keyboard part you are solving one problem, and creating another.

Its instead better to have sane defaults on the keymat markings, which is something that shouldnt be avoided.

 

[Granitehead]

It would also be bad. There is no tactile feedback from a flat surface. While you arent getting monkeys arm from pushing a screen in front of you, by doing it on the keyboard part you are solving one problem, and creating another.

Its instead better to have sane defaults on the keymat markings, which is something that shouldnt be avoided.

Both of the technologies for variable marking keyboard which are mentioned here do have tactile feedback.