The type bars connecting the key and the letter plate hung in a cycle beneath the paper. The popular theory states that Sholes had to redesign the keyboard in response to the mechanical failings of early typewriters, which were slightly different from the models most often seen in thrift stores and flea markets. Why change things? This is where the origin of QWERTY gets a little foggy.Įxperimental Sholes & Glidden typewriters circa 1873 After all, anyone who used the keyboard would know immediately where to find each letter hunting would be reduced, pecking would be increased. The team surely assumed it would be the most efficient arrangement. The earliest typewriter keyboard resembled a piano and was built with an alphabetical arrangement of 28 keys. Soulé, James Densmore, and Carlos Glidden, and first patented in 1868. One such invention was an early typewriter, which he developed with Samuel W. In the 1860s, a politician, printer, newspaper man, and amateur inventor in Milwaukee by the name of Christopher Latham Sholes spent his free time developing various machines to make his businesses more efficient. It turns out that there is a lot of myth and misinformation surrounding the development of QWERTY, but these various theories all seem to agree that the QWERTY layout was developed along with, and inextricably linked to, early typewriters. Unlike KALQ, it couldn’t have been designed to accommodate a specific typing technique because, well, the idea of typing –touch typing, at least– hadn’t been invented yet. It’s an interesting and by all accounts commercially viable design that got me thinking about the rationale behind the QWERTY keyboard. The new keyboard, known as KALQ, is designed specifically for thumb-typing on today’s smart phones and tablets.
A recent article in Smithsonian’s news blog, Smart News, described an innovative new keyboard system that proposes a more efficient alternative to the ubiquitous “universal” keyboard best known as QWERTY – named for the first six letters in the top row of keys.
What came first: the typist or the keyboard? The answer depends on the keyboard. The first appearance of the QWERTY keyboard.
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