physical interface for entering text character by character.
40
votes
2answers
1k views
Why do numpads on keyboards and phones have reversed layouts?
I came across this on the web. It's supposed to be funny, but we all know better :)
So, why are the numpad layouts different, and what are the reasons behind each?
78
votes
16answers
7k views
Is Google Instant good or bad UX?
For power users, it clearly saves time in some circumstances. It also jumps around alot and does things that are very different than before. One person said it is like a guy who finishes your ...
14
votes
8answers
2k views
How to improve the smartphone keyboard layout?
I have loads of problems with the small keys on my smartphone as my fingers cover them completely. I guess most people have the same problem.
The Qwerty keyboard layout was designed for ten-finger ...
14
votes
6answers
287 views
Delay on keystroke when search as you type
I'm deploying an instant search on my windows app. At the first implementation, when the user type a key, the search engine make a query and return the results. I thought that that wasn't too much ...
13
votes
4answers
270 views
What's the Best Interface for Entering Canadian Postal Codes on a Smartphone Keyboard?
Typical smartphone keyboards are modal. There is usually a basic QWERTY/Basic punctuation keyboard by default that can be switched to numeric/extended punctuation mode.
This works reasonably well ...
24
votes
6answers
981 views
What is the best way to get users to discover and learn keyboard shortcuts
In a mouse driven desktop application, with a ribbon style interface and which has no menubar, what is the best way for users to learn about the shortcuts and accelerators which can help a user work ...
16
votes
4answers
734 views
Are there any recent studies of the “Keyboard vs Mouse”-issue?
Back in the late 80's, Apple Human Interface concluded that the mouse is faster than the keyboard, objectively. But also that every test person subjectively thought that the keyboard was faster.
...
6
votes
2answers
126 views
Is there any research into the cost of switching between using a keyboard and a mouse?
My intuition and own experience tells me keyboard shortcut keys can be faster than using the mouse. However, some tasks like browsing the internet or a folder hierarchy truly benefit from using a ...
6
votes
3answers
947 views
What are the benefits of non-QWERTY keyboards?
I'm stuck with QWERTY, but have been tempted to try Dvorak. Dvorak advocates claim it's faster.
Are there any studies that compare these two (main) keyboard layouts? Are there other layouts out there ...
12
votes
1answer
146 views
How should keyboard mnemonics be localized?
Is there a standard approach to localizing (internationalize) keyboard mnemonics?
For example, in Windows Notepad in English, if the user types Alt+E then P, the Edit menu opens and then the Paste ...
8
votes
3answers
488 views
Should we include a “Back to top” button for mobile websites?
When building a mobile web site that needs to be accessible — do you consider it to be best practice to include a "Back to top" anchor link in a footer menu for long pages?
I'm thinking about those ...
7
votes
3answers
99 views
Behavior of the Enter button in a form
What is a better experience for a user if they press enter when using a form?
Should it submit the form or move to the next field?
6
votes
2answers
243 views
Keyboard shortcuts on non-QWERTY keyboard layouts
I've been using the Dvorak keyboard layout for a few years, and something that's always bothered me is keyboard shortcuts. On a QWERTY keyboard copy and paste are conveniently positioned as Ctrl+C and ...
6
votes
5answers
241 views
Is it time to reevaluate what keys keyboards should have?
I just got my Google I/O Chromebook and one of the most interesting things about the keyboard layout is that certain keys have been replaced by Google with new ones that are more relevant for an ...
5
votes
1answer
246 views
Why would number lock be disabled by default?
There was a time that number lock was enabled by default (at least in a Windows environment). Then, after an update one day, all the sudden the Number Lock is disabled. Why the change? What is it ...
