Where to buy this Human Keyboard?


I think you're looking at a design proposal for the Pandora keyboard, not something that is actually available. The one that was chosen in the end was a bit different. What do you mean by "human"?
 
if you are serious about the "at any price" I think it's possible, but I seem to remember about a 1000moq or something like that...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Cosurgi did a great job of suggesting a well thought out keyboard layout which was widely supported by the community. The powers that be decided to more or less ignore a lot of his suggestions & ship the device with what in my opinion was an inferior alternative.

For example, whoever thought that using an analogue stick for mouse buttons, instead of the shoulders, should be taken outside and forced to read 'ergonomics & usability for beginners' before they're allowed back in.

Let's hope the same mistakes are not made with the ICP2 keyboard layout.
 
Using the shoulder buttons as mouse buttons would be good, if the user holds the Pandora with both hands. But what, if the Pandora is placed on a table in front of you and you use it it "Laptop mode"? Okay, ergonomically this is also not optimal, but it is e.g. my main use case, so I would not be happy at all, if mouse buttons would be accessible only via the shoulder buttons. ;-)
 
patrick295767 said:
Any pricing would be mine !
Click to expand...
Ok... AU $1 million please :D

2011-05-23-OR_e105_HumanKeyboard_FINAL.jpg
 
hmc said:
Using the shoulder buttons as mouse buttons would be good, if the user holds the Pandora with both hands. But what, if the Pandora is placed on a table in front of you and you use it it "Laptop mode"? Okay, ergonomically this is also not optimal, but it is e.g. my main use case, so I would not be happy at all, if mouse buttons would be accessible only via the shoulder buttons. ;-)
Click to expand...
If I set it on the table I'm either watching a movie or done using it. :p If we're going to talk ergonomy in that corner case, then let us indeed discuss the keyboard since the typing sucks immensely in that position.

Looking forward, I wonder if variations on the keyboard could be looked into? What would the minimum demand be for an alternate printing of the keyboard, and would we be able to have some kind of OS setting on install without too much headache? I'm guessing sales are still too low to consider it, but it's a good point to keep in mind since the keyboard layout issue can be so divisive.
 
It's not European, it's not anything. It's an amalgamation of ideas and compromises that fits most people fairly well.
 
Wally said:
Would have been nicer if the Pandora had a US Keyboard instead of the EU keyboard ;)
Click to expand...
Have you ever seen European keyboards? First of all, there is no such thing as the EU keyboard, since every language has its own keyboard. The French have keys for é and à and ç, the German have keys for ö and ü, the Scandinavians have their å and æ and ø, and so on. The Pandora keyboard doesn't have any of those keys. In terms of layout, most European countries don't use QWERTY: France and Belgium (even the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) use AZERTY, German-speaking countries (but also e.g. Poland and Hungary) use QWERTZ, Italians sometimes use QZERTY, Lithuanians use ĄŽERTY, and of course Russian, Greek, Hebrew and Arabic don't even have the same alphabet.

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_layout#QWERTY-based_layouts_for_Latin_script

Now please explain why you say the Pandora has "the EU keyboard" :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hello,

I hope that it can be found this keyboard on the market. Any producers? Where can I buy it? 

The terming "Human" is frequently employed in some Linux distros/development. It is indicated here in more details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_(philosophy)

For those who are familiar with Linux, in particularly Debian family distros, they have probably heard about that. The Ubuntu distro brought this terming "human" (or a philosophy). It may have various meanings. Human in this thread might be related.

The advantages of the keyboard that is proposed are numerous. The design is made to be ergonomically user friendly and ideally suited to coding (eventually word processing). It is also similar to classical keyboards.

For example: 

- soft keys

- low keys (height) (seems like) and force required to activate the switch made for little efforts

- Modifiers at their place (like any keyboards) (left side for those that are not getting)

- Function key in the corner, because it is the most used key mod.

- Semicolon and colon not in a corner on the left hand side... (come on, who got the idea to bring the colon on the left hand side. 

 (keyboards: Link)

- ...

It has been very probably a lot of testing, experience, and efforts to design a similar achievement from the concerned person. It showed a great innovation, considering the limited number of keys that are available on the Pandora.

DEFINITELY, this keyboard is exceptional. Soft keys sounds also great, and spacing between the keys also. Take an example, the design of VIM is strongly well made. The function of each key is positioned so that it is comfortable to use, ... It should be the same for a keyboard and be according to common standards as well, and comfortable. 

Even with my shitty black-berry (small keys...) I type even much faster :)  )

 

Please I would be interested to be contacted to buy. I am your customer. 

** Note: Urgent: Need to work (efficiently considering the keyboard) & travel **

_______________

Other topic:

Mouse is another thing. I just talk about the keys. One mistake is made: Tab. For console Linux use, it has no place there. No matter you can remap it with the keycode 9 (<---- tab) to another place (left side of the keyboard) into your rc2.d with the command loadkeys /etc/customkeymap.map 

(or a regular xmodmap if you need x11).

- Note: regarding  layout, of course US, is the best choice since most developers know this layout the best. Any default installers  has us layout. Who care about EU, they all have very different layout.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm sorry, but you are at the moment completely incomprehensible. What are you trying to say?

 

Regarding that keyboard image you found: 

 

* It is not in any way different in the kind of keys. It is one of the many proposals for keyboard layouts that where discussed around when the keyboard layout should be decided. That the text is written on flat squares is simply because that was a very easy way to show what keytops should go where. Had this keyboard layout been selected, it would have used exactly the same kind of keys.

 

* It does not exist. Noone has manufactured it. It is just a sketch used to discuss how the keyboard might look. So there is noone that you might be a customer of. The jokes above about cost alludes to the fact that for this to actually be manufactured, you would need to pay for development and prototyping for an entirely new keyboard, and possibly need to by 1000 keyboards (since that would be a minimum order). 

 

* There are quite good reasons why the keys are the in the places they are on the pandora keyboard, mostly for design issues around thumb typing. Not everyone was happy with it (as with any compromise), but it isn't like keys where moved around for no reason.

 

Finally, this:

 

 regarding  layout, of course US, is the best choice since most developers know this layout the best. Any default installers  has us layout.
Click to expand...
Uhm...No. For a device created by (at the smalles count) three europeans of different nationalities and one Canadian (?), it is in no way natural that "the best choice" is an US layout. Most US developers know the US layout best, just as most German developers know the German layout best. And so on. Any installer has most of them, for the very natural reason that most of us knows the keyboard layout that is under our fingers, and need the computer to correspond to that.
 
For those who are familiar with Linux, in particularly Debian family distros, they have probably heard about that. The Ubuntu distro brought this terming "human" (or a philosophy). It may have various meanings. Human in this thread might be related. 
Click to expand...
Which is funny because myself and many others consider Ubuntu's unity a horrid interface design.


also a little humorous that Ubuntu unity sucks comes in third on a google search:

unity.png
 
Give me 1 - 2 weeks, I will design you a great ergonomically designed keyboard (based on the same configuration (key nbr,...) for word processing & programming.  

You will see. 

--

Fn key will be definitely in the bottom left hand corner of the keyboard (<- this is already pretty sure). 

Actually most of it will be inspired from the greatest handheld-keyboards.

What is a problem is the lack of symmetry of the Pandora keyboard, and this nothing can be done. 
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Why is the lack of symmetry a problem?

Also, Its actually very useful to have Fn next to space - since you can press tab by rolling your thumb across from one to the other.
 
Binky said:
Why is the lack of symmetry a problem?

Also, Its actually very useful to have Fn next to space - since you can press tab by rolling your thumb across from one to the other.
Click to expand...
First it would be great that F and J have a mark on the keys.

Take for example the Psion 5 mx, you have your two fingers on F and J (keys have a mark), and you r two hands are symmetrically positioned. This is also another advantage to type much faster.

The quality of the position of the keys also defines how fast you can type. 

Computer typing is a serious science, guys. It should not be underestimated that.

As I said, the way the Psion keyboards have been made, has not been a story of few discussions, ideas,.... There is science behind, and research has been seriously conducted. 

http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/review/sign-here-typing/keyboard.en.jpg

Keyboards can be also designed to let you type "faster". Example:

Type Faster with TruType Keys

This laptop-style TruType keyboard has well-spaced keys that promote typing accuracy. Each key has a spring mechanism that provides tactile feedback when struck, enabling fast, intuitive, and comfortable typing.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Some keyboards may be better than others. I provide you some comparisons with some other devices. I picked up some keyboards that are quite fine. Sharp are pretty good in that field.

You may find here various types of keyboards... Hard vs soft keys is also an important question to make. Angle and space between the keys are also important. Microsoft "natural" keyboards for instance are usually found very comfortable for typing (due to the position of the keys mainly). 

http://i.imgur.com/oq6lMge.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/jMzkGxL.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Bc6Y58p.jpg

 

 

 
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

erico
Pandora keyboard (multiple keypress)
Replies
4
Views
1K
_wb_
_wb_
greendots
The Keyboard
5 6 7
Replies
122
Views
21K
WizardStan
WizardStan
N
Keyboard Question
Replies
12
Views
2K
neko
N
cosurgi
Keyboard Layout And Durability
10 11 12
Replies
224
Views
44K
kagato
kagato
forgeflow
Pandora - Where To Buy
2
Replies
22
Views
4K
crow_riot
crow_riot
Back
Top