Post by @ganxel@oldbytes.space

2026-09-20 21:14 UTC

@nickrauchen@c.im @cstross@wandering.shop @j2bryson@mastodon.social @newtontalk@bitbang.social I'm using an IBM-research inspired hexagonal key layout on my Palm T3 but the targets are tiny so Fitt's law applies. There was also a system called MessagEase which was quite comfortable to use. On this Android phone I'm using Thumb-key which gives you the whole alphabet in a 3x3 grid - you swipe towards the edges to type the non-central symbols/letters. I'm probably at 30-40 wpm with that. Back on the iPod Touch I used a chorded text entry program for a while - a bit like the handheld Microwriter device for journalists back in the 1980s. It had a practice mode with a leaderboard which was quite addicting...

Replies (2)

@cstross@wandering.shop 2026-09-20 21:20

@ganxel@oldbytes.space @nickrauchen@c.im @j2bryson@mastodon.social @newtontalk@bitbang.social You missed out on FITALY for PalmOS, I take it?

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@nickrauchen@c.im 2026-09-21 01:04

@ganxel@oldbytes.space @cstross@wandering.shop @j2bryson@mastodon.social @newtontalk@bitbang.social Very cool! There used to be a #bicycle enthusiast (mostly pre-web) Steven K. Roberts who had some sort of chorded #keyboard on his handlebars (borrowed from fighter aircraft I think). It was very cool at the time, but talk about distracted cycling. 🙄 He made a living by testing and promoting "mobile" tech. I have him quoted: "Bicycling is slow enough to see the trees, but fast enough to get through the forest." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_K._Roberts #Quotes #Bicycling #History #Computers

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