Danny Amor's Online Library/Danny Amor's Online Library - Volume 1.iso/html/faqs/faq/typing-injury-faq/keyboards

Text File | 1995-07-25 | 42KB | 1,218 lines

Subject: FAQ: Typing Injuries (3/5): Keyboard Alternatives [monthly posting]
Newsgroups: sci.med,sci.med.occupational,comp.human-factors,comp.answers,sci.answers,news.answers
From: Dan Wallach <[e-mail]>
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 03:04:12 GMT

Archive-name: typing-injury-faq/keyboards
Version: $Revision: 6.23 $ $Date: 1994/10/24 02:36:47 $

Prologue
--------

This FAQ may be cited as:

 Wallach, Dan S.  (1994) "Typing Injury FAQ: Keyboard
 Alternatives" Usenet news.answers.  Available via anonymous ftp from
 rtfm.mit.edu in pub/usenet/news.answers/typing-injury-faq/keyboards.
 14 pages.

World-Wide-Web users will find this available as hypertext:
 http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/typing-injury-faq/top.html

(Dan Wallach's page) http://www.cs.princeton.edu/grad/dwallach/

Answers To Frequently Asked Questions about Keyboard Alternatives
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 1992-1994 By Dan Wallach <[e-mail]>

The opinions in here are my own, unless otherwise mentioned, and do not
represent the opinions of any organization or vendor.

[Current distribution: sci.med.occupational, sci.med, comp.human-factors,
 {news,sci,comp}.answers, and e-mail to [e-mail],
 [e-mail], and [e-mail]]

Changes since previously distributed versions are marked with change        ||
bars to the right of the text, as is this paragraph.                ||

Information in this FAQ has been pieced together from phone conversations,
e-mail, and product literature.  While I hope it's useful, the information
in here is neither comprehensive nor error free.  If you find something
wrong or missing, please mail me, and I'll update my list.  Thanks.

All phone numbers, unless otherwise mentioned, are USA phone numbers.
All monetary figures, unless otherwise mentioned, are USA dollars.

Products covered in this FAQ:
    Using a PC's keyboard on your workstation / compatibility issues

    ("normal" keyboards -- by normal, I really mean non-chording)

    Apple Computer, Inc.
    Comfort Keyboard System
    DataHand
    ergoLogic
    Ergo Max
    FlexPro (Key Tronic)
    Fountain Hills Systems
    Kinesis Ergonomic Keyboard
    Lexmark
    The MyKey
    Maltron
    MiniErgo (Marquardt Switches)
    Somers EK1 Ergonomic Keyboard
    The Tony! Ergonomic KeySystem
    The Vertical
    The Wave

    ("chording" systems / speech recognizers / other products)

    AccuKey
    The Bat (Infogrip)
    Braille 'n Speak (Blaize)
    DataEgg (InHand Development)
    DragonDictate (Dragon Systems)
    Half-QWERTY
    IBM Speech Server Series (ISSS) / Personal Dictation System (PDS)
    IBM VoiceType 2
    IN3 Voice Command / IN3 PRO
    Kurzweil VOICE
    Microwriter
    Power Secretary
    The Minimal Motion Computer Access System
    Octima
    Twiddler

GIF pictures of many of these products are available via anonymous ftp
from ftp.csua.berkeley.edu:/pub/typing-injury.  (128.32.149.19)  I highly
recommend getting the pictures.  They tell much more than I can fit
into this file.

If you can't ftp, send me mail, and I'll uuencode and mail them to you
(they're pretty big...)

Using a PC's keyboard on your workstation / compatibility issues
----------------------------------------------------------------

What kind of computer are you using?


1) Macintosh

    Kinesis Corp. now has an adapter to make a PC keyboard connect to
    a Macintosh.  They'll happily sell you the adapter without one
    of their keyboards.  The price is around $100.  Call 800-4-KINESIS.

    A similar product is made by the Silicon Valley Bus Company, which
    supports PC mice and keyboards.  It's called the KeyStone and costs
    $99 plus $6 shipping.

    Silicon Valley Bus Company
    475 Brown Rd.
    San Juan Bautista, CA  95045

    Phone: [phone] or maybe 800-775-0555


2) X terminals

    A number of X terminals (NCD, Tektronix, to name a few) use
    PC-compatible keyboards.  If you have an X terminal, you may be all
    set.  Try it out with a normal PC keyboard before you go through the
    trouble of buying an alternative keyboard.  Also, some X terminals add
    extra buttons -- you may need to keep your original keyboard around
    for the once-in-a-blue-moon that you have to hit the Setup key.

    Often, X termainals will use a small DIN-8 connector rather than
    the larger old-style PC keyboard connector.  Have no fear!  Many
    newer PC's also have this new smaller connector, so you can usually
    find adapters at good computer stores.  I've also seen this adapter
    in a number of mail-order cable catalogs.

3) NeXT

    NeXT no longer makes workstations, but the last batch of NeXTstations
    were made with the Apple Desktop Bus.  If you really need to be using
    NeXT hardware, make sure it's the latest stuff, and you can use Mac
    keyboards (or PC keyboards through an adapter).

    Of course, you can also run the NeXTstep operating system on a PC.

5) Silicon Graphics

    Silicon Graphics's newer machines (Indigo^2, Indy, and beyond)
    use standard PS/2-compatible keyboards and mice.  I don't
    believe this also applies to the Power Series machines.  It's not
    possible to upgrade an older SGI to use PC keyboards, except by
    upgrading the entire machine.  Contact your SGI sales rep for more
    details.

    For older machines, see if you can upgrade to Irix5 or later.
    The current X server supports the XTEST extension, which allows
    a2x to function properly.  See "spoofing", below.

6) IBM RS/6000

    IBM RS/6000 keyboards are actually similar to normal PC keyboards.
    Unfortunately, you can't just plug one in.  You need two things: a
    cable converter to go from the large PC keyboard connector to the
    smaller PS/2 style DIN-6, and a new device driver for AIX.  Believe
    it or not, IBM wrote this device driver recently, I used it, and it
    works.  However, they don't want me to redistribute it.  I've been
    told Judy Hume [phone] is a potential contact.  If you learn
    anything new, please send me e-mail.

    Several people have reported problems contacting IBM on this
    issue.  Be sure to bug your sales rep into doing the research.
    Again, let me know if you learn anything new.

7) HP workstations

    If you are using an HP workstation, you can buy a converter
    box that converts the HP-HIL serial to PS2. The converter is
    made by Modular Industrial Computers 615-499-0700.

8) Sun workstations

    This is the most complicated, because you have the most options.

    The easiest solution is a hardware box sold by Kinesis, for about
    $100.  Their number is 800-4-KINESIS, and is compatible with
    all Sun Sparc workstations.  The downside of this approach is
    you can't use your normal keyboard, and Sun keyboards (especially
    type-5 keyboards) have lots more keys than a PC keyboard.  If
    you often use weird keys, this may not work for you.

    The hard option is to connect through the serial port.  You need a
    Genovation serial box and some software.  See below for more details.
    The advantage of this is you get to keep your original keyboard
    attached, for the rare but important times you need to hit keys like
    "Help".  The disadvantage is you really need to be running X11R5 or
    later, or OpenWindows 4.0 or later.  OpenWindows 3.0 doesn't support
    any of the extensions needed by the a2x program.

    Another advantage of using a2x is all the key mappings exist in
    one .c file.  You can fairly easily hack a2x to generate different
    keycode for certain keys.  For example, you might want to use
    the keypad to generate the L-keys and the Help key, instead of
    the Sun keypad, which many applications ignore.

9) Spoofing a keyboard over the serial port

    If you've got a proprietary computer which uses its own keyboard
    (Sun, HP, DEC, etc.) then you're going to have a hard time finding
    a vendor to sell you a compatible keyboard.  If your workstation
    runs the X window system, you're in luck.  You can buy a cheap used
    PC, hook your expensive keyboard up to it, and run a serial cable
    to your workstation.  Then, run a program on the workstation to read
    the serial port and generate fake X keyboard events.

    A number of programs can facilitate this for you.  kt and a2x
    support ASCII input.  a2x-RawPC and serkey support raw PC scancode
    input.  Also, the new version of kt (kt18) additionally supports
    raw PC scancodes.

    For more info about a2x, check out this URL:                ||
    http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/sac/a2x-faq.html

    a2x is a sophisticated program, capable of controlling the mouse,
    and even moving among widgets on the screen.  It requires a server
    extension (XTEST, DEC-XTRAP, or XTestExtension1).  To find out if
    your server can do this, run 'xdpyinfo' and see if any of these
    strings appear in the extensions list.  If your server doesn't
    have this, you may want to investigate compiling X11R5, patchlevel
    18 or later, or bugging your vendor.

    kt is a simpler program, which should work with unextended X
    servers.  Another program called xsendevent also exists, but I
    haven't seen it.

    a2x will work better, when it works, but it requires an extended server.
    kt doesn't work with every application, but it's more likely to work
    on older servers.  Don't you love compromises?

    a2x-RawPC, serkey, and kt18 can take input from a device such as the
    Genovation Serial Box which converts a PC keyboard into a normal
    RS232 serial device, but otherwise passes through the raw PC
    scancodes.  This approach has several advantages: a Serial Box is
    only $150, whereas the cheapest used PC you may ever find is over
    $300.  A Serial Box could easily fit in your pocket, while PC's
    tend to be much bigger.  Most important, however, is the ability
    to use *all* the keys of your PC keyboard with your workstation,
    like the function keys.

    a2x, a2x-RawPC, serkey and kt are all available via anonymous ftp
    from ftp.csua.berkeley.edu.

    Genovation can be contacted at:
    17741 Mitchell North
    Irvine, CA  92714 USA

    Voice: 714-833-3355
    Fax:   [phone]

    Apparently, you can also find it for $94+shipping from a mail order
    company called "United Computer Express", at 800-448-3738.

    Kinesis is also reselling the Genovation boxes under their
    own label.

    Warning: apparently, the Genovation serial box doesn't work with
    the Maltron keyboard.

10) Other stuff

    Some vendors here (notably: Health Care Keyboard Co. and AccuCorp)
    support some odd keyboard types, and may be responsive to your
    queries regarding supporting your own weird computer.  If you can
    get sufficient documention about how your keyboard works (either
    from the vendor, or with a storage oscilloscope), you may be in
    luck.  Contact the companies for more details.

"Normal" keyboards -- things that look like "standard" QWERTY keyboards
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

GIF pictures of many of these keyboards can be found via anonymous FTP
ftp.csua.berkeley.edu:/pub/typing-injury/gifs

1) Apple Adjustable Keyboard

    Apple Computer, Inc.
    Sales offices all over the place.

    Price: $219 (some dealers have it for less)
    Shipping: Now.
    Supports: Mac

    Apple's keyboard has one section for each hand, and the sections
    rotate backward on a hinge.  The sections do not tilt upward.  The
    keys are arranged in a normal QWERTY fashion.

    The main foldable keyboard resembles a normal Apple Keyboard.
    A separate keypad contains all the extended key functions.

    The keyboard also comes with matching wrist rests, which are not
    directly attachable to the keyboard.

    Many peripheral keys, such as function keys, are "chicklet" keys, rather
    than full size, normal keyboard keys.

    (See the files apple-press and apple-tidbits on the ftp.csua.berkeley.edu
    archive for more details)


2) Comfort Keyboard System

    Phone: [phone]    (technical info)
       414-253-4131 (sales)
    Fax:   [phone]

    Health Care Keyboard Company
    N82 W15340 Appleton Ave
    Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin 53051 USA

    E-Mail: [e-mail]

    Jeffrey Szmanda (Vice President -- contact)

    Price: $795, includes one "personality" module.
       Additional personality modules are around $150 each.
       A footpedal is also now available.
    Shipping: Now.
    Supports: PC and Mac.  Sun, HP-IL, and IBM 122-key in beta.

    A carrying case is also available.

    The idea is that one keyboard works with everything.  You purchase
    "compatibility modules", a new cord, and possibly new keycaps, and
    then you can move your one keyboard around among different machines.

    It's a three-piece folding keyboard.  The layout resembles the
    standard 101-key keyboard, except sliced into three sections.  Each
    section is on a "custom telescoping universal mount."  Each section
    independently adjusts to an infinite number of positions allowing each
    individual to type in a natural posture.  You can rearrange the three
    sections, too (have the keypad in the middle if you want).  Each
    section is otherwise normal-shaped (i.e.: you put all three sections
    flat, and you have what looks like a normal 101-key keyboard).

    Other features: full remapping and macros, programmable delay and
    repeat times.  Coming soon: bounce keys and sticky keys.  Also coming
    soon: non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) to store macros (currently, the PC
    downloads them at boot time).

    Anyone with an old Comfort (serial number < 5000) can upgrade to a
    newer version of the keyboard.  Call technical assistance (414-253-6900)
    for more details.  The upgrade will generally cost $189, depending
    on the state of the original keyboard.


3) DataHand

    Phone: [phone]

    Industrial Innovations, Inc.
    10789 North 90th Street
    Scottsdale, Arizona 85260-6727 USA

    Price: $2000/unit (1 unit == 2 pods).  Lease options available.
    Shipping: Now.  (Expect it to take about a month)
    Supports: PC and Mac


    Each hand has its own "pod".  Each of the four main fingers has five
    switches each: forward, back, left, right, and down.  The thumbs have
    a number of switches.  Despite appearances, the key layout resembles
    QWERTY, and is reported to be no big deal to adapt to.  The idea is
    that your hands never have to move to use the keyboard.  A finger-mouse
    is also built-in.

    If you ask, they'll send you a 15 minute video tape and lots of
    other information.

    (see also: the detailed review, written by Cliff Lasser <[e-mail]>
     ftp.csua.berkeley.edu:/pub/typing-injury/datahand-review)


4) ergoLogic Model 7.1

    Phone: 800-ONLY-WAY
    FAX: [phone]

    ErgoLogic Enterprises, Inc.
    47000 Warm Springs Blvd, Unit 430
    Fremont, CA  94539-7467

    (See "FlexPro Keyboard")

    Price: $399 (but, I've heard $489 for the FlexPro.  Go figure.)
    Supports: PC
    Shipping: March, 1994

    ErgoLogic has licensed their keyboard to Key Tronic, which is how
    you're more likely to see one of their keyboards.  Both keyboards
    are manufactured in the same facility, and are exactly the same,
    except for the label in the upper left corner.



5) Ergo Max

    Phone: [phone]
    Fax:   [phone]
    Maxi Switch, Inc.

    Price: $99 + $19.95 for a separate 40-key keypad
    Supports: PC
    Shipping: 2Q94 (maybe)

    Each half of the main keyboard can be independently raised/angled.
    An optional keypad, and an integrated wrist-rest / thumb trackball
    is available.


6) FlexPro Keyboard

    Phone: [phone]
    Possible contact: Denise Razzeto, 509-927-5299
    Key Tronic

    (See "ergoLogic Model 7.1")

    Sold by many clone vendors and PC shops

    Price: $489 (?)
    Shipping: March, 1994
    Supports: PC

    Keytronic apparently showed a prototype keyboard at Comdex.  It's
    another split-design.  One thumb-wheel controls the tilt of both
    the left and right-hand sides of the main alphanumeric section.
    The arrow keys and keypad resemble a normal 101-key PC keyboard.

    Keytronic makes standard PC keyboards, also, so this product will
    probably be sold through their standard distribution channels.

    Keytronic is working together with ErgoLogic Enterprises on this,
    so it's the same keyboard.


7) Fountain Hills FH-101

    Phone: [phone]

    Fountain Hills Systems
    15022 North 75th St.
    Scottsdale, AZ  85260-2476

    Price: $349 with quantity discounts
    Shipping: ???
    Supports: PC

    The Fountain Hills keyboard is set at a 20 degree fixed angle for
    each hand.  The keyboard is still flat (i.e.: not higher in the middle)
    and has no adjustments.


8) Kinesis Ergonomic Keyboard

    Phone: 800-4-KINESIS (800-454-6374) or 206-402-8100
    Fax:   [phone]

    Kinesis Corporation
    22232 17th Avenue SE
    Bothell, WA  98021-7425

    Shirley Lunde (VP Marketing -- contact)

    Price: $390.  Volume discounts available.  This includes adhesive
    wrist pads and a TypingTutor program.  Foot pedals and other
    accessories are extra.
    Supports: PC.  Mac and Sun Sparc through emulation boxes.
    Shipping: Now.

    The layout has a large blank space in the middle, even though the
    keyboard is about the size of a normal PC keyboard -- slightly
    smaller.  Each hand has its own set of keys, laid out to minimize
    finger travel.  Thumb buttons handle many major functions (enter,
    backspace, etc.).

    The keyboard supports remapping, macros, and adjustable repeat rate.

    Foot pedals are also available, and can be mapped to any key on the
    keyboard (shift, control, whatever).

    The keypad is "embedded" in the right hand, and a toggle button
    (or foot pedal) changes between normal and keypad mode for your
    right hand.

    Software is newly available that lets you split the Kinesis into
    multiple personalities so you can have more than one set of macros
    and remappings available.  This software runs on your PC and downloads
    the data to the keyboard.  For more info, contact the company.

    Kinesis has a number of prototype adapters which can be used to
    connect the Kinesis (or other PC keyboards) to Mac, Sun, or HP.  They
    also resell a serial-port adapter (the Genovation) which can be used
    to connect the Kinesis (or other PC keyboards) to anything with a
    serial port.  Again, for more info, contact the company.


9) Lexmark Model M13 (Select-Ease)

    Lexmark is a major manufacturer of PC equipment, actually a spin-off
    of IBM.  You should be able to find their products at many computer
    stores.  Sorry, I don't have a picture, yet.

    Phone: [phone]
    Cost: $179
    Available: Now
    Compatibility: PC

    [Description by Chris Grant]

    This keyboard is a split/ angled one, with a ball-type hinge at the
    top of the split.  You can put it into positions identical to the
    Ergologic and similar to most Comfort positions (but it doesn't tent
    when the parts are separated).  You can separate the parts when flat
    like the Kinesis.  It has a conventional layout so differs from the
    Kinesis.  It's not programmable.  Aside from the split/angle (which is
    extremely versatile and stable), its only other difference from
    regular keyboards is that the left part of the space bar can be a
    backspace key.

    The keyboard includes a built-in "pointing-stick" much like IBM's
    ThinkPad portable computers.


10) Maltron

    Phone: [phone] (United Kingdom)

    P.C.D. Maltron Limited
    15 Orchard Lane
    East Molesey
    Surrey KT8 OBN
    England

    Pamela and Stephen Hobday (contacts)

    U.S. Distributor:
    Jim Barrett
    Applied Learning Corp.
    1376 Glen Hardie Road
    Wayne, PA  19087

    Phone: [phone]

    Canadian Distributor:
    Robert Vellinga
    Human Systems, Inc.
    310 Main Street East, Suite 205
    Milton, Ontario, L9T 1P4

    Phone: [phone]
    Fax:   [phone]

    Price: 375 pounds
       $790 + shipping in the USA

       They have a number of accessories, including carrying cases,
       switch boxes to use both your normal keyboard and the Maltron,
       an articulated arm that clamps on to your table, and training
       'courses' to help you learn to type on your Maltron.

       You can also rent a keyboard for 10 pounds/week + taxes.
       U.S. price: $120/month, and then $60 off purchase if you want it.

    Shipping: Now (in your choice of colors: black or grey)
    Supports: PC's, Mac, Amstrad 1512/1640.

    Maltron has four main products -- a two-handed keyboard, two one-handed
    keyboards, and a keyboard designed for handicapped people to control with
    a mouth-stick.

    The layout allocates more buttons to the thumbs, and is curved to
    bring keys closer to the fingers.  A separate keypad is in the middle.

    The newer Maltrons have a different layout than the pictures on
    ftp.csua.berkeley.edu.  Function keys, tab, and some other secondary
    keys have been rearranged.  The shift keys are now larger, also.


11) Microsoft Natural Keyboard                            ||

    Phone: [phone] (Microsoft Customer Service)                ||

    Microsoft Corporation                            ||
    One Microsoft Way                                ||
    Redmond, WA  98052-6399                            ||

    Price: $99.95, and often discounted                        ||
    Supports: PC                                ||
    Shipping: now                                ||

    For the price, this is an excellent keyboard.  The MS keyboard is        ||
    a great deal.  It's still a QWERTY layout, but it has a built-in        ||
    wrist-rest and separates the hands by splitting the keyboard at        ||
    a fixed angle.                                ||

    The keyboard comes with Microsoft IntelliType software, which adds        ||
    some useful featuers to Windows, but is known to crash the whole        ||
    system badly.                                ||

    The keyboard includes three new keys which don't really add any        ||
    functionality whatsoever.  Don't let these keys influence your        ||
    purchasing decisions.                            ||

12) MiniErgo

    Phone: [phone]
    Fax:   [phone]

    Marquardt Switches Inc.
    2711 Route 20 East
    Cazenovia, NY 13035

    Robert Philipchik -- contact

    Price: $179 for MiniErgo, $125 for external numeric keypad.
    Shipping: now
    Supports: PC

    The MiniErgo is a split keyboard system with no numeric keypad
    (keypad available separately in August).  The two halves are
    fixed at about a 30 degree angle, to approximate the angle of
    your arms when you hands are in QWERTY home position.  The slant
    is approximately same as standard 101-key keyboard.  They've
    moved the cursor controls into the gap between the two halves.  A
    Fn key is used to access an embedded keypad and PgUp,PgDn,Home,
    and End.


13) The MyKey

    Phone: [phone]
    Fax: [phone]
    E-Mail: [e-mail]

    ErgonomiXX, Inc.
    525-K Est Market Street
    Box 295
    Leesburg, VA 22071

    Price: $275
    Shipping: now (may also be in some CompUSA stores, stock # 289-554)
    Supports: PC

    The MyKey has the full 101 keys of a normal PC keyboard plus an
    integrated trackball pointing device and integrated wrist rests.
    The main alpha-numeric keys are split at a fixed angle, with the
    normal PC layout.  The function keys appear in a circle on the
    left, with the arrow keys inside them.


14) Somers EK1 Ergonomic Keyboard

    Phone: [phone]
    E-Mail: [e-mail] (Richard Somers)

    Somers Engineering
    3424 Vicker Way
    Palmdale, CA  93551

    Price: $348 + shipping
    Supports: PC and Mac (at the same time!  see below)
    Shipping: "in limited quantities"

    A trackball module is also available ($100), which can clip on the side
    or replace the cursor keypad.

    The keyboard is broken down into three modules which can be re-
    arranged.  (the keypad could be put on the left, for example).
    The alphanumeric keys are vertical rather than the usual diagonal
    arrangement.

    The keyboard is based on the Datadesk Switchboard -- Somers just
    developed a new keyboard module for it.  Thus, they take advantage
    of the Switchboard's PC and Mac compatibility.  You can't plug
    it into both at the same time, but you need only use the right
    cable, and tweak some DIP switches to change the keyboard's
    personality.


15) The Tony! Ergonomic KeySystem

    Phone: [phone] (I'm told this is no longer valid, though)

    Tony Hodges
    The Tony! Corporation
    2332 Thompson Court
    Mountain View, CA  94043 USA

    Price: $625 (you commit now, and then you're in line to buy the
    keyboard.  When it ships, if it's cheaper, you pay the cheaper price.
    If it's more expensive, you still pay $625)
    Supports: Mac, PC, IBM 3270, Sun, and DEC.
    Shipping: ???

    The Tony! should allow separate positioning of every key, to allow
    the keyboard to be personally customized.  A thumb-operated mouse
    will also be available.


16) The Vertical

    Phone: [phone]

    Jeffrey Spencer or Stephen Albert
    P.O. Box 2636
    La Jolla, CA  92038 USA

    Price: $299
    Supports: no info available, probably PC's
    Shipping: ???

    The Vertical Keyboard is split in two halves, each pointing straight up.
    The user can adjust the width of the device, but not the tilt of each
    section.  Side-view mirrors are installed to allow users to see their
    fingers on the keys.


17) The Wave

    Phone: [phone]
    Fax:   [phone]

    Iocomm International Technology
    12700 Yukon Avenue
    Hawthorne, California 90250 USA

    Robin Hunter (contact -- in sales)

    Price: $99.95 + $15 for a set of cables
    Supports: PC
    Shipping: now.

    Iocomm also manufactures "ordinary" 101-key keyboard (PC/AT) and
    84-key keyboard (PC/XT), so make sure you get the right one.

    The one-piece keyboard has a built-in wrist-rest.  It looks *exactly*
    like a normal 101-key PC keyboard, with two inches of built-in wrist
    rest.  The key switch feel is reported to be greatly improved.


Chording keyboards / speech recognizers / other products
--------------------------------------------------------

GIF pictures of many of these keyboards can be found via anonymous FTP
ftp.csua.berkeley.edu:/pub/typing-injury/gifs

1) AccuKey

    703-961-2001 (Larry Langley -- President)

    AccuCorp, Inc.
    P.O. Box 66
    Christiansburg, VA  24073 USA

    Price: $495 + shipping.  60 day lease for $35.
    Shipping: Now.
    Supports: PC, Mac, IBM 3270, Sun Sparc, and TeleVideo 935 and 955.

    Doesn't use conventional push-keys.  Soft rubber keys, which rock
    forward and backward (each key has three states), make chords for
    typing keys.  Learning time is estimated to be 2-3 hours, for getting
    started, and maybe two weeks to get used to it.

    Currently, the thumbs don't do anything, although a thumb-trackball
    is in the works.

    The company claims it takes about a week of work to support a
    new computer.  They will be happy to adapt their keyboard to
    your computer, if possible.


2) The Bat

    Infogrip, Inc.
    Phone: [phone] or maybe 805-566-1049

    1145 Eugenia Place, Suite 201
    Carpinteria, CA  93013 USA

    Ward Bond (main contact)
    David Vicknair (did the Unix software)

    Price:
    $495 (dual set -- each one is a complete keyboard by itself)
    $295 (single)

    (cheaper prices were offered at MacWorld Expo as a show-special.)
    Shipping: Now.
    Supports: Mac, IBM PC (serial port -- native keyboard port version
    coming very soon...).  No other workstations supported, but serial
    support for Unix with X Windows has been written.  PC and Mac are
    getting all the real attention from the company.

    A chording system.  One hand is sufficient to type everything.
    The second hand is for redundancy and increased speed.

    30 day money back guarantee, no questions asked.



3) Braille 'n Speak

    Phone: [phone]

    Blazie Engineering
    3660 Mill Green Rd.
    Street, Md 21154 USA

    (information provided by Doug Martin <[e-mail]>)

    The Braille N Speak uses any of several Braille codes for entering
    information: Grade I, Grade II, or computer Braille.  Basically,
    letters a-j are combinations of dots 1, 2, 4, and 5.  Letters k-t are
    the same combinations as a-j with dot 3 added. Letters u, v, x, y, and
    z are like a-e with dots 3 and 6 added.  (w is unique because Louis
    Braille didn't have a w in the French alphabet.)


4) DataEgg

     InHand Development Group
     10330 Sepulveda Blvd. Suite 140
     Mission Hills, CA 91345 USA

     E-Mail: [e-mail]

     Price: $150
     Shipping: First Quarter, 1994.
     Supports: see below

     The DataEgg is a round, one-handed, chording computer with a two-line
     LCD display (similar to the Microwriter AgendA).  It can also serve
     as an alternative computer keyboard through a computer's serial port
     (currently supporting the PC, although it wouldn't be too hard to
     support X or a Mac if they wrote the driver).  InHand will be
     manufacturing the device, which was originally developed by Gary
     Friedman of JPL.

     Mr. Friedman's phone number: 818-354-1220
     I don't have a phone number for InHand.

     More info is available in NASA Tech Briefs, December 1992,
     Newsweek's "Technology Supplement" of December 12, 1992,
     or EE Times, March 8, 1993.


5) DragonDictate

    Phone: 800-TALK-TYP or 617-965-5200
    Fax: [phone]
    E-Mail: [e-mail]

    FAQ: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/sac/dd-faq.html

    Dragon Systems, Inc.
    320 Nevada Street
    Newton, MA  02160 USA

    Prices: (note: these have dropped significantly since last time)

    DragonDictate Starter $395
        (5k word active vocab,1K global macro,500 app specific macros)

    DragonDictate Classic $695
        (30K active vocab, 5K global macro,2K app specific macros)

    DragonDictate Power  $1695
        (15K,30K,45K,60K word active vocab,5K global macro,2K app
        specific macros)

    Upgrade prices from older version are also available.

    Also, you can purchase any of these systems with an "ACPA" DSP
    board for an additional $300.  DragonDictate will work fine with
    a standard "multimedia" sound card, though.

    Shipping: Now.

    Compatibility: 486/33 (or higher) recommended PC only
           (3rd party support for Mac)

    Free software support for X windows is also available -- your
    PC with Dragon hardware talks to your workstation over a
    serial cable or network.  The program is called a2x, and is
    available via anonymous ftp:

    ftp.csua.berkeley.edu:/pub/typing-injury/a2x.tar.Z
    ftp.x.org:/contrib/a2x.tar.Z (most current)

    If you want to use your Dragon product with X windows, you may want
    to ask for Peter Cohen, an salesman at Dragon who knows more about
    this sort of thing.

    Dragon Systems sells a number of voice recognition products.  Most (if
    not all) of them seem to run on PC's and compatibles (including PS/2's
    and other MicroChannel boxes).  They sell you a hardware board and
    software which sits in front of a number of popular word processors
    and spreadsheets.  Dragon has recently announced "DDWIN", which extends
    Dragon support to all Microsoft Windows applications.

    Each user `trains' the system to their voice, and there are provisions
    to correct the system when it makes mistakes, on the fly.  Multiple
    people can use it, but you have to load a different personality file
    for each person.  You still get the use of your normal keyboard, too.
    On the DragonDictate Classic, you need to pause 1/10th sec between
    words.  Dragon claims typical input speeds of 30-40 words per minute.

    Dragon's technology is also part of the following products
    (about which I have little-to-no other info):

    Microsoft Windows Sound System (Voice Pilot)
    IBM VoiceType
    Power Secretary (by Articulate Systems -- for Macintosh)
    EMStation (by Lanier Voice Products -- "emergency medical workstation")


6) Half-QWERTY

    Phone: [phone] (Canada)
    FAX:   [phone]

    The Matias Corporation
    178 Thistledown Boulevard
    Rexdale, Ontario, Canada
    M9V 1K1

    E-mail: [e-mail]

    Demo for anonymous ftp: explorer.dgp.toronto.edu:/pub/Half-QWERTY

    Price:   $129.95 (higher in Canada, quantity discounts available)
    Shipping: Now.
    Supports: Mac and PC (but, not Windows)

    This thing is purely software.  No hardware at all.

    The software will mirror the keyboard when you hold down the space
    bar, allowing you type one-handed.


7) IBM Speech Server Series (ISSS) / Personal Dictation System (PDS)

    IBM Corporation
    Phone: Contact your IBM sales rep or call 800-TALK-2ME

    ISSS and PDS are built around the same technology.  ISSS uses an
    IBM RS/6000 and PDS uses any PC running OS/2.

    Price: ISSS: Starts around $5000 for a stand-alone system
       PDS:  $499 Software and microphone
         $499 ISA card
         $579 Microchannel card

    Shipping: Now.

    ISSS/PDS supports a 30,000 word dictionary.  It's speaker-dependent,
    so requires training (1-2 hours).

    ISSS/PDS recognize US and UK English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.

    ISSS/PDS can control any X or OS/2 application, and supports user-
    customizable profiles for macros.  A developer's API is also available.

    Dictation rates of 70-100 words per minute are possible with 95-99
    percent accuracy, including a model of the language to disambiguate
    words such as "to", "two", and "too".

    IBM also makes some voice products not really intended for the
    "handicap" market with continuous speech and smaller vocubularies.
    Call them for more details.


8) IBM VoiceType 2

    IBM Corporation
    Phone: 1-800-TALK-TYP (Dragon Systems) or
       1-800-426-2968 (IBM Catalog orders)

    Cost: $2195
    Shipping: now

    IBM VoiceType is essentially a repackaged Dragon product.  It has
    an active dictionary of 7000 words and a "backup" dictionary of
    100k words.

    This product is essentially obsoleted by newer IBM and Dragon
    offerings, so you probably don't want it.


9) IN3 (in-cube) Voice Command

    Voice: 404-925-7950
    Fax:   [phone]

    Command Corp, Inc.
    3675 Crestwood Parkway
    P.O. Box 956099
    Duluth, GA   30136-9502 USA

    E-Mail: [e-mail]
    Contact: Brantley Kelly <[e-mail]>

    Platforms: Sun Sparc (SunOS or Solaris) and MS Windows 3.1.

    Price: Sun: $495, without microphone, available separately for $195
        (ask for IN3 Pro, not Voice Command)

       MS Windows: $179 (Voice Command) or $395 (IN3 Pro)
        (IN3 Pro for MS Windows includes a microphone)

    For Sun, IN3 provides a complete navigation solution, including
    voice macros.  A developer API is also available.  The native Sparc
    audio is used for input.  IN3 can be found on Sun's Catalyst CDware.

    For MS Windows, IN3 provides a solution similar to the Sun.  Most 8 and
    16 bit audio cards are supported.  A developer API is also available.
    Windows 3.1 and a 386 or better processor are required.  Demos can be
    found on Compuserve, America On-Line, and various comp.binaries.ms-windows
    archive site and BBS systems.

    For typing-injured users, they recommend the IN3 Pro product, rather
    than the cheaper Voice Command.


10) Kurzweil VOICE

    Phone: [phone]
    Fax:   [phone]

    Kurzweil Applied Intelligence, Inc.
    411 Waverley Oaks Road
    Waltham MA 02154 USA

    Contact: Joe Murphy

    Cost: Was $3000.  Apparently, it's now $995.
    Shipping: now

    The Kurzweil system is a voice recognition system which interfaces with
    PC compatibles.  You get a board which will support 50,000 words -- 10K
    user defined and 40K from a 200K word dictionary.  The system is reported
    to attempt speaker-independence through continuously adapting voice
    models.  This requires about 12 mbytes of disk space to store its state,
    however.

    MS-DOS *and* Windows are supported.  Requires 486DX/33
    or better with at least 32 MBytes RAM.


11) Microwriter AgendA

    Phone: [phone] (U.K.) (voice or FAX)

    Microwriter Services Ltd
    Unit 1
    Seaforth Works
    Rear of 8-12 Seaforth Avenue
    New Malden
    Surrey KT3 6JP

    (Info from Carroll Morgan <[e-mail]>)

    The AgendA is a personal desktop assistant (PDA) style machine.  You
    can carry it along with you.  It has chording input.  You can also
    hook it up to your PC, or even program it.

    It costs just under 200 pounds, with 128K memory.

    [Apparently Microwriter is in some form of bankruptcy right now.
    The DataEgg is somehow based on this.  You may want to contact
    InHand for more information.]


12) The Minimal Motion Computer Access System

    Phone: [phone]
    Fax:   [phone]

    Equal Access Computer Technology
    Dr. Michael Weinreigh
    39 Oneida Rd.
    Acton, MA  01720 USA

    Price: InfoGrip-compatible: "a few hundred dollars" + a one-handed Bat
      For their own system: $300 (DOS software) + "a few hundred dollars"

    Shipping: these are custom-made, so an occupational therapist would
      make moulds/do whatever to make it for you.  You can buy one now.

    Supports: PC only, although the InfoGrip-compatible version might
      work with a Mac.

    In a one-handed version, there is exactly one button per finger.  In a
    two-handed version, you get four buttons per finger, and the thumbs
    don't do anything.  You can also get one-handed versions with three
    thumb buttons -- compatible with the InfoGrip Bat.  Basically, get it
    any way you want.

    They also have a software tutorial to help you learn the chording,
    which can also be used as a one-handed chording system for most
    DOS apps, using the standard keyboard.

    Works on a PC under DOS, not Windows.  Planning on Macintosh and
    PC/Windows support.  No work has been done on a Unix version, yet.


13) Octima

    Phone: [phone] (Israel)
    Fax:   [phone]

    Ergoplic Keyboards Ltd.
    P.O. Box 31
    Kiryat Ono 55100, Israel

    (info from Mandy Jaffe-Katz <[e-mail]>)
    A one-handed keyboard.


14) Power Secretary

    Phone: [phone] or 617-935-5656
    Cost: $1995
    Compatibility: Macintosh with at least 20 Mbytes RAM

    Articulate Systems

    A product based on DragonDictate, but for the Macintosh.
    Call for more info.


15) Twiddler

    Phone: [phone], or 800-638-2352

    Handykey
    141 Mt. Sinai Ave.
    Mt. Sinai, NY 11766 USA

    Chris George (President)

    Price: $199.
    Shipping: now.
    Supports: PC

    The Twiddler is both a keyboard and a mouse, and it fits in one hand.
    You type via finger chords.  Shift, control, etc. are thumb buttons.
    When in "mouse" mode, tilting the Twiddler moves the mouse, and mouse
    buttons are on your fingers.

    The cabling leaves your normal keyboard available, also.

    Most applications work, and Windows works fine.  DESQview has trouble.
    GEOWorks also has trouble -- mouse works, keyboard doesn't.  OS/2
    compatibility coming soon.

    60 day full refund, minus shipping fee.



Thanks
------

Thanks go to Chris Bekins <[e-mail]> for providing
the basis for this information.

Thanks to the numerous contributors:

Doug Martin <[e-mail]>
Carroll Morgan <[e-mail]>
Mandy Jaffe-Katz <[e-mail]>
Wes Hunter <[e-mail]>
Paul Schwartz <[e-mail]>
H.J. Woltring <[e-mail]>
Dan Sorenson <[e-mail]>
Chris VanHaren <[e-mail]>
Ravi Pandya <[e-mail]>
Leonard H. Tower Jr. <[e-mail]>
Dan Jacobson <[e-mail]>
Jim Cheetham <[e-mail]>
Cliff Lasser <[e-mail]>
Richard Donkin <[e-mail]>
Paul Rubin <[e-mail]>
David Erb <[e-mail]>
Bob Scheifler <[e-mail]>
Chris Grant <[e-mail]>
Scott Mandell <[e-mail]>
John Darragh <[e-mail]>
Russell Nelson <[e-mail]>
John Lamp <[e-mail]>
Paul Roossin <[e-mail]>
Tom Knotts <[e-mail]>
Donna Foley <[e-mail]>
Bob Adams <[e-mail]>
Gary Karp <[e-mail]>
Kelly Fairbanks <[e-mail]>
Peter Bower <[e-mail]>
Paul Benati <[e-mail]>
Peter S. Cohen <[e-mail]>
Steve Wartig <[e-mail]>

and everybody else who I've probably managed to forget.

The opinions in here are my own, unless otherwise mentioned, and do not
represent the opinions of any organization or vendor.
--
Dan Wallach                "One of the most attractive features of a Connection
[e-mail]  Machine is the array of blinking lights on the faces
Phone#: [phone]       of its cabinet." -- CM Paris Ref. Manual, v6.0, p48.

(Home page) http://www.cs.princeton.edu/grad/dwallach/     (finger for PGP key)