Weird Keyboard Designs May Be in Your Computer's Future

The high-tech world is always coming out with the coolest toys, the neatest gadgets, and some of the most innovative tools ever made. Still, sometimes you have to wonder what people were smoking--or what committee they headed up--when you look at some of the more, uh, "unique" devices that fall just that short of making it big. PW World Magazine is kind enough to show us the future of keyboarding--or not.

I've shared previously with you the pretty-in-pink "Keyboard for Blondes", a British product that pokes fun at all creatures dyed in peroxide. Another company has decided to appeal to the die-hard "Star Trek" crowd with its "Klingon Language Standard Keyboard." It's a normal-looking keyboard, if you don't count the Klingon alphabet and other symbols stamped on the keys. There's also the "New Standard Rainbow Keyboard", a child-friendly (?) offering with keys in bright, bold colors, and the alphabet laid out on the keys in alphabetical order (what else?). And don't forget the "Bluetooth Virtual Keyboard", a cylindrical device which uses a laser to project a virtual keyboard on any hard surface. You press on the virtual key, breaking the laser beam and sending the selected keystroke to your computer. Although a little different, still these products look like what we expect from a keyboard.

Then there are the mutations. The "SafeType Keyboard" advertizes itself as an ergonomic vertical keyboard, splitting the standard keyboard down the middle and propping the pieces up on end. (You actually get side-view mirrors so you can see what your fingers are doing.) Game-show afficionados will love the "abKey Revolution" with its total redesign of character layout, based on the frequency of letters used in "Wheel of Fortune". (I think you use your thumbs to buy vowels.) The "Combimouse" splits the keyboard in half again, but this time the right-hand piece of the keyboard moves, replacing what would have been a separate mouse. (You can buy a left-hand version as well.) And one company designs both single-handed and dual-handed ergonomic keyboards, with sides (and keys) that curve over, under, up, and around. (Don't even ask me what "home row" is on these puppies!)

Finally, there are the devices that look absolutely nothing like keyboards. The "iGrip Ergonomic Keyboard and Trackball" looks almost exactly like a controller on a gaming device, with buttons that replace the standard QWERTY key layout. The "OrbiTouch Keyless Keyboard" lives up to its name: There's not a key anywhere in sight, just two large knobs that (I assume) you manipulate to generate your text. Court stenographers could get into the "Datahand Professional II", with ten keys (one for each digit, including thumbs) and not much else. The "Grippity1.0 BackTyping Keyboard" lets you see what you're typing, since you hold it in your hands like a game controller and press the back side of the standard QWERTY keyboard layout. Finally, there's the TouchStream ST, which...well, you need to see that one for yourself.

You can see all of these futuristic, quirky input devices on MSN's Tech Web site. While you look them over, I'm heading to my local computer store to pick up a wireless keyboard and mouse...you know, the standard-looking kind. I know, I know...I guess deep down I'm just too old-fashioned.