2. The conventional ergonomic
keyboard
Several keyboard layouts have been
ergonomically designed in order to relieve the stress caused by the twisting of
the wrist.
 A typical model is the so-called V-shaped keyboard, in which
the right hand keys are separated from the left hand keys so that the lines of
the right and left hand keys and right and left forearms cross at right angles.
 The ¡ÈNatural Keyboard¡É from Microsoft and the ¡ÈMaxim Keyboard¡É from Kinesis are popular models, and these keyboards also incorporate
¡Èslopes¡É that allow the surfaces of the right and left hand keys to be
parallel to the ¡Èinclined¡É surfaces of the back of the right and left
hands, as I explained before.
It is possible to state that conventional ergonomic keyboards are designed
from the viewpoint of two factors: one, the angle at which the key line
and the forearm cross, and the other, the inclined surfaces of the back
of the right and left hands.
¢£The shortcomings of the conventional ergonomic keyboard
(The ¡Ècompatibility wall¡É)
The conventional ergonomic
keyboards are generally easy to use, but this is always subject to users getting
accustomed to the new key arrangement.
It may be incorrect to choose an
ergonomic keyboard merely for its ease-of-use feature. Since human beings have
high levels of adjustment and an ability to conform, we can use a device that is
not very user-friendly with little trouble, once we get accustomed to it.
Therefore, if we switch to an alternative device, we have to discard years of
experience accumulated with the current device and relearn how to use the
alternative one until we get accustomed to it, even if it is really easy to use.
Therefore, we desire every keyboard that we use - at home, at the office,
at the place where we travel - to have a standardization and compatibility
in the key arrangement, even if keyboards that are easier to use are available.
For example, the practice of arranging keys diagonally in the longitudinal
direction has merely been carried forward from the old mechanical typewriter,
keys of which were attached to the levers and had to be offset
so the levers didn't collide.
"Red Valentine", Olivetti
¡ÊPhoto by NOAX)
It is also being stated that the QWERTY key position (that we normally
use) is not the optimal arrangement for speed while typing. Other easy-to-use
key positions like DVORAK have been developed, which facilitate faster
typing than the QWERTY key position; but we no longer modify the standardized
key layout and QWERTY key position that we are accustomed to.
Hence, it is possible to state that ¡Ècompatibility¡É shall be sought
when we introduce a new design philosophy that offers more than the standardized
keyboard.
In addition, the body of the conventional ergonomic keyboard
is very large. It is illogical to allow the large keyboard to dominate desk
space while replacing the cathode-ray tube (CRT) with the space-saving, slim
liquid crystal display (LCD).
Moreover, adapting the V shape and the
inclined designs to the notebook PC appears difficult.
Incidentally, the
question arises whether it is sufficient to consider only two factors (the angle
at which the key line and the forearm cross and the inclined surfaces of the
back of the right and left hands) when the ergonomic keyboard is designed , or
whether there are other factors to be considered.
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