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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why the alternative layout?

A: Studies have shown that only 5% of all of the millions of keyboarders in the world know a touch system- everyone else is in the "hunt and peck" category. Some of these keyboard with an amazing speed and accuracy! Yet, we live in an age of increased need to communicate via keystrokes and it is important that we address both of the ergonomic questions- to make the keyboard fit both the mind and the body! The Maltron keyboard was specifically designed to fit the human hands and to avoid all identifiable problems that relate to the shape of the hands; and the muscles of the fingers, hands, wrists, arms, shoulders and back. Yes, all of them are involved along with posture of the body, height of the keyboard and distance from the body for those anxious to avoid fatigue, pain and yes- repetitive strain injury that causes such unhappy problems as 'carpal tunnel syndrome'.

If you are an accomplished keyboarder and have used the 'touch system' required to navigate the 'qwerty' or standard layout, you may wonder why Lillian Malt spent ten years studying the question- if the qwerty standard layout, which was invented by Sholes to slow you down to a speed where his mechanical typewriter had fewer mechanical 'jams' of the type hammers at the point where they struck the carbon ribbon, then what is the answer to the key question? What is right for the human mind and the English language?

It took Lillian Malt ten years to answer the question because it was not an easy question to answer. At least one attempt was made some years ago when the Dvorak method was invented and it offered some improvement, but apparently lacked the kind of answers that Ms. Malt's study determined. Her key papers are accessible here.

Her study was aimed at finding a key layout that works well with the patterns of characters found most frequently in the words of the English language. She took direct aim at all of the identifiable problems that relate to the skill of reading or thinking in the English language, with a desire to put such information into some media that requires keystroke entry that should come from the action of a pair of human hands in a fast, accurate, and painless way. To find the answers, extensive study of the language, the brain and the neuromuscular system were required.

Many interesting discoveries were made. For example, the left brain - right brain coordination required to drive the fingers to key the letters 'e' and 'i' explains why the qwerty system causes so many transpositional mistakes to be made. The brain is trying to drive the same central finger on each hand to the key in the upper row, and getting it coordinated at high speed isn't easy because one side of the brain sends signals faster! That is why so many fast keyboarders report this to be their most common mistake!

Other common problems are a function of the location of the nerve pathways between the brain and the muscles. Some of them are so close together at the base of the neck that impulses 'fired' for one can 'jump' to the other and cause finger errors. To examine ways to recognize when these problems are going to occur with the English language was a major task. To determine how to avoid these problems was even more difficult, but the Maltron layout represents that solution.

The best part of the story is the results obtained by those who have spent the 50-60 hours needed to learn the new layout! One 80 wpm keyboarder not only shed her pain, but advanced from 80 wpm with qwerty to 110 wpm with the Malt layout! This with fewer errors! The intuitive feel of the Malt layout has not been widely tested because most of the historic users have purchased the Maltron keyboard to escape their pain and did not take or have the time to learn the new layout.

A major corporate objective of Tryon Technologies, Inc. is to enable a non-profit foundation to be created with the purpose of helping to get Ergomatic keyboards into the hands of students who can have a user friendly unit that ergonomically fits the hands and the mind! It will also be compatible with both PC and Mac computers and have a cover and handle so that it is portable.

If you have ideas to share on how this might best be accomplished, we are very anxious to hear from you. Of course, we will be happy to know about other experiences that we can share with those who look for the time when the keyboard is something more than the cheapest way to make the computer understand your words!"

Why does it cost so much to build an ergonomic keyboard with an alternative key layout? The lack of volume sales will continue to be an inhibitor to low cost production, but the larger problem relates to the need to produce the connections between the key switches and the electronic interface to the computer. This is much more costly when the keys are not laid flat against a circuit board, but are positioned to fit the way the hands want the fingers to curl into a normal position. This 4-D positioning requires the unusual shape and it also requires angles on slopes and this adds significant cost. The Maltron keyboard is designed to solve the problem of making a keyboard that truly fits the hands- it is not a compromise between what is cheap and what has been done in the past.

Getting the keytops to fit the human mind and the language took years of research and the protected layout of the Maltron design is made to serve the user that needs to key many thousands of keystrokes. If one is a "hunt and peck" keyboarder and if one needs to make only key a few keystrokes, then much cheaper solutions are practical. If one wants a life-time friend that makes keyboarding faster and easier, then the research and effort needed to train or re-train make purchase of the Maltron keyboard a sound investment.

Q: Why the funny shape?

A: Why the funny shape? A well known principle of marketing of products says that one should never try to sell a product that is aimed at replacing an existing product without being careful to make sure that the prospective user recognizes the connection to the thing being replaced! To some extent the Maltron keyboard abides by this principle - it does have keys and an overall size that lets its mission be quickly understood.

But, why make the shape look so foreign to what we already know? The answer is both simple and complex. Simply put, the shape of most "old style" keyboards relates to the mechanical typewriter for its origins and that shape was not designed to serve the anatomical needs of the human body or brain. To the contrary, it was designed to be awkward and to slow you down so that the machine could keep up with you!

The more complex answer relates to the discoveries of many facts that came from the study of the human anatomy, the neuromuscular system and the language. The shape of the Maltron represents the ideal form that minimizes the strain on the muscles of the hands, the arm, and even the back. To achieve such a level of comfort, the keys had to be positioned so as to conform to the fact that the fingers are of different length and the thumbs are quite different in shape and range of motion, yet they are very useful in keyboarding.

Of course, the most important factor in the Maltron keyboard design is probably the physical space separating the alpha keys driven by the left and right hands by enough space to accomodate the numeric keypad that is usually found at the right end of the keyboard to frustrate lefthanders! This is done to eliminate the problem created by the simple fact that our hands must 'turn out' to meet the shape of old fashioned keyboards. This may be the primary cause of RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) including the well known 'carpal tunnel syndrome'. Users of the Maltron escape this strain because the hands do not have to 'turn-out' to position the fingers on the keys. It takes about two hours for the brain to remember this and the other differences in key locations. Interestingly, once learned, it is 'transparent' to the user when it is necessary to use an old style keyboard! The brain remembers this as easily as it does how to reach for controls in two different cars.

The keys of the Maltron are arranged in columns rather than staggered, as was required by the old manual typewriter, so as to provide room for metal arms to reach under and connect to the type hammers in the 'basket', that then flew up and hit the ink ribbon! It takes more muscles and more strain to reach keys that are so staggered. It is much easier to move the fingers back and forth!

The thumb driven keys on the Maltron are also much more important. On an old style keyboard the thumb, a very powerful member of the hand, is relegated to calling for the word spaces. The right thumb does this job for most of us while the left is idle. Left-handed users tend to be the other way around. On the Maltron, because of the extra space in the middle of the keyboard and the range of motion of the thumb, the right thumb can reach in addition to the space key arrows right and down, the 'end' and 'enter', 'option', 'control', and 'delete' keys! On old style boards these keys require reaching way down to the second row below the home row, or clear up to the top right hand corner - a long reach with the little finger!

The left thumb easily works the carriage return, left and up arrows, ' and " quote, home, option, control, and another delete key! This otherwise often useless thumb can also, under the Malt layout system be used to drive the most frequently used letter in the alphabet - the letter "E".

The convenient 'pads' at the front edge of the board provide for the rest of the hands and wrists without requiring the fingers to remain in a position that requires musle power to keep them under tension. The natural curved position of the fingers at rest is nicely accommodated.

So, you see - the funny shape is really not so funny. It simply is the shape needed to make a keyboard that fits the human hands and body. It costs more to build because the keys are arranged not only in a 3-D configuration, but each of the keys is tilted to the direction that is best for the finger that will use it. Curiously, this doesn't make the Maltron of as much value to the 'hunt and peck' keyboarders, but it makes a lot of difference to touch keyboarders.

The Maltron keyboard comes with two sets of color coded alpha key tops. The second color set allows you to quickly use the 'qwerty' layout with its inefficient configuration. It shouldn't take more than 2-3 hours to be as fast as you were on any other keyboard, and you will find it to be more comfortable and soon thereafter faster as well.

Q: Is there hope that I will ever be able to keyboard again without pain?

A: For the last ten years or so there has been a gradual recognition that prolonged keyboarding can cause pain! No manufacturer of keyboards has yet been forced to pay for this pain, nor has any corporation that asks its employees to use equipment that may cause this pain, paid a claim for personal liability. But, by 1994 vendors started to listen to their legal departments telling them that it is time to insert a disclaimer and a warning to customers noting that prolonged use may cause pain or injury. Almost everyone that suffers from such pain, often known as 'carpal tunnel syndrome', now the second most common cause of workmen's compensation claims and medical expense for employers, has little trouble accepting the notion that somehow there is a connection even though it hasn't been easy to prove.

Just as it is hard to prove the cause, it is equally hard to prove that the pain can be reduced or eliminated by using a different kind of keyboard! While we can provide you with a number of testimonials that seem to indicate that the Maltron keyboard does away with pain like carpal tunnel syndrome- I myself can testify to it from personal experience- all such 'anecdotal' evidences fail to impress people of a statistical bent, or lawyers pushing for one position or another. So, Tryon Technologies, Inc., manufacturers of the Maltron keyboard for sales and distribution in all of North and South and Central America can't make any absolute claim that its product will eliminate, moderate, or otherwise do anything nice for you! However, we do offer a 30 day, 100% money-back guarantee that says in effect, you will judge and if you don't want to keep the keyboard for any reason or no reason, you can return it for a full money back refund! Some would say that we are "putting our money where our mouth is!"

We make this offer without requiring you to even consider learning to use the important, perhaps the most important part of the invention of Lillian Malt and Stephen Hobday of England. If you only use our keyboard with the switch set to enable just the 'old standard' "QWERTY" key-tops, you will soon find that keyboarding is easier and less fatiguing. I know, I do a lot of it and am still using the qwerty layout because I haven't wanted to slow down during the period of a new learning. Interestingly, I can type "Anne is going to like this" using the Malt layout (I just did!) without looking at the keys- not as fast as qwerty, but it isn't hard to shift mental gears! I will make the change.

I can assure you that my qwerty work is now faster than it was on the old fashioned standard layout and it is certainly without pain, which I did experience just before my first Maltron keyboard arrived. It is interesting to note that it took about two hours to get comfortable with my hands separated on the keys and with the idea that my fingers had to move back and forward as the keys on the Maltron are arranged in columns, not diagonally, as that requires more muscles and strain. After making this conversion I discovered that I can return to any old standard qwerty keyboard and it takes no effort at all to automatically let my fingers go to the right spots to hit the keys! It is no different than driving two different makes of cars- once your mind knows where the controls are located, you automatically know how to find and use them- same with the keyboard. Yes, I did find my Apple PB lap-top to be a strain, so I plug my Maltron into it too!

So, we can assure you that the shape and key arrangement of the Maltron works well for those who want to stay with qwerty. It works better, if you want to take the time to learn a better arrangement. If you are a student, with no present touch key skill, but a choice to make otherwise, you may have an easy choice, If you type less than 30 wpm, it is best to start over with the Malt layout. If you are faster and don't have time to re-learn... well you decide.

Either way, we know that what we are building is a "funny looking" keyboard that works better. It is one that someday will make the statisticians wonder what ever happened to keyboard repetitive strain problems? We will know the answer without the stats!