Stefan Mileschin

Microsoft has lately become big on touchscreens -- sometimes, really big -- which makes it only natural that the company would want to explore Windows 8's on-screen keyboard in detail. As User Experience team member Kit Knox explains, the company has made an about-face from the days of unceremoniously foisting touch on a desktop OS. Windows 8's keyboard is not only optimized for fingers, but accommodates the little subtleties that others might miss, like the typical postures for tablet use and our tendencies to frequently hit certain wrong keys. The crew at Redmond ultimately hopes to bring out all the advantages of touchscreen keyboards while reminding us of some creature comforts from old-fashioned physical buttons. The surest way to understand Microsoft's keyboard research will likely be to pick up a Surface tablet this fall, but those of us who can't wait to put fingers on real glass can hop over to Knox's all-encompassing overview at the source link.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/17/m...yboard-design/