New calculator interface

[EugeneNine]

(12-31-2021 07:56 PM)celltx Wrote:  What about airplanes? Airbus and many others use joysticks in their latest cockpits. After more that 100 years of history and time-proven interfaces, they switched to something new. See the pictures in Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side-stick

An old video game review (choplifter) author mentioned driving home from work and hearing an airplane and tried to bank his Buick.

(12-31-2021 07:56 PM)celltx Wrote:  Could the same switch happen in calculator interfaces?

The problems above, most efficient calculator users use more than one finger and RPN is more efficient than the = type which this round keypad is supposed to improve. Would this be more efficient than RPN?

[Ren]

(12-31-2021 09:54 PM)EugeneNine Wrote:  An old video game review (choplifter) author mentioned driving home from work and hearing an airplane and tried to bank his Buick.

Hopefully, the Buick didn't end up in a snowbank, over a river bank, or in a First National Bank!
B^)

[teenix]

(12-31-2021 07:56 PM)celltx Wrote:  What about airplanes? Airbus and many others use joysticks in their latest cockpits. After more that 100 years of history and time-proven interfaces, they switched to something new. See the pictures in Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side-stick

Could the same switch happen in calculator interfaces?

Try doing a steep turn in a Cirrus SR22, like driving a car one handed with failed power steering. :-)

cheers

Tony

[Ren]

Oh, I'd like a pocket calculator with the keys the same size and feel as the 10 Key pad on my PC. (ha-ha)
I would only need to look down from the screen when I would need some other function than +-*/ and Enter.

[Eddie W. Shore]

I would go for a circular matrix of keys if each key is separate. If all the keys are tied together, it would kill input accuracy.

[Jeff_Birt]

I have two variations of 'ergonomic' computer keyboards, one at work and one at home. The one at work is a Microsoft Wireless Comfort Keyboard 5000 which has the main/alpha keys in a mild upwards arc. The numpad is standard. This works well.

The one at home has the main/alpha keys split in the middle and slightly descending from the split. It is a model KU-0462 (or similar) . This also works well. Both are improved for ergonomics but keep the basic/standard keyboard layout which works.

I have tried to use some test instruments which tired a similar circular key layout and found it maddening. You spend far to much time fighting to find the right button and the 'ergonomic' shape actually makes it harder to use. A tiny circular keyboard forces you to poke with one finger and constantly pull you hand up to see where the next button is.

Not the next big thing IMHO, probably right up there with poke typing on a touch screen

[Jean-Michel]

Hello

At first, a simulator on a touch screen could help deciding whether this configuration is useful or not .

Regards,

JM

[robve]

We have a winner (chicken dinner)!!!

This Keyboard Lets People Type So Fast It’s Banned From Typing Competitions



Edit: I was just kidding, in case anyone thinks I was not (this device is not a joke nor a calculator...).

- Rob

[robve]

Came across this contender for best ergonomic calculator interface: Zelco Phorm Ergonomic Hand-Held Calculator from 1986.

"Zelco produced this calculator in two different models: one for right-handed users and the other for left-handed users. As the calculator’s title suggests, the device was designed to maximize efficiency and comfort for the user. The brightly colored keys, coded by function, allow for ease and accuracy when entering calculations."


Image: Smithsonian (terms of use)

- Rob

[ndzied1]

Sort of in the same vein I found this one handed keyboard. Not circular but set up in arcs...

https://tipykeyboard.com/en/home/