RICH.GVT%OFFICE-3@sri-unix.UUCP (03/07/84)
From: Rich Zellich <RICH.GVT@OFFICE-3> pur-ee!uiucdcs!uicsl!preece@Ucb-Vax asks "Didn't the Microwriter...get a big play in one of the micro magazines four or five years ago?". I don't know about the Microwriter, but somthing similar did get play about that time. This was the WriteHander (tm), about the size and shape of a Teletype 5620 mouse, hemispherical with 4 buttons (for the 4 fingers of the right hand) on the bottom front edge and a double column of buttons (I forget how many buttons tall) on the left side for use by the right thumb. You would use buttons in combination to type any ASCII character: one or more of the front 4, plus one of the vertical thumb buttons (I don't think two thumb buttons were ever pressed at the same time). I always wondered if there wasn't some way to put wheels/ball(s) under it and combine the Engelbart chord keyset and mouse into one device. I seem to recall this being on the cover of Byte when the NCC was at Anaheim (not last year, the Anaheim NCC before that one). -Rich