Keypads
- Thread starter notb665
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S
Shutpa
How on earth do the blind cope with this dual standard?
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Primarily due to the layout of the rotary phone dials where the order was
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
and the need to keep consistancy for users when the change to push button dials occured.
For accountants using office machinery where 0 really was zero and not 10 the logical mathmatical order of 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 was the natural choice of layout.
The 0 on a phone is actually 10. the rotary dials pulsed out 10 pulses for 0 since sending no pulses would have no effect at the exchange.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
and the need to keep consistancy for users when the change to push button dials occured.
For accountants using office machinery where 0 really was zero and not 10 the logical mathmatical order of 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 was the natural choice of layout.
The 0 on a phone is actually 10. the rotary dials pulsed out 10 pulses for 0 since sending no pulses would have no effect at the exchange.
S
Shutpa
Mrs B tells me that in some government agencies the telephone standard is used on all instruments with such numbers. Since I cannot for the life of me see manufacturers producing a computer with the numbers on the right following the telephone standard, can anyone clarify this?
The Zero is at the bottom for both. On phone equipment the 9 is next to it and on calculators the 1 is next to it.
I recall that on calculators the zero is the most used key ( at least it was in the useage in the 1960's when I worked for an office machinery importer ) and hence placed where the thumb could operate it.
I recall that on calculators the zero is the most used key ( at least it was in the useage in the 1960's when I worked for an office machinery importer ) and hence placed where the thumb could operate it.
S
Shutpa
Have just read the government guidelines which state that: "the telephone standard is to be followed exclusively on all government access terminals".
There are some items where the telephone layout is used for data entry. These tend to be for users whose normal work does not include frequent data entry but does involve a lot of telephone dialling. It was considered that using a phone layout for infrequent data input would reduce confusion and I believe that was found to be the case.
In most electronic equipment to change the layout at design stage would be a trivial task.
As an aside when designing a keyboard for entering alpha numeric call signs ( A123 EP23 etc ) we asked the operators for suggestions. The operators all opted for a layout of ABCDFGH and not QWERTY (that in 1988) as it was easier to find the letters when they were in order.
In most electronic equipment to change the layout at design stage would be a trivial task.
As an aside when designing a keyboard for entering alpha numeric call signs ( A123 EP23 etc ) we asked the operators for suggestions. The operators all opted for a layout of ABCDFGH and not QWERTY (that in 1988) as it was easier to find the letters when they were in order.
Partly because there are mass produced self contained telephone keypads which require just a two wire connection to the remote access control system. And again the people using these access points, possibly in the dark, may never use a calculator but will frequently make phone calls.
S
Shutpa
I would prefer the former, but my wife who types at a phenomenal speed would, I think, find great difficulty in adapting to a new standard if it was introduced. People like her don't even look at the keyboard, while those down to my standard, are still searching for letters.
Today most people can use the QWERTY but in 1988 the emergency control room staff who would be using the radio paging equipment seldom used a typewriter and in a bells down situation a few seconds spent looking for an elusive letter on a keyboard could have been critical.
Now keyboard skills are a part of the job requirement for these staff.
Now keyboard skills are a part of the job requirement for these staff.
Here is what IS confusing.
Tills have a "computer" number layout - 789 at the top, 123 at the bottom.
Paypoint terminals and lottery terminals have the opposite - telephone layout! So at work when im moving from one to the other, the confusion starts. But when you use such equipment every day, you get used to it - i only ever key in set strings of numbers to the paypoint and lottery terminals, so i remember the strokes and can do them without looking.
Tills have a "computer" number layout - 789 at the top, 123 at the bottom.
Paypoint terminals and lottery terminals have the opposite - telephone layout! So at work when im moving from one to the other, the confusion starts. But when you use such equipment every day, you get used to it - i only ever key in set strings of numbers to the paypoint and lottery terminals, so i remember the strokes and can do them without looking.
S
Shutpa
- i only ever key in set strings of numbers to the paypoint and lottery terminals, so i remember the strokes and can do them without looking.
By the time I catch up with you , you'll be away ahead of me!
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