In December 1968, Douglas C. Engelbart introduced the world to two brand-new computer peripherals of his own invention. The first was
the computer mouse -- which, as you're well aware, revolutionized user input two decades later. The second, the chorded keyboard, still has yet to take off outside the
Braille community. But after forty years, Doug Engelbart hasn't given up on the latter device; he recently commissioned an industrial designer, Erik Campbell, to modernize the antiquated keyset into this lovely jellyfish-inspired, five-fingered keyboard replacement. Made of silicon rubber and recycled plastics, the concept peripheral uses pressure-sensitive pads at each fingertip to detect key-presses, turns combinations of presses (the "chords") into letters and words, and sends them over wireless USB to the host computer. Sure, chorded computing isn't for everyone (else we'd all be sporting
iFrogs and
typing gloves), but if this concept ever comes to fruition, we just might be tempted to learn.
[Thanks, Semfifty]
Engelbart's chorded keyboard reborn as stunning red jellyfish originally appeared on
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Engelbart's chorded keyboard reborn as stunning red jellyfish 
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