A computer keyboard is a built-in or peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard, using an arrangement of keys that act as mechanical levers or electronic switches, and it replaced earlier punched-card and paper-tape input methods to become the main way of interacting with computers from the 1970s onward. The teleprinter, whose keyboard-driven design underlies the modern computer keyboard, was developed in its more contemporary form between 1907 and 1910 by the American mechanical engineer Charles Krum and his son Howard, with early contributions from the electrical engineer Frank Pearne. The keyboard remained the primary computer peripheral until the mouse reached consumers in 1984 and, later, the touchscreen in the 2000s, though it remains the standard method of entering text on nearly all computers.
Facts
YearThe source gives no single invention date for the computer keyboard itself; 1910 is when its direct design ancestor, the teleprinter, finished the development that fixed the keyboard layout computer input later inherited. The keyboard emerged gradually from teleprinter and keypunch technology through the 1930s-1970s rather than at one moment. SignificanceThe computer keyboard replaced earlier punched-card and paper-tape methods of entering data into a computer and remained the primary, most integrated computer peripheral through the era of personal computing, until the mouse reached consumers in 1984. 1 Connections
In Field
Source Computer Keyboard (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Sources
1. Computer Keyboard (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationHistory section, second paragraph (Krum teleprinter)
The teleprinter, in its more contemporary form, was developed from 1907 to 1910 by American mechanical engineer Charles Krum and his son Howard, with early contributions by electrical engineer Frank Pearne.
History section, closing paragraph (peripheral era)
The keyboard remained the primary, most integrated computer peripheral well into the era of personal computing until the introduction of the mouse as a consumer device in 1984.
- In Group: Computer Pointing and Input Peripheral Devices, A computer keyboard is a built-in or peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches.
In Field: Computer Engineering, Categories
Computer peripherals
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