I firmly believe that Information Technology Professionals should have a strong grasp of the history of their industry. I think that, unlike most professions, too little has been invested in maintaining that record of events.  Today, I would like to pause to remember the most critical component of today’s effective Information Age: The Computer Keyboard!

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As a primer, I highly recommend the Wikipedia site on this topic.  It has wonderful photos, timelines, and descriptions of the incremental stages.

In computing, a keyboard is an input device, partially modeled after the typewriter keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. A keyboard typically has characters engraved or printed on the keys and each press of a key typically corresponds to a single written symbol. However, to produce some symbols requires pressing and holding several keys simultaneously or in sequence. While most keyboard keys produce letters, numbers or signs (characters), other keys or simultaneous key presses can produce actions or computer commands.

The most amazing factors influence the evolution of this key input device.  Who cannot laugh at the story behind the creation of the first keyboard in 1873.  I love the part about how the QWERTY Keyboard was actually laid out to SLOW typing speed.  Everyone roots for the DVORAK Layout that continues to try to steal mindshare even today.  The associated origins of touch typing are fun to read as well.  If you are mechanically inclined the migration of various different key sensing technologies into and out of computer keyboards is also fascinating.  Nearly every single electronic relay device has been resident in a computer keyboard at one point or another.

Other fantastic resources for this topic are:

Another fun thread to follow through the keyboard’s tale is the origin of each one of the special keys on the keyboard. Do you know where the ALT, CNTRL, APPLE, FUNCTION, WINDOWS, and SCROLL LOCK keys came from?

What is the future of keyboards?  Will they go virtual?  Will they be flexible?  Will they be laser based?  Wireless?  If you even think of the past 20 years, you can see the high slope of progress on this critical computer peripheral.  They have evolved a lot more than you might have realized.  

We all live by typing today.  Even though we mouse, can use voice, and have mutli-touch pads, the keyboard remains the number one input method for most people.  Many people believe that keyboarding skills are actually the top skill that young people should learn in school today.  The next time that you sit at your computer, take a second to appreciate the wonderful keyboard that you have and take the time to learn its history.  Let’s all pause to thank its creator, Christopher Sholes.

That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for October 29, 2009 by Scott Coughlin.

Image Credit: freedigitalphotos.net

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