I think that the QWERTY layout will never get old. (That is a possibly a design-limiting statement, but I stand by it.) When you consider design, it’s a good idea to focus on the things that work (and have worked for a long time) before you decide to break convention and build a newer, better mousetrap.
Perhaps the most clever of recent examples I’ve seen of this trend is the Smith-Corona as Keyboard. What a neat idea, harnessing a classic design and putting it to good use. Is this practical for everyday users? Probably not. But the point here is that certain design features, such as weighted key feedback, are important for long-term use.
A sillier but incredibly geeky and cool example of this trend is the rotary GSM phone.
I can’t wait to take this phone to my next meeting, place it on the table with no visible wires, and rig it to ring 
1 response so far ↓
1 Douglas // Aug 14, 2005 at 8:21 pm
If I’m not mistaken, QWERTY was designed to be difficult. The idea was to slow down the typist so that the typewriter “hammers” wouldn’t jam. That’s obviously not necessary with a computer.
The attempts at new keyboard layouts haven’t really caught on. It will be interesting to see if culture catches up with technology.
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