This post may seem Apple-centric but it’s not. Even though it’s Apple that is patenting this idea, it’s the technology itself that I find interesting and want to discuss.
According to AppleInsider, Apple has applied for a patent on replacing keyboards with a glass panel having raised key sections. Once can see why, after the keyboard disaster of the penultimate MacBook release, Apple would be interested in such an idea. It would certainly prevent crumbs and dust from jamming things up as well as making keyboard cleanup easier. It would, I suppose, even protect against the occasional coffee spill.
According to the article, the raised key sections and a small amount of give provide tactile feedback to the user, making it easier to touch type on the keyboard than it is with the virtual keyboards of the iPhone and iPad.
This seems attractive to me but I’m not convinced that it would provide a good “typing” experience. Of course, Apple patents all type of ideas but only actively develops a few of them so there’s no guarantee that such a keyboard will ever become a reality.
Many developers, myself included, prefer mechanical keys and a few us diehards still swear by the IBM Model M and its Unicomp progeny. It’s hard to imagine that cohort accepting a keyboard where the keys are not only not mechanical but don’t move at all. Still, I love a chance to tryout such a thing. What about you?