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Followup-To: sci.med.occupational
Summary: everything you ever wanted to know about replacing your keyboard
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.c+health
Date:         Sun, 10 Jan 1993 17:43:03 PST
Reply-To:     Dan Wallach <dwallach@cs.berkeley.edu>
From:         Dan Wallach <dwallach@ZONKER.CS.BERKELEY.EDU>
Subject:      FAQ: Typing Injuries (2/3): Keyboard Alternatives [monthly
              posting]
Comments: To: c+health@iubvm.ucs.indiana.edu

Archive-name: typing-injury-faq/keyboards
Version: $Revision: 5.2 $ $Date: 1993/01/11 01:41:35 $

The Alternative Keyboard FAQ
Copyright 1992,1993 By Dan Wallach <dwallach@cs.berkeley.edu>

The opinions in here are my own, unless otherwise mentioned, and do not
represent the opinions of any organization or vendor.

[Current distribution: sci.med.occupational, sci.med,
       comp.human-factors, news.answers, and e-mail to
       c+health@iubvm.ucs.indiana.edu and sorehand@vm.ucsf.edu]

Changes since previously distributed versions are marked with change        ||
bars to the right of the text, as is this paragraph.                        ||

Information in this FAQ has been pieced together from phone conversations,
e-mail, and product literature.  While I hope it's useful, the information
in here is neither comprehensive nor error free.  If you find something
wrong or missing, please mail me, and I'll update my list.  Thanks.

All phone numbers, unless otherwise mentioned, are U.S.A. phone numbers.
All monetary figures, unless otherwise mentioned, are U.S.A. dollars.

Products covered in this FAQ:
    Using a PC's keyboard on your workstation / compatibility issues        ||
    Apple Computer, Inc.                                                    ||
    Keytronic                                                               ||
    Dragon Systems
    The Bat
    DataHand
    Comfort Keyboard System
    Kinesis Ergonomic Keyboard
    Maltron
    The Tony! Ergonomic KeySystem
    The MIKey
    The Wave
    The Minimal Motion Computer Access System
    Twiddler
    Half-QWERTY
    Microwriter
    Braille 'n Speak
    Octima
    AccuKey                                                                 ||

GIF pictures of many of these products are available via anonymous ftp
from soda.berkeley.edu:pub/typing-injury.  (128.32.149.19)  I highly
recommend getting the pictures.  They tell much more than I can fit
into this file.

If you can't ftp, send me mail, and I'll uuencode and mail them to you
(they're pretty big...)

==============
Using a PC's keyboard on your workstation / compatibility issues            ||

    Many computers have a particularly annoying problem -- they use         ||
    proprietary keyboards.  They will never be compatible with the          ||
    PC or Mac keyboards made by most vendors.  A number of programs have    ||
    been written to address this problem for users of the X windows         ||
    system.  The two main programs I've found are KT and A2X.               ||

    a2x is a sophisticated program, capable of controlling the mouse, and   ||
    even moving among widgets on the screen.  It requires a server          ||
    extension (XTEST, DEC-XTRAP, or XTestExtension1).  To find out if your  ||
    server can do this, run 'xdpyinfo' and see if any of these strings      ||
    appear in the extensions list.  If your server doesn't have this,       ||
    you may want to investigate compiling X11R5, patchlevel 18 or later,    ||
    or bugging your vendor.                                                 ||

    kt is a simpler program, which should work with unextended X servers.   ||
    Another program called xsendevent also exists, but I haven't seen it.   ||

    Both a2x and kt are available via anonymous ftp from soda.berkeley.edu. ||

    Also, a number of X terminals (NCD, Tektronics, to name a few) use      ||
    PC-compatible keyboards.  If you have an X terminal, you may be all     ||
    set.  Try it out with a normal PC keyboard before you go through the    ||
    trouble of buying an alternative keyboard.  Also, some X terminals add  ||
    extra buttons -- you may need to keep your original keyboard around     ||
    for the once-in-a-blue-moon that you have to hit the Setup key.         ||

    As you read through this text, you'll notice some companies discussing  ||
    the relative ease of supporting new computers.  If you don't mind       ||
    prodding a little bit, and you have sufficient documentation (or,       ||
    perhaps, reverse engineering skills), you may be able to convince       ||
    a company to support you.                                               ||

    Lastly, NeXT has announced that new NeXT machines will use the Apple    ||
    Desktop Bus, meaning any Mac keyboard will work.  I don't know how      ||
    hard it would be to upgrade an older NeXT to the new keyboard type.     ||
    If you know, please e-mail me!                                          ||


Apple Adjustable Keyboard                                                   ||
    Apple Computer, Inc.
    Sales offices all over the place.

    Availability: February, 1993                                            ||
    Price: $219 + palm rests (possibly also + separate keypad)              ||
    Supports: Mac only (probably)                                           ||

    Apple has recently announced their new split-design keyboard.           ||
    The keyboard has one section for each hand, and the sections            ||
    are tiltable.  The keys are otherwise arranged normally.                ||

    Apple's pictures contradict their press release, so I'm not             ||
    exactly sure what the keyboard looks like.  The press release           ||
    says the keyboard has 111 keys -- function keys, keypad, the            ||
    works.  The picture in the New York Times and San Francisco             ||
    Examiner, on the other hand, resembles Apple's smaller keyboard         ||
    -- no function keys or keypad.                                          ||

    If you have more info, please e-mail me!                                ||


Keytronic                                                                   ||
    Sold by many clone vendors and PC shops                                 ||

    Availability: May, 1993 (?)                                             ||
    Price: $500 (?)                                                         ||
    Supports: PC only (highly likely)                                       ||

    Keytronic apparently showed a prototype keyboard at Comdex.  It's       ||
    another split-design.  Keytronic makes standard PC keyboards, also,     ||
    so this product will probably be sold through their standard            ||
    distribution channels.                                                  ||

    If you have more info, please e-mail me!                                ||


DragonDictate-30K (and numerous other Dragon products)
    Dragon Systems, Inc.
    320 Nevada Street
    Newton, MA  02160

    Phone: 800-TALK-TYP or 617-965-5200
    Fax: 617-527-0372

    Shipping: Now.

    Price: DragonDictate-30K -- $4995 (end user system)
           DragonWriter 1000 -- $1595 / $2495 (end user/developer system)
           various other prices for service contracts, site licenses, etc.

    Compatibility: 386 (or higher) PC only
                   (3rd party support for Mac)

        Free software support for X windows is also available -- your       ||
        PC with Dragon hardware talks to your workstation over a            ||
        serial cable or network.  The program is called a2x, and is         ||
        available via anonymous ftp:                                        ||

        soda.berkeley.edu:pub/typing-injury/a2x.tar.Z                       ||
        export.lcs.mit.edu:contrib/a2x.tar.Z (most current)                 ||

    Dragon Systems sells a number of voice recognition products.
    Most (if not all) of them seem to run on PC's and compatibles
    (including PS/2's and other MicroChannel boxes).  They sell you
    a hardware board and software which sits in front of a number
    of popular word processors and spreadsheets.

    Each user `trains' the system to their voice, and there are provisions
    to correct the system when it makes mistakes, on the fly.  Multiple
    people can use it, but you have to load a different personality file
    for each person.  You still get the use of your normal keyboard, too.
    On the Dragon- Dictate-30K you need to pause 1/10th sec between
    words.  Dragon claims typical input speeds of 30-40 words per minute.
    I don't have specs on the DragonWriter 1000.

    The DragonDictate-30K can recognize 30,000 words at a time.
    The DragonWriter 1000 can recognize (you guessed it) 1000 words at a time.

    Dragon's technology is also part of the following products
    (about which I have no other info):

        Microsoft Windows Sound System (Voice Pilot)
        IBM VoiceType
        Voice Navigator II (by Articulate Systems -- for Macintosh)
        EMStation (by Lanier Voice Products -- "emergency medical workstation")


The Bat
    old phone number: 504-336-0033
    current phone number: 504-766-8082

    Infogrip, Inc.
    812 North Blvd.
    Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802, U.S.A.

    Ward Bond (main contact)
    David Vicknair (did the Unix software)  504-766-1029

    Shipping: Now.

    Supports: Mac, IBM PC (serial port -- native keyboard port version
    coming very soon...).  No other workstations supported, but serial
    support for Unix with X Windows has been written.  PC and Mac are
    getting all the real attention from the company.

    A chording system.  One hand is sufficient to type everything.
    The second hand is for redundancy and increased speed.

    Price:
        $495 (dual set -- each one is a complete keyboard by itself)
        $295 (single)

        (cheaper prices were offered at MacWorld Expo as a show-special.)


DataHand   602-860-8584
    Industrial Innovations, Inc.
    10789 North 90th Street
    Scottsdale, Arizona 85260-6727, U.S.A.

    Mark Roggenbuck (contact)

    Supports: PC and Mac

    Shipping: In beta.  "Big backlog" -- could take 3 months
        to get one.  Making them "as-needed."  Made by hand.

    Price: $1200/unit for the pair.  Minimum order: 2.

    Each of the four main fingers has five switches each: forward,
    back, left, right, and down.  The thumbs have a number of switches.
    The idea is that your hands never have to move to use the keyboard.
    The whole unit tilts in its base, as a mouse.

    (see also: the detailed review, written by Cliff Lasser <cal@THINK.COM>
     available via anonymous ftp from soda.berkeley.edu)


Comfort Keyboard System   414-253-4131
    FAX: 414-253-4177

    Health Care Keyboard Company
    N61 W15150 Wigwam Drive
    Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin 53051 U.S.A.

    Theoretical New Address: N82 W15340 Appleton Ave

    Jeffrey Szmanda (Vice President -- contact)

    Shipping: Now.  30 day backlog.                                         ||

    Supports: PC and Mac

    Planned future support:
        IBM 122-key layout (3270-style, I believe) -- sometime in December
        Sun Sparc -- possibly by the end of the year or January '93
        Decision Data
        Unisys UTS-40
        Silicon Graphics

        Others to be supported later.  The hardware design is relatively
        easy for the company to re-configure.

    Price: starts at $590.

    The idea is that one keyboard works with everything.  You purchase
    "compatibility modules", a new cord, and possibly new keycaps, and
    then you can move your one keyboard around among different machines.

    It's a three-piece folding keyboard.  The layout resembles the
    standard 101-key keyboard, except sliced into three sections.  Each
    section is on a "custom telescoping universal mount."  Each section
    independently adjusts to an infinite number of positions allowing each
    individual to type in a natural posture.  You can rearrange the three
    sections, too (have the keypad in the middle if you want).  Each
    section is otherwise normal-shaped (i.e.: you put all three sections
    flat, and you have what looks like a normal 101-key keyboard).


Kinesis Ergonomic Keyboard   206-455-9220
    206-455-9233 (fax)

    Kinesis Corporation
    15245 Pacific Highway South,
    Seattle, Washington 98188, U.S.A.

    Shirley Lunde (VP Marketing -- contact)

    Shipping: Now.  Expect a 30-60 day backlog for your order.              ||

    Supports: PC.  Mac and Sun Sparc in the works.

    Price: $690.  Volume discounts available.
        Other prices for various accessories, including custom wrist pads,
        foot pedals, etc.

    The layout has a large blank space in the middle, even though the
    keyboard is about the size of a normal PC keyboard -- slightly
    smaller.  Each hand has its own set of keys, laid out to minimize
    finger travel.  Thumb buttons handle many major functions (enter,
    backspace, etc.).

    You can remap the keyboard in firmware (very nice when software won't
    allow the reconfig).

    Foot pedals are also available, and can be mapped to any key on the
    keyboard (shift, control, whatever).


Maltron         (+44) 081 398 3265 (United Kingdom)
    PCD-Maltron Limited
    15 Orchard Lane, Each Moseley
    Surrey KT8 OBN, United Kingdon

    Pamela and Stephen Hobday (contacts)

    U.S. Distributor:
        Jim Barrett
        Applied Learning Corp.
        1376 Glen Hardie Road
        Wayne, PA  19087

        Phone: 215-688-6866  (NOTE: I had a typo here, last time)

    Supports: PC's, Amstrad 1512/1640, BBC B, BBC Master,
              should have Mac by the end of the year


    Price: 375 pounds
           $735 shipped in the U.S.A. (basically, converted price + shipping)

           The cost is less for BBC computers, and they have a number of
           accessories, including carrying cases, switch boxes to use both
           your normal keyboard and the Maltron, an articulated arm that
           clamps on to your table, and training 'courses' to help you learn
           to type on your Maltron.

           You can also rent a keyboard for 10 pounds/week + taxes.
           U.S. price: $120/month, and then $60 off purchase if you want it.

    Shipping: Now (in your choice of colors: black or grey)

    Maltron has four main products -- a two-handed keyboard, two one-handed
    keyboards, and a keyboard designed for handicapped people to control with
    a mouth-stick.

    The layout allocates more buttons to the thumbs, and is curved to
    bring keys closer to the fingers.  A separate keypad is in the middle.


AccuKey                                                                     ||
    AccuCorp, Inc.                                                          ||
    P.O. Box 66                                                             ||
    Christiansburg, VA  24073, U.S.A.                                       ||

    703-961-3576 (Pete Rosenquist -- Sales)                                 ||
    703-961-2001 (Larry Langley -- President)                               ||

    Shipping: Now.                                                          ||
    Supports: PC, Mac, IBM 3270, Sun Sparc, and some TeleVideo terminals.   ||
    Cost: $495 + shipping.                                                  ||

    Doesn't use conventional push-keys.  Soft rubber keys, which rock       ||
    forward and backward (each key has three states), make chords for       ||
    typing keys.  Learning time is estimated to be 2-3 hours, for getting   ||
    started, and maybe two weeks to get used to it.                         ||
                                                                            ||
    Currently, the thumbs don't do anything, although a thumb-trackball     ||
    is in the works.                                                        ||

    The company claims it takes about a week of work to support a           ||
    new computer.  They will be happy to adapt their keyboard to            ||
    your computer, if possible.                                             ||


Twiddler        516-474-4405, or 800-638-2352
    Handykey
    141 Mt. Sinai Ave.
    Mt. Sinai, NY 11766

    Chris George (President)

    Shipping: now.

    Price: $199.

    Supports: PC only.  Mac and X Windows in the works.

    The Twiddler is both a keyboard and a mouse, and it fits in one hand.
    You type via finger chords.  Shift, control, etc. are thumb buttons.
    When in "mouse" mode, tilting the Twiddler moves the mouse, and mouse
    buttons are on your fingers.

    The cabling leaves your normal keyboard available, also.

    Most applications work, and Windows works fine.  DESQview has trouble.
    GEOWorks also has trouble -- mouse works, keyboard doesn't.


Braille 'n Speak     301-879-4944
    Blazie Engineering
    3660 Mill Green Rd.
    Street, Md 21154, U.S.A.

    (information provided by Doug Martin <martin@nosc.mil>)

    The Braille N Speak uses any of several Braille codes for entering
    information: Grade I, Grade II, or computer Braille.  Basically,
    letters a-j are combinations of dots 1, 2, 4, and 5.  Letters k-t are
    the same combinations as a-j with dot 3 added. Letters u, v, x, y, and
    z are like a-e with dots 3 and 6 added.  (w is unique because Louis
    Braille didn't have a w in the French alphabet.)


The Tony! Ergonomic KeySystem        415-969-8669
    Tony Hodges
    The Tony! Corporation
    2332 Thompson Court
    Mountain View, CA  94043, U.S.A.

    Supports: Mac, PC, IBM 3270, Sun, and DEC.

    Shipping: ???                                                           ||

    Price: $625 (you commit now, and then you're in line to buy the
    keyboard.  When it ships, if it's cheaper, you pay the cheaper price.
    If it's more expensive, you still pay $625)

    The Tony! should allow separate positioning of every key, to allow
    the keyboard to be personally customized.  A thumb-operated mouse
    will also be available.


The MIKey     301-933-1111
    Dr. Alan Grant
    3208 Woodhollow Drive
    Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815, U.S.A.

    Shipping: As of July, 1992: "Should be Available in One Year."

    Supports: PC, Mac (maybe)

    Price: $200 (estimated)

    The keyboard is at a fixed angle, and incorporates a built-in mouse
    operated by the thumbs.  Function keys are arranged in a circle at
    the keyboard's left.


The Wave        (was: 213-)  310-644-6100
    FAX: 310-644-6068

    Iocomm International Technology
    12700 Yukon Avenue
    Hawthorne, California 90250, U.S.A.

    Robin Hunter (contact -- in sales)

    Cost: $99.95 + $15 for a set of cables

    Supports: PC only.

    Shipping: now.

    Iocomm also manufactures "ordinary" 101-key keyboard (PC/AT) and
    84-key keyboard (PC/XT), so make sure you get the right one.

    The one-piece keyboard has a built-in wrist-rest.  It looks *exactly*
    like a normal 101-key PC keyboard, with two inches of built-in wrist
    rest.  The key switch feel is reported to be greatly improved.


The Minimal Motion Computer Access System       508-263-6437
    508-263-6537 (fax)

    Equal Access Computer Technology
    Dr. Michael Weinreigh
    39 Oneida Rd.
    Acton, MA  01720, U.S.A.

    Price: InfoGrip-compatible: "a few hundred dollars" + a one-handed Bat
          For their own system: $300 (DOS software) + "a few hundred dollars"

    Shipping: these are custom-made, so an occupational therapist would
          make moulds/do whatever to make it for you.  You can buy one now.

    Supports: PC only, although the InfoGrip-compatible version might
          work with a Mac.

    In a one-handed version, there is exactly one button per finger.  In a
    two-handed version, you get four buttons per finger, and the thumbs
    don't do anything.  You can also get one-handed versions with three
    thumb buttons -- compatible with the InfoGrip Bat.  Basically, get it
    any way you want.

    They also have a software tutorial to help you learn the chording.

    Works on a PC under DOS, not Windows.  Planning on Macintosh and
    PC/Windows support.  No work has been done on a Unix version, yet.


Half-QWERTY     (Canada) 416-749-3124
    The Matias Corporation
    178 Thistledown Boulevard
    Rexdale, Ontario, Canada
    M9V 1K1

    E-mail: ematias@dgp.toronto.edu

    Supports: Mac and PC (but, not Windows)

    Price:   $84.95 (slightly higher in Canada)
    Shipping: Now.

    This thing is purely software.  No hardware at all.

    The software will mirror the keyboard when you hold down the space
    bar, allowing you type one-handed.


Octima  (Israel) 972-4-5322844
    FAX: (+972) 3 5322970

    Ergoplic Keyboards Ltd.
    P.O. Box 31
    Kiryat Ono 55100, Israel

    (info from Mandy Jaffe-Katz <RXHFUN@HAIFAUVM.BITNET>)
    A one-handed keyboard.


Microwriter AgendA (U.K.) (+44) 276 692 084
    FAX: (+44) 276 691 826

    Microwriter Systems plc
    M.S.A. House
    2 Albany Court
    Albany Park
    Frimley
    Surrey GU15 2XA, United Kingdom

    (Info from Carroll Morgan <Carroll.Morgan@prg.oxford.ac.uk>)

    The AgendA is a personal desktop assistant (PDA) style machine.  You
    can carry it along with you.  It has chording input.  You can also
    hook it up to your PC, or even program it.

    It costs just under 200 pounds, with 128K memory.
===========

Thanks go to Chris Bekins <AS.CCB@forsythe.stanford.edu> for providing
the basis for this information.

Thanks to the numerous contributors:

Doug Martin <martin@nosc.mil>
Carroll Morgan <Carroll.Morgan@prg.oxford.ac.uk>
Mandy Jaffe-Katz <RXHFUN@HAIFAUVM.BITNET>
Wes Hunter <Wesley.Hunter@AtlantaGA.NCR.com>
Paul Schwartz <pschwrtz@cs.washington.edu>
H.J. Woltring <WOLTRING@NICI.KUN.NL>
Dan Sorenson <viking@iastate.edu>
Chris VanHaren <vanharen@MIT.EDU>
Ravi Pandya <ravi@xanadu.com>
Leonard H. Tower Jr. <tower@ai.mit.edu>
Dan Jacobson <Dan_Jacobson@ATT.COM>
Jim Cheetham  <jim@oasis.icl.co.uk>
Cliff Lasser <cal@THINK.COM>
Richard Donkin <richardd@hoskyns.co.uk>
Paul Rubin <phr@napa.Telebit.COM>
David Erb <erb@fullfeed.com>
Bob Scheifler <rws@expo.lcs.mit.edu>

and everybody else who I've probably managed to forget.

The opinions in here are my own, unless otherwise mentioned, and do not
represent the opinions of any organization or vendor.

Mailing date: Sun Jan 10 17:43:02 PST 1993
--
Dan Wallach               "One of the most attractive features of a Connection
dwallach@cs.berkeley.edu  Machine is the array of blinking lights on the faces
Office#: 510-642-9585     of its cabinet." -- CM Paris Ref. Manual, v6.0, p48.
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU