Have you ever wondered if the basic keyboard can be improved? I had this discussion a few weeks back about language issues and keyboards. Being in a French environment (or any non-native environment for that matter), the fact that most keyboards are in French makes it a bit of a pain to write. Of course the best way to alleviate that pain is to learn the layout of the keyboard. But sometimes it’s just a bit of an inconvenience especially when certain symbols aren’t there when you need them. And then there’s all the different accents that just don’t make sense in English.
Sure, there are ways to change the keyboard language input from French to English or another language, but that means that you already have to have memorized how keys are laid out in English or the other language. We wondered if there is an easier way to get the keyboard layout you want without going through all the hassle of learning or memorization. Smartphones and tablets can probably change their keyboard/input settings since the keys are projected onto the screen, but how about your typical computer/laptop keyboard?
One idea we had was what if a keyboard did not have letters/alphabets printed on them in the first place. Instead the letters/alphabets of your choosing would be projected onto the keys. Is this possible? Has anyone seen this before?
A quick Google search revealed that there’s a projection keyboard. According to Wikipedia, a projection keyboard is:
… a form of computer input device whereby the image of a virtual keyboard is projected onto a surface: when a user’s fingers are placed on the projected “keys”, the device translates them into keystrokes.
Then there’s the recently announced Windows 8 tablet which actually has a keyboard built into the cover of the tablet. While it’s nothing drastically different in resolving the language issue, it does hint at an innovative way to integrate the keyboard.
Or will keyboards be obsolete soon… In the future, would we even need to type if the computer recognizes our voice?