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| The '''Microwriter''' |
The '''Microwriter''' was a hand-held portable word processor sold in the early 1980's by Microwriter Ltd, of London, UK. | ||
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| == The Microwriter MW4 == | |||
| The following is a description of the 'MW-4' Microwriter which is the only model sold in any quantities. | |||
| The 'MW4' Microwriter is believed to be the only model sold in any significant quantity. The 23 cm x 12 cm x 5 cm device comprised: | |||
| Comprising a six-button ], a single line ], an 8 bit ], ] software in ] and 16 Kbytes of ], this device was capable of allowing the user to enter and edit several pages of text - and by connecting a printer to the ] connector, documents could also be printed. The device was powered by a set of rechargable nickel-cadmium batteries and came in a faux leather case. | |||
| * A six-button ]. | |||
| * A single line ]. | |||
| * An 8 bit ]. | |||
| * Complete ] software in ]. | |||
| * 16 Kbytes of ]. | |||
| * Rechargeable ] - sufficient to run the device for several hours. | |||
| * Various interfaces (see below). | |||
| This device was capable of allowing the user to enter and edit several pages of text - and by connecting a printer to the ] connector, documents could also be printed without the aid of a separate computer. | |||
| == Keyboard == | |||
| The innovative keyboard used one button for each finger and two for the thumb of the user's right hand. The five buttons that lay immediately beneath the hand were pressed in different combinations to generate letters A through Z with the second thumb button being used similarly to the Shift Lock key on a conventional keyboard to toggle through a range of modes that would allow you to switch case, enter numbers, punctuation and even ] control characters that could be used in editing the document being prepared. Hence to type a letter 'T', one would tap the top thumb button to shift to uppercase - then type a 't' by pressing the index finger and ring finger buttons simultaneously. | The innovative keyboard used one button for each finger and two for the thumb of the user's right hand. The five buttons that lay immediately beneath the hand were pressed in different combinations to generate letters A through Z with the second thumb button being used similarly to the Shift Lock key on a conventional keyboard to toggle through a range of modes that would allow you to switch case, enter numbers, punctuation and even ] control characters that could be used in editing the document being prepared. Hence to type a letter 'T', one would tap the top thumb button to shift to uppercase - then type a 't' by pressing the index finger and ring finger buttons simultaneously. | ||
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| Learning the chords for the basic letters and numbers was facilitated by a set of flash-cards that showed simple mnemonics for each character. | Learning the chords for the basic letters and numbers was facilitated by a set of flash-cards that showed simple mnemonics for each character. | ||
| == External Ports == | |||
| At the top end of the unit was a ] and an on/off button. At the other end was a 49 pin D-type connector that could be hooked up to an optional external unit to allow the Microwriter to be connected to a television and thus to perform full-screen editing. There was also a serial port connector to allow the Microwriter to be plugged into a computer to function in place of the conventional keyboard. | At the top end of the unit was a ] and an on/off button. At the other end was a 49 pin D-type connector that could be hooked up to an optional external unit to allow the Microwriter to be connected to a television and thus to perform full-screen editing. There was also a serial port connector to allow the Microwriter to be plugged into a computer to function in place of the conventional keyboard. | ||
| == The fate of the Microwriter == | |||
| Despite all of this innovation, and the fact that there was no similar product on the market, the Microwriter was not a great success. It is likely that the chording keyboard put off many potential users - which is unfortunate since once introduced to the device, most users could learn it suprisingly quickly. | Despite all of this innovation, and the fact that there was no similar product on the market, the Microwriter was not a great success. It is likely that the chording keyboard put off many potential users - which is unfortunate since once introduced to the device, most users could learn it suprisingly quickly. | ||
| The keyboard concept was later used in a number of handheld devices manufactured by other companies - but always in addition to a conventional text entry device. | |||
Revision as of 02:31, 20 January 2006
The Microwriter was a hand-held portable word processor sold in the early 1980's by Microwriter Ltd, of London, UK.
 |
The Microwriter MW4
The 'MW4' Microwriter is believed to be the only model sold in any significant quantity. The 23 cm x 12 cm x 5 cm device comprised:
- A six-button chording keyboard.
- A single line LCD display.
- An 8 bit microprocessor.
- Complete Word processing software in ROM.
- 16 Kbytes of RAM.
- Rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries - sufficient to run the device for several hours.
- Various interfaces (see below).
This device was capable of allowing the user to enter and edit several pages of text - and by connecting a printer to the parallel port connector, documents could also be printed without the aid of a separate computer.
Keyboard
The innovative keyboard used one button for each finger and two for the thumb of the user's right hand. The five buttons that lay immediately beneath the hand were pressed in different combinations to generate letters A through Z with the second thumb button being used similarly to the Shift Lock key on a conventional keyboard to toggle through a range of modes that would allow you to switch case, enter numbers, punctuation and even ASCII control characters that could be used in editing the document being prepared. Hence to type a letter 'T', one would tap the top thumb button to shift to uppercase - then type a 't' by pressing the index finger and ring finger buttons simultaneously.
This unusual keyboard was suprisingly easy to use - most people could learn to use it in just a couple of hours. With a little practice, it was possible to become a faster typist with the Microwriter than with a conventional keyboard - providing that what was being entered was just text. Things slowed down a lot if a substantial number of special characters had to be entered using the 'shifting' mechanism.
Learning the chords for the basic letters and numbers was facilitated by a set of flash-cards that showed simple mnemonics for each character.
External Ports
At the top end of the unit was a Centronics parallel port and an on/off button. At the other end was a 49 pin D-type connector that could be hooked up to an optional external unit to allow the Microwriter to be connected to a television and thus to perform full-screen editing. There was also a serial port connector to allow the Microwriter to be plugged into a computer to function in place of the conventional keyboard.
The fate of the Microwriter
Despite all of this innovation, and the fact that there was no similar product on the market, the Microwriter was not a great success. It is likely that the chording keyboard put off many potential users - which is unfortunate since once introduced to the device, most users could learn it suprisingly quickly.
The keyboard concept was later used in a number of handheld devices manufactured by other companies - but always in addition to a conventional text entry device.