Keyboard Hardware Timeline

Origins

From the 1940s until the late 1960s, typewriters were the main means of data entry and output for computing, becoming integrated into what were known as computer terminals. Because of the limitations of terminals based upon printed text in comparison to the growth in data storage, processing and transmission, a general move toward video-based computer terminals was made near the 1970s, starting with the Datapoint 3300 in 1967¹.

Note that the Standard QWERTY keyboard used today derives from the first mechanical typewriter placed on the market on July 1, 1874, the Shoes and Glidden typewriter, also known as the Remington No.1⁴. It was the first commercially successful typewriter.

Early user terminals connected to computers were electromechanical teleprinters or teletypewriters.

Evolution

By the early 1970s, it was realized that an affordable video data entry terminal could replace the ubiquitous punched cards and allow for greater interaction with computers. Displaying the information at video speeds was also a challenge and the necessarly control logic demanded a considerable amount of integrated circuit electronics. However, there was a problem – the amount of memory needed to store the information on a page of text was similar to the amount of memory in low-end microcomputers used back in the late 1960s. The Data point 3300 from Computer Terminal Corporation introduced in 1967 solved this problem by using a digital shift-register design².

In the mid-1970s, Imsai and Altair created the first small PCS for consumers. They keyboard was located on the front panel of the computer, as a set of key switches. If users wanted a standard keyboard, they could look to IBM for its converted electric typewriter. However, there was a limited supply as there wasn't a high demand for them. Hence, most users had to convert their own electric typewriters if they wanted to have a standard keyboard. In the late 1970s Apple, Radio Shack and Commodore all foresaw the great role that computer keyboards could play in the market, and started manufacturing keyboards for their computers, paving the way for the modern assumption that all computers should come with a keyboard and that keyboards are the primary and standard input device³ .

Keyboard of Today

In 1984, IBM introduced the Model M keyboard. This computer keyboard became popular amongst users as it was very easy to use. Also, users didn’t need to convert their typewriters or build their own keyboards to use as an input device for their computers anymore. The Model M was a mechanical keyboard, and it used the highest quality construction, giving typists the satisfaction of tactile feedback, great accuracy and comfort. The only draw back on this keyboard was that the “Shift” and “Enter” keys were reportedly too small for the majority of user’s preferences. In response to this, IBM made and sold “Keytop Expanders” which fit over the shift and enter key-switches to expand the keys³. As you can see on the image of the IBM Model M on the right, it greatly resembles the standard keyboard that we use today.

In the 1990s, membrane switches began to replace the mechanical key switch, as it was quieter, weighed less, and suited the needs of the new laptop generation to come. This was also an advantage for manufactures as membrane keyboards were much cheaper to produce³.

Commercials

Below, you can watch these two videos showing commercials from the late 1900s, one for the Commodore Vic-20 and the other for the TRS-80.

Keyboard Hardware Timeline

Origins

Evolution

Keyboard of Today

Commercials

External Links