Keyboard Design of Computers

The computer has made massive changes in the way business is conducted and in the way millions of people conduct their lives. This medium involves the use of hardware which has been analyzed and modified by ergonomists seeking to make the mesh between human and machine more comfortable and more productive. One element that has been given considerable attention is the keyboard. With the increased use of computers, various medical problems were found among heavy users, especially related to repeated motions of the hands and fingers over the keyboard. Researchers have undertaken to redesign the keyboard as to its shape so that it fits the human hand better, and some have tried to redesign the placement of keys for a better fit with the way people type. Some of these experiments have produced new types of keyboards now being introduced, and others are still in the design stage. This is clearly an ergonomic problem that will be carefully examined for some time to come.

The desktop microprocessor was designed originally with little attention given to the keyboard, which was simply carried over from the existing design for the typewriter. The primary change was in the distance traveled by the fingers in making the average keystroke, and this distance was moved from more than one inch on the typewriter to about one-half inch or 4 mm on the personal computer. It has not been moved since that time on the desktop, though portable and laptop computer

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her sides while the user keeps his or her wrists from pivoting or twisting. The wide wrist rest does allow a place for you comfortably to rest your wrists between typing sessions. Beneath this there is a pull-down stand that raises the front of the device to angle it away from you while you type. The three extra keys are shortcuts. One and two bring up the new Windows Task Manager, allowing the user to switch between applications without reaching for the mouse. The third has a use in Windows 95, also adding features that can now be accomplished without the use of a mouse. A recent review of this keyboard notes some of its advantages while also noting that the keys are less than responsive and lack the straight travel and click of other good keyboards (Torgan, 1995, 46-47). ERGONOMIC KEYBOARDS Interestingly, while designers today are using ergonomics to develop a cheaper keyboard while also finding one that offers more satisfaction to the consumer, for some time ergonomically-designed keyboards have been selling as special improvements to the computer, often at high prices. Another reason why many sought out specialized keyboards was the crippling effects of carpal tunnel syndrome, an aching from repetitive stress injuries

Category: Science - K