> Hello all! I'm new at this, and having read all the
> archive articles I could find, I am somewhat more
> informed and confused at the same time.
Believe me, I know the feeling. Welcome to the group.
> 1- Current latest state of play regarding interfacing
> PALM and also POCKET PC keyboards to a windows pc (
> serial,
> ps/2, whatever); hardware wiring and drivers
> availability etc.
With regard to the Cirque/Fellowes PDA keyboard, there
is a driver for PalmOS, LINUX, and Doug threw together
something workable in JAVA...none specifically for Windows,
but it's probably not a big deal, given the source from the
LINUX and JAVA, to port it to Windows.
>Would these solutions work for any
> and all keyboards or specific ones only?
Again, my experience is with the Cirque keyboard...it outputs
data serially, according to its own format. I don't think it's
standard, in any way.
People have also hacked the folding keyboards to LINUX,
and done so successfully. In fact, I think they used the Twiddler
driver as a starting point.
> And do you
> miss any functionality as compared to a normal pc
> keyboard when going this route, ie any keystrokes that
> are impossible etc?
Yes, absolutely. But, since you write the driver yourself,
you can make any keystroke mean anything you want,
including macros. As it comes from the factory, though,
yes you miss functionality.
You get a QWERTY keyboard with number keys, arrow
keys, and some "function" keys for specific Palm programs
which should be able to be remapped to something else.
There are no function keys, no numlock, no
CTRL-ALT-DEL if you're going to be using Windows,
etc.
I honestly use mine with my Palm, so I didn't need to go to
that level of detail for my application.
> 2- Ability to use the IR kbs for PDAs (
> http://www.pocketop.net/ ) with a pc equipped with an
> IRDA port? Is there a driver available? The
> manufactures sent me a one line email back saying " we
> dont do that!" Would have thought its a very simple
> thing for them to do, and just provide the drivers.
So long as it's outputting serial data via IR, it should be
able to be received, interpreted, and placed into the
keyboard input buffer. But, I don't know of any solution
that actually does this yet.
Back in the olden days, I used my PCjr for presentations.
It had an IR keyboard, and I used a learning IR remote to
learn the codes...lots more professional than balancing a
keyboard in my hand while pointing at the TV, in front of
a crowd.
> 3- If you pull out the keyboard from a laptop or
> palmtop, is it easy and straightforward to wire the
> matrix to the circuitry from a normal ps/2 keyboard,
> or a logitech wireless transmitter? IE are the wires
> in the flex cables standardised? The smallest wireless
Not in my experience, but I'm a little bit dated. It may have
been standardized in the last few years...wouldn't count on
it though.
Within a single manufacturer's line, though, you might have
some hope.
> 4- What do you use instead of a mouse?
Mouse? You mean you want some type of GUI? Like
Windows?! ICK!
Seriously, different solutions for different folks. In my case,
I was looking for a keyboard replacement only...it worked.
Palm serial is highly standardized, and all I had to do was to
solder the wires to the circuitboard...essentially change the Palm
connector to a standard serial connector. The Cirque keyboard
had a REALLY nice feature, in that the connector was on an
interchangable module -- same keyboard worked with Palm,
Handspring, Sony, etc...you just swapped out the plug. I made
a swappable plug for 9 pin serial.
As for a mouse device, Cirque also has a switchable trackpad
and keyboard module which is available OEM, but I've never
played with it. I'd like to get one to experiment with, though.
Here's a link.
http://www.cirque.com/products/gmk100.html
Cirque has THE coolest input devices...solid state and sealed,
which in my opinion is very important for a wearable. You
*will* spill a drink in it, it *will* get rained on, caught in a dust
storm, etc.
(I'm more than a little bit biased)
Almost anything designed for Palm or PPC will not have
mouse functions built in...simple reason is that their screens
are a more intuitive mouse alternative than almost any other
alternative, so it'd be redundant.
The defacto standard chording keyboard, the Twiddler,
has a built in mouse device...I think it's an eraserpoint in
the current generation.
-- Chuck Knight
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