[Gllug] Digit differences on PC keyboards and phones

[John G Walker]

On Sat,  4 Oct 2008  8:48:14 +0100 "t.clarke" <tim at seacon.co.uk> wrote:

> The 789 at the bottom layout was defined I think originally by the
> International Telecommuications Union or somesuch (at least I recall
> being told something like that when I queried the layout with a
> telecomms manufacturer years ago).
> 
> Its actually a complete pain the *** as I am used to using a
> calculator keyboard 'blind' and find that I often mis-key telephone
> numbers as my fingers are used to the calculator layout.

Curiously, I'm completely the opposite. Although I don't have to look
to use either a calculator or a telephone keypad, I had to have it
pointed out to me that these were differently laid out. I actually had
to hold a calculator next to a telephone before I could fully grasp the
fact.
> 
> I guess we are stuck with both layouts in the same way as we are
> stuck with 'qwerty' (or 'azerty' in some countries?) even though
> general opinion seems to be that that layout is not optimum.

It is said that these layouts are not optimum. Indeed, the economic
historian Paul David has made much out of this (the technical term is
"path dependency"). However, no one has ever proved that they are less
than optimum.

I started having doubts about this ten years or so ago when I shared an
office with a Spanish woman. Soon after we began to share the office I
noticed her touch typing at her keyboard. I queried this, and she
replied that she'd learnt as a girl, passing the official Spanish
typing exam at, I believe, the age of twelve.

But, I pointed out, she would have learnt the Spanish keyboard layout.
She was using a British keyboard.

"Oh," she said, "that's no problem."

It was at that point Paul David's argument suddenly became less
convincing,

-- 
 All the best,
 John
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