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From: tonyrich@titanic.cs.wisc.edu (Anthony Rich)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hardware
Subject: Re: Chords (was Re: a plea to Apple -- something for the offhand
Message-ID: <10911@spool.cs.wisc.edu>
Date: 30 Jul 90 04:45:19 GMT
References: <1412@gazette.bcm.tmc.edu> <2787@uakari.primate.wisc.edu> <1396@idunno.Princeton.EDU> <1990Jul26.024139.11905@csrd.uiuc.edu>
Sender: news@spool.cs.wisc.edu
Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept
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In article <1990Jul26.024139.11905@csrd.uiuc.edu>
forbes@sp11.csrd.uiuc.edu (Michael Scott Forbes) writes:

> [A human factors textbook...] talked about QWERTY, DVORAK and chord
> keyboards, and how experiments and tests had demonstrated the chord
> keyboards to be much faster than the other two and subject to fewer
> typing errors as well.  This information was part of a textbook example
> (literally) of why a new, better way of doing something doesn't always
> catch on.

Yes, it's yet another example of how standardizing on immature technology
prevents progress later when technology improves and we're much smarter.
It's the same story with TV broadcast signal (NTSC) standards, the ordinary
telephone's horrible user interface (do YOU dare ignore your ringing phone?
Who's in control, you or the phone?), etc.  I think an unsung accomplishment
of the Mac was that it finally weaned us from the awful IBM 80-column
punch-card standard that determined most video screen widths!  (Well, almost.
I'm typing this in an 80-column X window on a 19" DEC monitor.  And what
are *you* reading it on? :^)

Anyway, about chord keyboards:

Court reporters take copious notes in court on two-handed chord keyboards.
Those keyboards certainly must be efficient data-entry devices.  (Are there
any past or present court reporters out there who would care to tell us
about how they work and why they're so efficient?)

It sounds like this entire topic is basically about whether it would be
useful to move what are now modifier keys (control, option, command) or
extra mouse buttons (on non-Mac systems) to a separate keyboard of their own.

Of course that's possible, but I'm having a hard time seeing how or why that
improves the user interface.  Few Mac users like remembering those obscure
modifier key combinations because key combinations are actually an invisible
"command-line" interface.

Chords are only more efficient than other ways of accomplishing the same
thing if you can recall them instantly.  You lose BIG every time you have
to look one up in an online or offline manual, so they introduce a learning
curve inefficiency that's based on

    1) How fast you can memorize the chords,
    2) How many chords there are, and
    3) How many different meanings the same chord has (in different
       programs, for example).

Another factor in recall speed (after they're "learned") is how frequently
you USE the chords (and your Mac, for that matter).  Take a long summer
vacation, and whoops!  Let's see, was that command-click or option-click?

It doesn't seem likely to me that putting those or similar keys elsewhere
and giving them even *more* meanings will make them any more attractive
to learn.  Or am I missing something obvious?  (A brain, for example? :^)

On the other hand (pun intended), you can simply hook up a MIDI keyboard to
your Mac and do all the chording you want, offhand.  (Organ-ize your Mac! :^)

  -- Tony
--
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