Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!mcnc!rti!dg-rtp!amber!sanders
From: sanders@amber.rtp.dg.com (Lee Sanders)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Optimal keyboards
Keywords: Maltron
Message-ID: <1990Sep5.223137.24750@dg-rtp.dg.com>
Date: 5 Sep 90 22:31:37 GMT
Sender: usenet@dg-rtp.dg.com (Usenet Administration)
Reply-To: sanders@dg-rtp.dg.com (Lee Sanders)
Organization: Data General Corporation, Research Triangle Park, NC
Lines: 30

Has anyone seen or used a Maltron keyboard?  It was mentioned in the February
1990 issue of "Computer".  This is an excerpt from the article "Design of
a Bitmapped Multilingual Workstation" by Richard Walters UCD:

	"[..] The most promising recent design is the Maltron keyboard
	developed by Stephen Hobday and Lillian Malt (see [omitted] 
	Figure 1)(3).  This design overcomes most of the Qwerty keyboard's
	design flaws.  It takes advantage of the dexterity of both thumbs
	by giving them control of a number of important keys, including
	the letter "e," space, period, and enter.  The keys are separated
	into two pods, one for each hand, and placed in a concave 
	configuration that eliminates the need for users to move their
	hands to access all keys.  These last two features reduce two
	known causes of severe strain resulting from Qwerty keyboard use.
	The keys are also repositioned to increase alternate hand typing
	and to make greater use of the most dextrous fingers (giving a slight
	bias to the right hand).  This keyboard can increase the speed of
	any user, even professional typists.(3)"

	(3) S.W.Hobday, "Keyboards Designed to Fit Hands and Reduce Postural
	Stress," in _Trends in Ergonomics/Human Factors_, F. Aghazadeh, ed.,
	Vol. V, 1988, pp.321-330.

The missing picture looks really neat but the left half is mostly illegible
so I can't include the layout here (and I don't believe that I could do it
justice anyway :-).


Lee Sanders                     Usenet: ...!mcnc!rti!xyzzy!sanders
Data General at RTP             CSnet:  sanders@dg-rtp.dg.com