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The invention of the keyboard
The invention of the modern computer keyboard began with the invention of the typewriter. Christopher Latham Sholes patented the typewriter that we commonly use today in 1868. The Remington Company mass marketed the first typewriters starting in 1877. -
The first keyboard
The Qwerty Keyboard was the first keyboard (typewriter) introduced to mankind. It was designed to make writing more effective, but the downfall was that it also made writing much more slow due to its slow speed. -
The teletype machine
The teletype machine combined the technology of the typewriter with the telegraph. Elsewhere, punched card systems were combined with typewriters to create what was called keypunches. Keypunches were the basis of early adding machines. Early computer keyboards were first adapted from the punch card and teletype technologies. -
The keyboard was invented
This keyboard was invented to eliminate the problems (like gear malfunction) that the Qwerty had. For this model, the letters were arranged so that the letters most used were in the center/home. This is the same arrangement that you see on keyboards today. -
The typewriter
In 1948, the Binac computer used an electromechanically controlled typewriter to both input data directly onto magnetic tape (for feeding the computer data) and to print results. The emerging electric typewriter further improved the technological marriage between the typewriter and the computer. -
The ASR-32
The ASR-32 was invented with only slight improvements like the automatic paper reciever, and better durability. -
January 1, 1964
By 1964, MIT, Bell Laboratories and General Electric had collaborated to create Multics that encouraged the development of a new user interface, the video display terminal. The video display terminals (VDT) combined the technology of the cathode ray tube used in televisions and electric typewriters. Computer users could now see what text they were typing on their display screens. -
January 1, 1970
The first keyboards sold in the 1970s were all built from scratch, piece by piece, and were heavy as they were fully mechanical. Since so much time and effort was needed to create these keyboards, and since the target market was primarily computer programmers and engineers, they were built for function and not for visual aesthetics. This meant there wasn’t a keyboard cover or cabinet. -
January 1, 1974
Keyboards were built into personal computers in the mid-1970s There was no way to save data. The keyboard was a set of key switches on the front panel of the computer. If users wanted a standard keyboard, IBM sold a converted electric typewriter, but many users converted their own electric typewriters to enter programming code. A second keyboard had to be connected for data entry. -
January 1, 1978
In the late 1970s Apple, Radio Shack and Commodore all had the foresight to see the large market in computer keyboards, and started manufacturing keyboards for their computers, paving the way for the modern assumption that all computers come with a keyboard, and that keyboards are the primary, standard input device. -
December 6, 1981
This was the first keyboard to be attached to the computer. It's had some additions done, such as a number goup to the right and te F# keys. -
October 5, 1984
The main improvement in this keyboard is that now it can be used across all its platforms. -
January 1, 1990
In the 1990s membrane switches replaced the mechanical key switch. Membrane keyboards were much cheaper to produce. Unfortunately the quality of the keyboard significantly dropped as these superficial keyboard aesthetics dominated (slimmer, quieter, lighter weight, easier to be mobile with). keyboards (1983), and decades later the modern non-mechanical Apple keyboards (2010). -
March 19, 1994
The Natural features a layout of the key block normally found above the cursor keys. Another addition is that the arrow keys' inverted-T layout has been changed into a cross-like layout, with left/right arrows keys side by side and up/down keys bracketing them from above and below, increasing the distance between the vertical keys. -
July 5, 2004
The foldable keyboard is just like other keyboards, but this model is bendable and can be used on any surface. -
May 5, 2005
It has keys that are half transparent or transparent which when the keyboard combines together the key will light up in the dark and allow the user to see what they are typing. -
November 28, 2008
The laser virtual keyboard is a tiny device laser projects a keyboard on any flat surface. It won’t make key click sound when typing. -
January 11, 2013
This outstanding keyboard features a touchscreen surface that can be configured to any language with customized keys. It has a built-in CD/DVD drive, SD memory card reader and USB port to make storing files easier. The keyboard’s most appealing feature is its ability to change color with just the touch of a finger. -
January 1, 2016
Other changes in keyboard design, whether or not improving upon function, have included the folding keyboard, the water-proof (and washable) keyboard, the keyboard that also functions as a mouse, thumb-sized keyboards (for mobile devices and travel) and virtual touch-screen keyboards.