サンフランシスコで働くデザイナー、Marcin Wichary氏が訪日して興味を持ったキーボードデザイン

Marcin Wichary @mwichary

First keyboard I interacted with in Japan was already kind of amazing. Mechanical numeric keypad in an ATM! pic.twitter.com/U0bnG3rWui

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

Stumbled upon an Apple Store. Most (but not all) keyboards in the fascinating Japanese layout with the tiny Tab and Caps Lock in the lower left corner. Also spotted my first iMac Pro keyboard! pic.twitter.com/OifeOOq0Sd

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

To people pointing out the oversized [1] key: I think it makes some sense aesthetically, and it’s easier to press (c.f. Fitts’s Law). As the last digit to make it onto the keyboard, [1] deserves some remuneration! A few other keyboards that did (or didn’t do) something similar: pic.twitter.com/qYlGK5c4r4

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

The remote numeric keypad in my hotel goes to eleven, and then even more. (Why am I doing this… I hate “goes to eleven” jokes.) VOD in the upper left corner is a sticker. pic.twitter.com/309JmSeXa3

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

An example of what other keyboards do with that [1] key. pic.twitter.com/og4imzrmY6

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

I literally gasped out loud when I saw this in a store. I think you buy a key of your choice, then order whatever custom stamp you want online. pic.twitter.com/BXmhAsjwa7

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

Cute electronic dictionary (I think?) keyboards. Would get one, but they are surprisingly pricey! pic.twitter.com/HktRqHoy1G

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

Keyboard-related purchases count: 1 Foot blisters count: 1

Marcin Wichary @mwichary

Cute stickers talking about what’s underneath keys in a computer store. pic.twitter.com/g8Lht5qO96

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

Keyboard mystery: I’ve seen a bunch of older Mac keyboards today (including the legendary black MacBook) where Control key is adorned with an extra pen icon. What is that all about? I have never seen this before. pic.twitter.com/kPgbIWecwD

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

(Also, in that second photo, note the huegest one key, with a right-aligned legend!)

Marcin Wichary @mwichary

Mystery solved! The pen was to draw attention to the menu allowing you to switch between many modes of entering Japanese. It otherwise behaved as ^ or Ctrl. The shortcuts still work today, but the special icon and key are gone. I am not sure why the intro’ed it or removed it. pic.twitter.com/PRUr9oBkgw

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

Japanese Enter is already rather big but, if there’s room, it can be made gargantuan. (Last photo is the more typical size.) pic.twitter.com/98WkhM9LBW

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

This is in contrast to the spacebar, used sparingly and usually sacrificed to make room for keys used to switch between many necessary input methods or to aid in typing complex Japanese characters by describing them via QWERTY. pic.twitter.com/MJjVC6ZVXH

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

Although of course I also stumbled upon the Steelseries gaming keyboard with its massive spacebar. (Early on, some 19th-century typewriters called spacebar a “space plate.” This one deserves that name.) pic.twitter.com/1swavHnC9V

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

Keyboard-related purchases count: 2 I bought a bad Japanese keyboard part for less than a dollar! pic.twitter.com/4K3mlEXBdE

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

Q: …thanks, boss, we’ll make it happen somehow. *leaves the room, 1 enters with a worried look on its face* 1: I heard some rumours about downsizing. Boss: Don’t worry, you still have a job. Speaking of which, have you seen Tab around? pic.twitter.com/9D8H4HbYqu

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

Keyboard-related purchases count: 3 I liked this one because it says “Logicool,” and it has Japanese layout, and I never had a wireless keyboard before. pic.twitter.com/lAQuKLo2um

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

Saw this in the store today. Little calendar keys! From Filco! 12 function keys = 12 months = 12 Zodiac signs: coincidence or CONSPIRACY? pic.twitter.com/JlC94k0mO3

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

Through kindness of strangers (viz. @TokyoSpark) I got to play with the original thumb shift keyboard today at Fujitsu headquarters, including its original touch typing helper chart! en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb-shi… pic.twitter.com/fBq2xWqoxy

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

Keyboard-related purchases count: 4 I went back to the store to convince them to sell me the white Mac keyboard with the enormous 1 and the pen icon. (Without speaking Japanese.) They didn’t want to.

Marcin Wichary @mwichary

But then I managed to ask them if there is another place that could have those, and they pointed me to a little store on the 4th floor of a small building… and it was a gold mine of used Apple keyboards. So here it is, my holy grail Japanese A1048 in my own bag. pic.twitter.com/9FLW0J6XdQ

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

(I felt so happy I ran back to the original store just to say “thank you” to the guy that sent me to the right place.)

Marcin Wichary @mwichary

Japanese trains specifically call out loud typing! Damn nerds be bringing Model Ms onboard. pic.twitter.com/dIF3FmEVRu

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Marcin Wichary @mwichary

An interesting Sharp “email internet computer.” Seems vaguely resembling of an iMac, but it has some cool dedicated keys Apple would never put on their keyboards as Apple keyboards can’t ever not be boring. pic.twitter.com/8j71s3TKoa

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