Yeah, as long as we continue to deal with the written word, I don't know how normal keyboards can go away. Human beings are designed to do things with their fingers.
I'm not poo-pooing technology. I think it won't be long until we all have telepathy. They already have sound systems that can be set up so that only you can hear them. They actually cause the bones of your skull to vibrate and since everybody's skull is different, only you can hear it. They also have devices that allow you to think a word and the computer recognizes it. So if you think "call mom" it knows. When those technologies mature to the point where they can go on an iphone, you'll essentially have telepathy. But businesses still deal primarily with the written word. There used to be very efficient voice recognition systems in every work place -- they were called secretaries. Remember how in the old movies bosses called their secretary in to dictate a letter? Nobody does that any more, they fire off an email. To some degree that is because of cost. But mainly it's because it's more efficient to compose an email yourself than to have your secretary compose it for you. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Howell" <scottn3...@gmail.com> To: <macvisionaries@googlegroups.com> Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 12:48 PM Subject: Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium John, that is true and in talking to a friend of mine who has really taken to the iPhone as I have and he is sighted, has also said that having some sort of tactile feedback would be preferred. I have to agree, it would seem and this is purely my own opinion, but not having some sort of feedback would feel really odd and abrupt on the fingers.. On Dec 4, 2009, at 1:19 PM, John G. Heim wrote: > I wouldn't count on the traditional style keyboard going out any time > soon. > The technology to make a perfectly flat keyboard has been available for > many > years. You probably have a perfectly flat control panel on your microwave > oven. It hasn't caught on for keyboards because people like being able to > feel the keys. Most keyboards even have extra bumps on the f, j, and > numpad > 5 keys so people can find them easier. > > I just bought a mini USP keyboard from the Apple Store. Its way flatter > than > a regular keyboard but its not perfectly flat like a touch screen. You > might > ask yourself why Apple didn't manufacture this keyboard like the control > panel on a microwave oven. Actually, keyboards like that are available. > But > generally, you don't see them because people don't like them. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Mark BurningHawk Baxter" <markbaxte...@gmail.com> > To: <macvisionaries@googlegroups.com> > Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 10:38 AM > Subject: Re: no mac for blind people in Belgium > > >> Keyboard, or touch-input alphanumerical devices, sure, but they'll be >> touch screen or nonstandard shapes and sizes; it behooves the blind >> person, I think, to get used to the fact and start breaking away from >> traditional QWERTY; I never learned DVORAK or any other of the >> keyboard configurations, but I'm betting the standard typewriter >> interface will come to an extinction soon. >> >> -- >> >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> >> >> > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
