What is Computer Keyboard ?

From typewriters to modern day PC and touch-based devices, QWERTY has always been the chosen layout.

It turns out that when you would place keys in alphabetical order, people would type so fast, that the mechanical parts (so called hammers) would jam. Sholes came with the idea that in order to slow people down, you need to mess with the layout. QWERTY is also constructed that way to minimize the neighbouring keystrokes - which too - jammed the hammers.

Giving commands using the keyboard is faster than using your mouse, and this isn’t because pointing and clicking on something will take more time than keyboard strokes.

As the computers took place of typewriters, the QWERTY was already a legacy that was uncritically adopted.

But because the operating system doesn’t have to process extra information like the coordinates of the pointer while executing a command inputted via a keyboard.

These keyboards use only few keys to type full range of possible characters. But how is that possible? Instead of typing one character with one key (like on the normal keyboard), in chorded keyboard you're using chords (like on the piano).

Other than that, operating systems can queue keyboard commands with ease as opposed to mouse commands which need a specific task to be on-screen for the user to be able to click it and the OS to process it.

This way you can type much more characters than there's physical keys. Chorded keyboards are used mainly by visually impaired (Braille versions) and in situations where normal keyboard is useless.

Do you know that your keyboard may contain more germs than toilet seat?

QWERTY has been in use for more than a century but lately, its application in the current world is questioned as other keyboard layouts, which apparently stress your fingers less while typing, are available in the market.

A study conducted by UK scientists found out that four out of 33 keyboards tested were potential health hazards, and one had levels of germs five times higher than that found on the toilet seat.

Makers of Colemak and Dvorak keyboard layouts have claimed that fingers travel lesser on their respective keyboards, while the user also gains typing speed and as a result, there is a reduction in the muscle tear caused.

Some keyboards in office buildings even had mice droppings in them! How to prevent this situation? Wash your hands and clean keyboard the right way.

Have you even noticed that a majority of the QWERTY keyboards have a slight bump on the F and J keys — a short horizontal line.

Space Cadet keyboard was designed by Tom Knight for the MIT Lisp machines back in the 70's. It looks like taken straight from Star Trek.

These bumps are made for ease of use for typists. If you place your left-hand index finger on F and right-hand index finger on J, then either of your thumbs will rest on the space bar and the remaining three fingers will cover the ‘A S D’ and ‘K L .’ keys.

The keyboard is known for it's elongated look and abundance of modifier keys, with names such as Super, Meta, Terminal, Status and Hyper.

According to this website, every 10000 words typed by a user on a QWERTY keyboard is equivalent to his fingers having travelled 1 mile. The algorithm used to determine this isn’t foolproof, as the distance also depends on variable factors such as a person’s typing style and skill.

Name "Space Cadet" came from a title of 1948 science-fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. Now you can have stylized version of this keyboard on your MacBook, using these keyboard decals.

Colemak and Dvorak keyboards make the fingers travel less in the same amount of words, according to the findings of the same website.

There is an ongoing trend for the last couple of years, especially among young people, to decorate their laptop keyboards (and whole laptops) with vinyl stickers.

They aren’t just filthy by nature, but mostly because people are in the habit of neglecting their own hygiene while using a keyboard.

These stickers are subject to fashion, have trending colors or patterns, like Stardust or Washi tape.

People don’t mind using their keyboard without cleaning it every once in a while or even cleaning their own hands before using one — resulting in a lot of debris accumulating on the keyboard base as well as the smudge on keys.

There are few global brands that specializes in such products, among them Keyshorts, of which I am the co-founder. You can see some of the MacBook keyboard decals on our website.