Most keyboards have the letters silk-screen'd on to the keys. Without a proper seal or even a protective covering the oils of your skins can quite laterally rub out the letters. Unless you are a QWERTY typer (one that can type at the keyboard without looking), this can screw you over if more than one key is missing their marking.
With that in mind, here's a little riddle! This computer that I am using is approximately two years old. They keyboard is starting to lose some of the letters. As of now, the M Key is completely gone. The N Key is about half way on the way out, followed by the L Key, which I just noticed is starting to fade away.
What could I have possibly been typing to warrant those letters to disappear on me?
Surprisingly, all my vowels are still still in one piece. On my last computer, the A Key was rubbed out just after the M Key disappeared.
Expressing honest thoughts to everyone and no one at the same time.
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2 comments:
I must point out that QWERTY is the layout of the keyboard, not whether or not a person looks at the keyboard when typing. Alternative key layouts to QWERTY are Dvorak and Colmak. Studies continue to investigate which layout is the most efficient. I propose that such studies should resume after the human race has completed more urgent tasks, such as ending world hunger or switching to sustainable fuel sources. But my point is that you're a QWERTY typer too, whether you look at the keyboard or not.
To answer your riddle, here's my theory. Rather than the frequency of the keys, it is the pressure and angle that determines their wear. My right index finger seems stronger and more coordinated than the rest of my fingers. I figured this out during a recent injury that kept me from being able to use my right index finger for several weeks - even the simplest tasks made me aware of how much less strength and coordination my other fingers had developed. It was mostly annoying at how I had to use different fingers to pick my nose. But that's a different issue altogether.
My previous keyboards have always seen the N and M keys wear down the fastest - the ones that get hammered the hardest by my right index finger. They not only lose their letters, but the textured plastic surface is polished smooth. I suspect that hitting downward on the keys is somehow a rougher motion than moving my fingers upward to press the keys in the top row, as the N and M are smooth, but the keys north of J show very little wear.
The space bar shows the most dramatic amount of use. It has a smooth spot worn down where my right thumb hits it, but not where my left thumb hits it. But I'm not a gentle typist and my last keyboard had over a dozen keys that had been worn down to a completely unidentifiable state.
My current keyboard is a MacBook Pro, and the keys aren't silkscreened like most keyboards. The keys are actually clear plastic that has been coated with a thick layer of silver plastic, except for the letters, which are illuminated from beneath when I'm typing in the dark. This feature is really cool.
I've had this computer for over a year and a half, and this silver plastic is holding up really well. The N key has just started to wear, but the rest of the keys still look new, even the space bar. Previous keyboards have never lasted this long. In fact, at my previous job the N, M, K, and L keys were completely letterless in only 8 months. As I stated before, I am not a gentle with the keyboard, and my typing is anything but dainty.
Jon,
I was thinking in a completely different direction but nothing reasonable appeared. I think Jason has the right idea.
I have never had this problem although I probably type as much as both of you put together. You simple cannot imagine how much email I write and how many word documents I work on.
I was thinking why Jason's theory might not apply to my fingers and my solution is because I play the piano and did all those studies when I was young, the studies where one deliberately tries to strengthen each finger individually. And of course piano playing -- at least in some pieces -- requires a smooth approach to using all ten fingers.
I haven't seen one of those keys lit from below keyboards. They sound like a good idea. However, I mostly type without looking at the keys, having taught myself that between the eighth and ninth grades.
Robert
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