tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5248447883714712696.post5771820067719575837..comments2024-03-25T15:02:25.695+11:00Comments on oz.Typewriter: QWERTY and the Imaginary Son-in-LawRobert Messengerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04366507489948676594noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5248447883714712696.post-22564216694123927642016-01-22T05:01:08.818+11:002016-01-22T05:01:08.818+11:00Robert, apart from the son-in-law myth, I wonder w...Robert, apart from the son-in-law myth, I wonder whether you have an opinion on the theory that the S&G keyboard is designed to separate pairs of typebars that frequently follow each other. In ETCetera #6, Richard Dickerson published an analysis that supports this theory, with the notable exception that the R and E typebars are only two positions apart. Dickerson calls this a mistake. The Yasuokas take it as evidence that the whole theory is wrong (http://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433/139379/1/42_161.pdf), but I am not convinced by their argument about Morse code—partly because, I admit, I just haven't had the patience to follow its intricacies.Richard Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16232053429935587826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5248447883714712696.post-77499607586382962182016-01-20T07:33:44.730+11:002016-01-20T07:33:44.730+11:00Brilliant! Thanks for an excellent article cleari...Brilliant! Thanks for an excellent article clearing up something I have heard a lot of conflicting information about.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08407133004841846661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5248447883714712696.post-2693920082852119942016-01-19T18:46:11.204+11:002016-01-19T18:46:11.204+11:00Thank you for going against this rubbish rumor abo...Thank you for going against this rubbish rumor about jamming handles. I can't hear it anymore. <br /><br />What I find most interesting about the 2009/2010 research paper by Yasuoka and Yasuoka, "On the Prehistory of QWERTY" was the alternative explanation of why certain letters are positioned where they are now. They write: <br />" At least, in our opinion, T, the most frequently-used consonant,<br />should have moved to the center of keyboard, W, the other semivowel, to the<br />upper row, Q, less frequently-used letter, to the edge, and I, also used for the<br />numeral 1, near by 8 to type “1870” or “1871” rapidly. S should have moved in<br />between Z and E because of the ambiguity of American Morse Code (Fig. 3).<br />The code represents Z as “· · · ·” which is often confused with the digram<br />SE, more frequently-used than Z ... " <br /><br />In particular the "optimization" for Morse receivers is very interesting. Anna Feithttp://annafeit.denoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5248447883714712696.post-35663933880932056792016-01-19T02:28:55.460+11:002016-01-19T02:28:55.460+11:00Great historical detective work, Robert!
Back a d...Great historical detective work, Robert!<br /><br />Back a decade ago when I used a Palm-based PDA, I got used to the FITALY keyboard, an alternative keyboard designed for single-stylus entry. They had a game called Fitaly Letrus that worked like the game Tetrus to help train the user to the use of the new keyboard layout. The game would also give you a reading of your typing speed; I got to over 35 WPM using Fitaly with a stylus on a touch-screen PDA, and was rather good at it, faster than using Palm OS graffiti. I wish Fitaly were available for smart phones today, it's much more efficient than either QWERTY or Dvorak for small screened phones.<br /> <br />Thanks for the article.<br /><br />~JoeJoe Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10679530650280030752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5248447883714712696.post-55776098890434777762016-01-18T22:32:12.236+11:002016-01-18T22:32:12.236+11:00In reality all the most used keys should be those ...In reality all the most used keys should be those we press with our pinky fingers! Just kidding.<br />In the PC world I wish they'd adopted Dvorak keyboards because computers no longer have the mechanical issues. So what if I had to learn both? I did anyway, but Dvorak keyboards are very rare so I probably forgot the keys.Bill Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14649212489891769390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5248447883714712696.post-13777167080762123712016-01-18T17:38:17.911+11:002016-01-18T17:38:17.911+11:00A FURPHY keyboard, now there's a thought! A se...A FURPHY keyboard, now there's a thought! A seriously good blog post, thanks for the information. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com