The Anonymous Widower

An E-Mail To The University of Ulster

I wrote this e-msil to the team developing the computer games at the University of Ulster.

You could argue, that I’m in a sorry state, being a 62-year-old widower of three years, who has just lost his youngest son at just  37 to pancreatic cancer.  To cap it all I have just had a series of strokes,which have left me with a gammy left hand amongst other smaller issues.

 As someone who has spent nearly 50 years programming, writing reports and lately blogging on the Internet, the standard PC keyboard totally frustrates me. You want to hit shift to get a capital and you hit caps lock or control, which means the precise document you are  creating gets into a mess, because you have capitalisation all over the place or say you hit something like control-W which opens a new window in Internet Explorer.

I have found a partial solution in the Microsoft Comfort Keyboard, but sadly it doesn’t quite go far enough. 

 

 

One of the features of this keyboard is the ability to disable individual keys, so they don’t work.For example, I have disabled the Caps Lock key and this now means that I don’t have to rewrite large portions of documents, when I accidentally toggle the key. Having no Caps Lock is no problem to me, as I have never ever used the key in my work.

I also want to disable other keys :-

 

1. One and/or both of the control keys – Disabling just the left would be an interesting option, as for things like control-C and control-V, which I still use would be available using the right one.  My right hand is still 100%.
2. The Windows key – I’ve never used that key and used with some keys it does lot of things that you don’t want to do in a Word Document or Internet Explorer. With L it locks the computer, which is something you don’t want to do inadvertantly.
3. The ALT key – Who uses that? Except in control-alt-del.

 

The driver of the keyboard should be able to be modified to disable any key and perhaps allow certain combinations, such as those commonly used ones with Control, but that would need co-operation from Microsoft. Microsoft’s driver and control panel  is a good template and starting point.

 I should say that I programmed quite complex keyboard drivers in some of my software, but that is actually a level above the actual deep-level driver.  When you hit a key, you first check which of the modifier keystrokes, (control, alt etc.) are depressed and take an appropriate action, so it should be easily possible to ban single keystrokes as Microsoft do in part, but allow the combinations you want. If I could write a Windows keyboard driver, I know I could do it.  I also have the money to pay someone who can to create something that would ease the lives of many stroke sufferers and disabled individuals.

I have discussed this driver with my doctor at Addenbrookes and he feels it would be worthwhile, but has never come across anything like it.  If you search my blog for keyboard you will find more thoughts.  As this e-mail is effectively a specification for the driver, I shall probably post it on the blog, together with a link to your work.

I see that you have developed computer games for stroke sufferers. I have never played any computer games, as I prefer games to be real. I am going to get back to playing real tennis, which is a game with a world-wide handicapping system, that can be used to measure your progress.  You can also find quite a few gentle players, like the elderly or kids to play with, so that you can build up your skill and power levels gradually.

Keep up the good work.

But as my Irish racehorse trainer, Tadey Regan says, “The Struggle Continues”

Some might say that publishing here is just giving away an idea, thst might be stolen by someone else.

As Rhett Butler said in Gone With The Wind, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn”. If I get my driver I’ll be pleased.

July 2, 2010 - Posted by AnonW | Computing, Health | Keyboard, Northern Ireland, Stroke, Tennis