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The DataHand is an unconventional
computer keyboard A computer keyboard is a peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. Replacing early punched cards and paper tape technolog ...
introduced by 1990, by DataHand Systems, Inc, designed to be operated without any wrist motion or finger extension.


History

Datahand Systems, Inc. was founded in 1985. It was invented by Dale J. Retter and produced as early as 1990. After the initial prototype was released in 1995, DataHand released the Professional and Professional II models with new bodies. The Professional II also has extended programming capabilities over the Professional, being able to record macros of keystrokes for convenient use. DataHand Systems, Inc. announced in early 2008 that it was ceasing to sell its keyboards. The company web site states that due to supplier issues, the company will not sell the DataHand keyboard "until a new manufacturer can be identified". In January 2009, the company's website started taking orders for a "limited number of new DataHand Pro II units. Circa 19 April 2010, DataHand were out of stock.


Layout

It consists of two separate "keyboards", one for the left hand and one for the right. Each finger activates five buttons: the four compass directions as well as down. The thumbs also have five buttons: one inside, two outside, up and down. The layout is initially similar to a
QWERTY QWERTY () is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six keys on the top left letter row of the keyboard ( ). The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden t ...
keyboard, but the middle two columns of keys (i.e. H,Y,G...) have been delegated to sideways finger movements, and all of the keys outside of the main three rows are accessed through two additional modes, including a mode for mousing. There are three primary modes all together: letters, number and symbols, and function / mouse mode. Some practice is required. However, eventual typing speedups are possible. Rather than being spring-loaded, the buttons are held in place with magnets and are activated using optical sensors. This was done in order to reduce the finger workload while still giving tactile feedback. The button modules in which the fingers rest are adjustable—each side can be independently moved vertically or forward and back.".


In popular culture

* The keyboard was seen in the 1997 sci-fi movie ''
Contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * ...
'' as the controls for a spaceship. * It appears in the 2006 spy movie ''
Stormbreaker ''Stormbreaker'' is a young adult action-adventure book written by British author Anthony Horowitz, and is the first novel in the ''Alex Rider'' series. The book was released in the United Kingdom on the 4th of September 2000, and in United S ...
''. * The Industrial Innovations version was featured on the television series ''
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is a superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s pop culture phenomenon along ...
''. * A black model is used by Agent Grasso while searching for Amanda Givens' Jeep in ''
Shadow Conspiracy ''Shadow Conspiracy'' is a 1997 American political thriller film starring Charlie Sheen, Donald Sutherland, Linda Hamilton, and Sam Waterston. It was the final film directed by George P. Cosmatos, who died in 2005. The film was poorly received by ...
'' (1997). * Several boxes of the keyboard are seen in Teddy KGB's office near the end of the film ''
Rounders (film) ''Rounders'' is a 1998 American drama film about the underground world of high-stakes poker, directed by John Dahl and starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton. The story follows two friends who need to win at high-stakes poker to quickly pay off a ...
'' (1998).


See also

*
Keyboard technology The technology of computer keyboards includes many elements. Among the more important of these is the switch technology that they use. Computer alphanumeric keyboards typically have 80 to 110 durable switches, generally one for each key. The ch ...
*
List of human-computer interaction topics A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby uni ...
*
Computer keyboard A computer keyboard is a peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. Replacing early punched cards and paper tape technolog ...
*
Ergonomic keyboard An ergonomic keyboard is a computer keyboard designed with ergonomic considerations to minimize muscle strain, fatigue, and other problems. Features The common QWERTY keyboard layout is credited to the mechanical typewriter designed by C. Latham ...
*
Computer accessibility Computer accessibility (also known as accessible computing) refers to the accessibility of a computer system to all people, regardless of disability type or severity of impairment. The term ''accessibility'' is most often used in reference to spe ...
*
Carpal tunnel syndrome Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the collection of symptoms and signs associated with median neuropathy at the carpal tunnel. Most CTS is related to idiopathic An idiopathic disease is any disease with an unknown cause or mechanism of apparen ...
*
Repetitive strain injury A repetitive strain injury (RSI) is an injury to part of the musculoskeletal or nervous system caused by repetitive use, vibrations, compression or long periods in a fixed position. Other common names include repetitive stress disorders, cumula ...
*
Adaptive technology Assistive technology (AT) is a term for assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and the elderly. Disabled people often have difficulty performing activities of daily living (ADLs) independently, or even with ...


References

{{reflist


External links


DataHand.com
(1996-11-02)
web.archive.org The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

DataHand documentation
Bill Buxton
microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

DataHand
at ''Typing FAQ''
How-To disassemble and clean the DataHand



Review
by DataHand owner, with photos of older models
Review
by Jan Goyvaerts (August 6, 2007)
Review update
by Jan Goyvaerts (posted January 7, 2008)
Review
by Robyn Peterson in
ExtremeTech ExtremeTech is a technology weblog, launched in June 2001, which focuses on hardware, computer software, science and other technologies. Between 2003 and 2005, ExtremeTech was also a print magazine and the publisher of a popular series of how- ...
(April 22, 2003)
Review
by David Madison
Review
by Paul Fatula @ ATPM (May, 2001) * tp://ftp.cs.princeton.edu/pub/typing-injury/datahand-review3 Evaluationby G Martin (June 10, 1994) * tp://ftp.cs.princeton.edu/pub/typing-injury/datahand-review Evaluationby Cliff Lasser (August 20, 1992)
Review
y Bryan Rosner, BioMed Publishers (November 11, 2008) Computer keyboard models Physical ergonomics Computer accessibility