Sorta OT - Keypad Standardization

[Botch.]

Many of our devices today have the standard 3 x 3 numeric keypad, but why are they not standardized? On all telephones the top row is "1,2,3", while on all computers and calculators the top row is "7,8,9". WTF?!? My Kurzweil has 1,2,3 on the top row, my Yamaha EX has 7,8,9. Anyone have any insight into the history of this? (a silly gripe but I'm trying to clear them all out before the new year)

[Mats Olsson.]

What is totally annoying when traveling in Europe is that ATM machines often look the same in most countries but have different keypads. Same goes for telephones. And why can't there be a global standard for emergency dialing numbers? /Mats

[Botch.]

Hey Mats, do they put braille for blind folk on the drive-up ATMs in Europe, like they do here in the U.S.? I've never understood that one! :cool:

[Gtoledo3]

[quote]Originally posted by Botch.: [b]Hey Mats, do they put braille for blind folk on the drive-up ATMs in Europe, like they do here in the U.S.? I've never understood that one! :cool: [/b][/quote]I've heard people mention that, and I can understand why it doesn't make sense at first thought, but the blind person could sit in the backseat on the driver's side.

[Mats Olsson.]

Drive-up ATM's are quite rare, I've never seen one here but wouldn't be surprised if there are some. Drive-thru services are actually quite uncommon, except for burger outlets. Most ATMs have braille, those banks that don't have it has been put to shame in the press. /Mats

[phaeton]

[b] I've heard people mention that, and I can understand why it doesn't make sense at first thought, but the blind person could sit in the backseat on the driver's side.[/b] Yes.. but how are they going to read the part of the screen that says "please enter your pin" and verify that they've put in the right thing? How about the part that says "select: deposit, withdrawal, transfer" and "checking, savings, credit card" etc?

[RangerJay]

Once, about 20 years ago, I was living in a miserable excuse for a house with my best friend and his girlfriend. As an exercise, my friend and I decided to have a "blind" day. We got up, put on blindfolds, and spent the rest of the day sightless. His girlfriend was there to assist us. Just let me say that it was an "eye-opening" experience. We actually functioned OK. Just OK. As I fancy myself as a musician, it would be a tough call whether I would give up sight or hearing. On one hand, it's easier to make your way in the world without hearing (I'm not saying that it'd be EASY). On the other hand, sound, and the way the brain deals with sound, is something that I don't think I could give up. I found, throughout the day that I spent without sight, is that sound, or my perception of it, has a finer resolution than sight. That's just me, though. YMMV I'll tell you what. The world is not set up for the blind, the deaf, or the physically disabled (is that redundant?). Perhaps it is the nature of things. But, after my 24 hours of "blindness," it changed the way that I viewed the disabled. We might call them "disabled," but when you are "disabled," it's just a regular part of being able. Able to contribute to life. Just imagine what it would be like if you couldn't read the posts in this forum. I rest my case...

[John Brown]

J. Brown will try to help bring [i]reason[/i] and [i]knowledge[/i] to the people. "The story begins back in pre-calculator days, when there were cash registers. We're not talking cash registers that scan, but mechanical things where you actually had to push the keys hard to punch numbers. The cash registers were designed with 0 at the bottom, and the numbers going up. Why did cash registers choose this organization? I was unable to find any clear answer. These were the days before customer surveys and mass marketing opinion polls. The people who designed cash registers evidently just thought it was the obvious approach--lowest numbers at the bottom, highest numbers at the top. In fact, the earliest cash registers had multiple keys. You didn't enter 7 and 9 and 5 for $7.95; there was a separate column of keys for each decimal place. Think of a matrix, with the bottom row of 0's, next a row of 1's, then a row of 2's, going up. The right hand column would represent single units (cents), the next column for tens, then hundreds, etc. So, to enter $7.95, you'd actually enter 700, then 90, then 5. When calculators made their appearance, they copied the cash register format. In fact, some of the earliest mechanical calculators (ah, how my wife loved her Friden!) had multiple columns, like the cash register. The earliest calculators had keypads that were ten rows high and generally 8 or 9 columns across. When hand-held and electronic calculators made their appearance, they copied the keypad arrangement of the existing calculators--0 at the bottom, 1-2-3 in the next row, 4-5-6 in the next row, and 7-8-9 in the top row, from left to right. So, basically, they evolved from the cash register. The Touch-Tone phone emerged in the early 1960s. Before that, there were rotary dials, with the numbers starting at 1 at the top right and then running counterclockwise around the dial to 8-9-0 across the bottom. Why would "0" be on the bottom? Probably because the dialing mechanism was pulse, not tone. Since they couldn't do zero pulses for 0, they did ten pulses, and hence put the 0 at the end. (Thanks to Radu Serban for this suggestion.) There seem to be three reasons that the Touch-Tone phone keypad was designed as it was: (1) Tradition. People were used to dialing with 1-2-3 on top, and it seemed reasonable to keep it that way. (2) AT&T (the only phone company at the time) did some research that concluded there were fewer dialing errors with the 1-2-3 on top (possibly related to the traditional rotary dial layout). (3) Phone numbers years ago used alphabetic prefixes for the exchange (BUtterfield 8, etc.). In the days of rotary dials, no doubt it seemed logical to put the letters in alphabetical order, and to associate them with numbers in numerical order. The number 1 was set aside for "flag" functions, so ABC went with 2, DEF with 3, and so on. When Touch-Tone phones came in, keeping the alphabet in alphabetical order meant putting 1-2-3 at the top. So there we have it. Basically, calculator keypad design evolved from cash registers, while telephone keypad design evolved from the rotary dial. Tradition has kept them that way ever since." from [url=http://www.straightdope.com]The Straight Dope[/url] I would imagine that your Yamaha and your Kurzweil have different pads just from sheer artistic license on the part of the designers. John(Higher Knowledge)Brown

[Botch.]

John, that's fascinating and I wasn't really expecting an answer. Thanks for the info!! :thu:

[Jotown]

Hey Botch, Has Beotch hi-jacked your avatar? :mad:

[fantasticsound]

Believe it or not, when I, as a 16 year old, began working at the local K-mart in an upscale community, my department still used a matrix design cash register. This was 1983. I remember feeling we lost something when they finally replace it with an electronic register. I guess the future is always going to arrive, like it or not.

[Brakka]

Excellent info there, Mr. Brown. I was sure it would be TASCAM Jeff or fantasticsound with the answer. fantasticsound- I always thought you were older than that! :o You're only a few years older than me. You're a wise [i]young[/i] man with cool avatars. :wave: