On 15 Jun 2012, at 14:50, Dave McGuire <mcguire at neurotica.com> wrote: On 06/15/2012 09:20 AM, Mark Wickens wrote: Who you calling odd, eh? Well, I guess from the general public's point of view, maybe. For anyone with knowledge of the joys of vintage computing, definitely not. :-) People have, in fact, been beaten with an LK201 for less ;) My opinions on keyboards for example have recently been ratified when attempting to use the on-screen keyboard of an ipad. And that's the future... Well, one part of the future. Keyboards aren't going away. I suppose we'll see, but I'm willing to place a hefty bet on it. The familiar layouts, perhaps not, but as a physical device with switched real keys I think they will in the next 10 years (legacy systems notwithstanding) Companies are already working on prototype screens that provide tactile feedback when you tap the keys on them. I anticipate glass keyboards will begin to replace physical ones before long as they are easier to produce than physical ones (no physical change required for languages etc.). Eventually forcefields (you think I'm kidding, right?) will replace the glass and they'll be nothing but a projection in mid-air. They'll still be QWERTY in 2050 though ;) -- Mark Benson