Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83 SMI; site sun.uucp Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!harpo!decvax!decwrl!sun!gnu From: gnu@sun.uucp (John Gilmore) Newsgroups: net.works Subject: Re: Microwriter Chord Keyboard Message-ID: <448@sun.uucp> Date: Wed, 15-Feb-84 22:08:55 EST Article-I.D.: sun.448 Posted: Wed Feb 15 22:08:55 1984 Date-Received: Fri, 17-Feb-84 03:24:05 EST References: <16491@sri-arpa.UUCP> Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc. Lines: 31 I've recently acquired a chord keyboard called a "Microwriter". It's not as pleasant as an IBM Chord Keyboard, but you can exchange money ($450) for one and it talks ascii RS232. It has six keys on a hand-shaped keyboard about the size of a paperback book. Five are for letters and an extra thumb key is for case shifting, commands, etc. The interesting part is the key layout. The five "usual" keys are diagrammed like this: * middle index * * ring Thumb * * pinky and many of the letters are just "drawn" on this grid for mnemonic value. Thus "I" is the leftmost two (a vertical stroke), "L" is those plus the pinky (ell-shaped), "r" is the leftmost plus the ring finger (vertical plus bar at the top), etc. I learned all the letters in about an hour, and learned the useful commands over the weekend. It's a lot more mnemonic than the binary encoding of ASCII. It is actually a portable word processor, with 8KB of text memory, a CMOS procesor, nicads & charger, and a 16-char LCD display. You can carry it around in its little leatherette case and type whenever the fancy strikes you, uploading or printing later. It could be used as a portable terminal except for the garbagey way they implemented receiving from the RS232 port (for power-saving considerations). I'm currently working on interfacing it as the keyboard of my Sun Workstation. I hear they have a cheaper version, just a keyboard, in the works. I first found it in the Whole Earth Software Review. Reply with a USPS address and I'll send you some of their literature. John Gilmore, {decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!sun!gnu