History of the Computer Keyboard

thanks for watching techwiki click the subscribe button then enable notifications with the bell icon so you won't miss any future videos inventor christopher latham scholes didn't know it but his typewriter the first with a modern layout would end up being the forerunner to one of the most popular communication tools of the 21st century because even though in 1874 a typing device that assigns one letter to each key wasn't exactly the most brilliant idea in history that title clearly belongs to the cinnamon bun scholes's typewriter was notable for introducing the now ubiquitous qwerty layout which was effective supposedly because it kept letters that were commonly used together away from each other to prevent the mechanical arms of the typewriter from hitting each other and causing jams damn now of course e and r are placed together in lots of words and in fact the original design had a period where the r key is today but whatever the reason for this qwerty typewriters became very popular and this keyboard layout sorry dvorak fans remained the standard for the teleprinters that became widespread in the early 20th century so it wasn't surprising then that when actual computers like the 30 ton eniac started popping onto the scene in the 1940s these same teleprinters often ended up getting used for data input with that same qwerty layout setting the stage for the now familiar keyboard layout to be integrated into later machines that weighed less than an entire family of elephants in the 1960s video terminals started becoming popular and these typically included keyboards that allowed users to more quickly and easily manipulate data on a screen instead of using cards or paper tape like those earlier teleprinters that were adapted for use with computers although these terminals looked like full-fledged computers they were usually just a monitor and keyboard combo that had to be plugged into a larger size system however since it was much easier to type than operate a computer by flipping a bunch of switches on the front or whatever most computers featured keyboards of some fashion by the early 1980s and we even started seeing some of the first ergonomic keyboards in the late 70s with companies like multron seriously thinking about the user's comfort in a way that led to some very interesting designs and it was a period of great innovation under the hood too many early keyboards used key switches that were pretty different from what you're probably typing on right now including ultrasonic switches that actually listened to the different vibration each key would make because it was pressed and this one was a bit more common ones that used magnets that got close to a pair of metal pieces causing them to come into contact with each other whenever the key was pushed down these were called reed switches and while this concept is actually still in use today in applications like switching off a laptop when you close the lid they proved to be too fragile and inaccurate for keyboards so a couple of alternative designs quickly replaced read switches one was the familiar membrane which works by placing a metal layer under each key that directly contacts traces on the keyboard circuit board when a key is pressed down this design is both inexpensive and resistant to debris making it very common on cheaper keyboards today another was a technology that ibm patented in 1978 a spring-loaded key switch called a buckling spring these puppies also worked by direct contact in that pressing down caused two pieces of metal to touch but they proved to be not only extremely durable but also a pleasure to type on and subjectively listen to so while not the first mechanical switch buckling spring switches gained enormous popularity thanks to their inclusion on the model f keyboard that came with the original ibm pc in 1980 and later the model m which is still beloved by keyboard enthusiasts today for its high build quality and trademark springy sound and not to be outdone in the mechanical switch arms race german manufacturer cherry started gaining notoriety in the mid 1980s after their switches came installed on some keyboards for the commodore amiga and proved to be of better quality than a lot of the alternatives of course noisy heavy mechanical switches aren't always the best solution which i'm sure you the viewer can attest to if you've ever had a roommate typing away on their cherry blue keyboard while you're trying to sleep so rubber dome keyboards were developed around the same time these gave the user tactile feedback due to the rubber dome snapping like a suction cup but they were cheaper and quieter than their spring-loaded counterparts rubber domes have become common on chiclet style keyboards as well as on laptops in the form of the lower profile scissor switch variant which helps to save space this trend towards light cheap keyboards drove much of the evolution of the keyboard for the next decade or two with ibm having the brilliant idea to cut costs by putting stick on letters on keycaps in 1985 rather than having a different manufacturing process for every key so fast forward to today and basic keyboards are lightweight commodity items that can be easily found for less than 10 bucks but there's also an enormous variety of other options out there at all price points whether you want something tricked out with individual rgb backlighting and macro keys for gaming or productivity a model with optical switches for fast response times a trick we actually first saw in the early 1980s or even a keyboard with no keys at all just remember whatever you go with there's one thing that hasn't changed over the decades dorito crumbs are still the enemy freshbooks is the simple to use accounting solution for freelancers and small business owners it is hard being self-employed but with the growth of the internet there's never been more opportunities for folks like you and to meet this need freshbooks cloud accounting software is designed for the way you work it's the simplest easiest way to be more productive more organized and most importantly get paid faster you can create and send professional looking invoices in less than 30 seconds set up online payments with just a couple of clicks and get paid up to four days faster you can see when your client has seen your invoice and put an end to the guessing games and you don't have to take my word for it freshbooks is offering a 30-day unrestricted free trial to our viewers to claim it just go to freshbooks.com techwiki and enter techwiki in the how did you hear about us section we're going to have that linked below so thanks for watching guys you can dislike you can like you can check out other channels you can leave a comment if you have a suggestion for a future video and you can subscribe now that you can subscribe you will subscribe

Channel: Techquickie

Views: 290,130

Keywords: latham, sholes, keyboard, typewriter, qwerty, dvorak, layout, keys, switches, mechanical, optical, opto-electric, burroughs, teleprinter, terminal, maltron, ergomonic, history, reed, ultrasonic, rubber dome, magnetic, membrane, buckling spring, model m, model f, ibm, pc, cherry, amiga, commodore, chiclet, scissor, rgb, macro, input, hid, human interface

Id: qLAqT2U68h4

Length: 7min 9sec (429 seconds)

Published: Fri May 11 2018