dave@utcsrgv.UUCP (06/15/83)
I have noticed something interesting with keyboards that can optionally be made to click (such as the VT-100 and the IBM 3101). I find that when I have the click on, my fingers get much more tired during typing. Now, I *KNOW* that the click is done electronically and that it doesn't take any more effort to press the keys. But somehow, it seems to take a lot more effort to type when the click is on. Is there a sensible psychological explanation for this? Is my brain telling my fingers (whether I like it or not) that because of the click, I have to hit the keys harder? Or am I just losing my mind? Dave Sherman Toronto
laura@utcsstat.UUCP (06/16/83)
a theory: you hate the sound of key click; it irritates you. In frustration (anger?) you type harder. Thus your fingers get more tired. Laura Creighton utzoo!utcsstat!laura
rh@mit-eddi.UUCP (Randy Haskins) (06/24/83)
I think that you are pressing harder because even though many people like it, the click is an annoying sound, and it tends to make you mad subconsciously. If you think about it, it's a techno-phobic feature: the terminal companies were afraid that people would freak if they typed in silence after all those years of "Tap tap-tap " etc., on a manual. Personally, the sound of typewriters (I did learn before I'd ever seen a video terminal) annoys me, but I guess I'm just peevish about things like that. Friends tell me they like Key-click because it lets them know they've hit the key. I've got my own internal software for that. --Randy rh@mit-eddie
trb@floyd.UUCP (06/24/83)
I find key-click annoying. I have a VW Rabbit GTI which has an idiot lamp to tell you when to shift into a higher gear. Had it not been disabled when I bought the car, I would have disconnected it myself. I guess the shift-up lamp is VW's answer to key-click. Actually, I've heard that the lamp was a major coup by VW which enabled them to milk a higher MPG rating out of the EPA. VW told them that the lamp would condition people to shift "properly" and get more efficiency out of the cars. If the EPA bought it, then more power to VW. Could it be that the key-click manufacturers claim higher WPM? Andy Tannenbaum Bell Labs Whippany, NJ (201) 386-6491
tim@alberta.UUCP (06/26/83)
I think the clicking could cause problems because it does not exactly correspond with your finger stopping as it goes down. This might cause your fingers to consistently mis- judge the distance they have to go. Personally, I prefer keyboards that make a distinct click physically rather than a software click. I'm a touch-typist and I can't stand typing on mushy keyboards that don't have a definite stop regardless of the sound it makes.
za16ao@sdccsu3.UUCP (Lady Arwen) (06/27/83)
I have the same problem. I decided it must be that I can't stand keyclick, but also there is just possibly a slight time delay (real or imagined) when keyclick is on. Even an imaginary delay would tend to give you the feeling that it took longer for your finger movements to become printed word, and thus after a long period of time you would *naturally* tend to type harder. your mind would be telling you that you needed to... That's the theory I came up with. And now I turn off the keyclick...ugh. Lady Arwen