June 12, 2003
One Thumb Keyboard
MMS Memo picked up on a post in Slashdot.org on a «one-thumb keypad» for computers "that allows a user to enter alphanumberic text and control the mouse with only one thumb, as Japanese teens (nicknamed "thumb tribe" or "thumb generation") are so used to typing one another messages on their cellphones, they are now more comfortable with one thumb typing than the old two handed QWERTY".
This is not as far fetched as it sounds, as according to a cross-cultural study published last year by British technology researcher Dr Sadie Plant -- Director of the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit at Warwick University in the UK -- children's thumbs are stronger and more nimble because they spend so much time texting and playing computer games.
"Researchers who did the study noticed that kids who text all the time naturally used their thumbs to type on a keyboard, or turn on a light switch, without even thinking about it", reported the BBC.
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