Apple’s Rumored e-Ink Keyboard Could Change Everything
Rumors started coming hot and heavy this week that Apple may be thinking about moving their 2018 MacBooks to a dynamic keyboard with keys that are little e-ink displays. This would allow for custom key changing on-the-fly.
I don’t know why Apple would want to produce dynamic keyboards. Perhaps to offer one global computer that wouldn’t need different hardware components? This would make offering MacBooks to China, Brazil, or Japan much easier I would assume. The burden shifts to software. In theory, the MacBook would be simpler to produce. Not necessarily cheaper though. The reduction in hardware complexity is probably more than offset by the cost of the newer technology at least in the beginning, while the technology is still new.
But all the discussion about MacBook keyboards has brought back to the surface something I’ve been pondering for years. Why do we all continue to use a QWERTY style key layout?
Anyone in the manufacturing world is well acquainted with the principles of Lean Manufacturing. The “lean” methodology basically boils down to the elimination of all wasted movement. You would place all your most frequently used components at the manufacturing line so that the operator doesn’t have to leave to retrieve them. Lesser used components may be placed behind the line, and even more infrequently used ones may stay in the warehouse.
If you were to apply this same lean thinking to the idea of writing as “manufacturing” a document, what would you do? You’d place the most commonly used letters of the alphabet in the prime positions under your four main fingers. Currently, one of those spots isn’t even a letter. The middle row would contain the ten most frequently used letters and the top and bottom rows get lesser frequent letters. Anyone who thinks this is stupid, do this one thing. Place your four main fingers at the usual resting keys and type the word “ask”. See what I mean?
According to a study done by AskOxford, using their Concise English Dictionary, these are the most common letters in the English language. The letter "E" is the most common, 57 times more common than the letter "Q" (rounded percentages):
E - 57
A - 43
R - 39
I - 38
O - 37
T - 35
N - 34
S - 29
L - 28
C - 23
U - 19
D - 17
P - 16
M - 15+
H - 15
G - 13
B - 11
F - 9+
Y - 9
W - 7
K - 6
V - 5
X - 1+
Z - 1+
J - 1+
Q - 1
Most good typists are probably thinking that it wouldn’t make a difference for them since they’re already typing at 90+ words per minute. But the efficiency savings in Lean is always so subtle that it can be unbelievable. For instance, a machine operator says that it’s no big deal to grab a pair of scissors off of the shelf at eye-level since it takes only a few seconds. However, when you have to grab it a hundred times a day, those seconds add up.
But even if it didn’t make seasoned typists any faster, it might make it easier for the much larger group of non-typists to learn to touch type and stop pecking. For this group, there would be a huge efficiency increase. I’m still amazed at how many people I bump into who’ve been in the business world for decades using computers all this time and still don’t know how to touch type.
And the error rate may go down for everyone, even veterans, when you don’t have to leave the middle row as much. When people bounce around between different devices that have different key spacing like an iPad and MacBook, this is where your errors seem to crop up. Moving away from the middle row and back is the hard part of adjusting to different keyboards.
There's a lot of urban legend surrounding the origins of the QWERTY layout. There's also a lot of discussion that alternatives never fail to deliver any real speed gains. But one thing everyone agrees on is that there is a lot of inertia behind QWERTY and it’s hard for people to change. I don’t believe that we’ve already achieved the best possible key layout.
Adding e-ink keys to the MacBook opens up possibilities like this that are unthinkable today. You can’t do it today, because the keys are set in stone. Apple couldn’t change up the order without risking a colossal failure, and I’m sure that’s exactly what would happen if they tried. But if you could dynamically change your keyboard layout, you could have one set of keys for mom and dad who learned the traditional QWERTY layout and another set of keys for the kids who learned on a newer, more modern key layout.
If you’re using TouchID to sign on to the computer, there’s not even any need to specify the key layout. It would know based on the user which layout to employ.
Lean Manufacturing is more than just a way to produce things inexpensively. It’s a philosophy that colors how you see the world. Show me a manufacturing plant manager and I’ll show you a garage that has been through 5S, 5S being Toyota’s method of cleaning and organizing which underpins the whole lean paradigm. Documents are like assemblies that need to be manufactured with all their little components being letters. Wouldn’t it make sense to place the most used letters in the prime real estate?
But all the discussion about MacBook keyboards has brought back to the surface something I’ve been pondering for years. Why do we all continue to use a QWERTY style key layout?
Anyone in the manufacturing world is well acquainted with the principles of Lean Manufacturing. The “lean” methodology basically boils down to the elimination of all wasted movement. You would place all your most frequently used components at the manufacturing line so that the operator doesn’t have to leave to retrieve them. Lesser used components may be placed behind the line, and even more infrequently used ones may stay in the warehouse.
If you were to apply this same lean thinking to the idea of writing as “manufacturing” a document, what would you do? You’d place the most commonly used letters of the alphabet in the prime positions under your four main fingers. Currently, one of those spots isn’t even a letter. The middle row would contain the ten most frequently used letters and the top and bottom rows get lesser frequent letters. Anyone who thinks this is stupid, do this one thing. Place your four main fingers at the usual resting keys and type the word “ask”. See what I mean?
According to a study done by AskOxford, using their Concise English Dictionary, these are the most common letters in the English language. The letter "E" is the most common, 57 times more common than the letter "Q" (rounded percentages):
E - 57
A - 43
R - 39
I - 38
O - 37
T - 35
N - 34
S - 29
L - 28
C - 23
U - 19
D - 17
P - 16
M - 15+
H - 15
G - 13
B - 11
F - 9+
Y - 9
W - 7
K - 6
V - 5
X - 1+
Z - 1+
J - 1+
Q - 1
Most good typists are probably thinking that it wouldn’t make a difference for them since they’re already typing at 90+ words per minute. But the efficiency savings in Lean is always so subtle that it can be unbelievable. For instance, a machine operator says that it’s no big deal to grab a pair of scissors off of the shelf at eye-level since it takes only a few seconds. However, when you have to grab it a hundred times a day, those seconds add up.
But even if it didn’t make seasoned typists any faster, it might make it easier for the much larger group of non-typists to learn to touch type and stop pecking. For this group, there would be a huge efficiency increase. I’m still amazed at how many people I bump into who’ve been in the business world for decades using computers all this time and still don’t know how to touch type.
And the error rate may go down for everyone, even veterans, when you don’t have to leave the middle row as much. When people bounce around between different devices that have different key spacing like an iPad and MacBook, this is where your errors seem to crop up. Moving away from the middle row and back is the hard part of adjusting to different keyboards.
There's a lot of urban legend surrounding the origins of the QWERTY layout. There's also a lot of discussion that alternatives never fail to deliver any real speed gains. But one thing everyone agrees on is that there is a lot of inertia behind QWERTY and it’s hard for people to change. I don’t believe that we’ve already achieved the best possible key layout.
Adding e-ink keys to the MacBook opens up possibilities like this that are unthinkable today. You can’t do it today, because the keys are set in stone. Apple couldn’t change up the order without risking a colossal failure, and I’m sure that’s exactly what would happen if they tried. But if you could dynamically change your keyboard layout, you could have one set of keys for mom and dad who learned the traditional QWERTY layout and another set of keys for the kids who learned on a newer, more modern key layout.
If you’re using TouchID to sign on to the computer, there’s not even any need to specify the key layout. It would know based on the user which layout to employ.
Lean Manufacturing is more than just a way to produce things inexpensively. It’s a philosophy that colors how you see the world. Show me a manufacturing plant manager and I’ll show you a garage that has been through 5S, 5S being Toyota’s method of cleaning and organizing which underpins the whole lean paradigm. Documents are like assemblies that need to be manufactured with all their little components being letters. Wouldn’t it make sense to place the most used letters in the prime real estate?
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