Non-Mechanical Keyboards

As more mobile devices become easily available, issues with touch screens and keyboards become more pertinent for small business IT support. Even IT experts know that they have to consider aspects that may affect the functioning of virtual keyboards. “The world at your fingertips” has taken on new meaning with technological advances.

Virtual versus Literal

Some computer users still feel more comfortable working with an actual, physical keyboard, as opposed to the virtual keyboards that have become common with smartphones and tablets. The physical interaction between finger and object is as old as human existence, and so remains a factor in planning how we physically interact with devices.  That said, the virtual keyboard adds considerably to the prized mobility that we are coming to expect from computing devices. The experts who provide computer support in Los Angeles are aware that the touchscreen keyboards are getting used more and more.

For small business IT support experts, who have to keep an eye on system security, there are different considerations in the usefulness of virtual versus mechanical keyboards. On the one hand, computers that use mechanical keyboards are vulnerable to malware that tracks keystrokes. On a device using a virtual keyboard on a screen, such tracking is much more difficult for the malware. However, virtual keyboards are more vulnerable to over-the-shoulder observation. Many such keyboards include visual cues to let the user know that a particular “key” has indeed been used. That makes them susceptible to basic physical security intrusion.

Common Touchscreen Keyboard

The common touchscreen keyboard that most devices use gets so much use that damaged screens are brought in for laptop repair in Los Angeles a lot. Because the functionality of a touchscreen virtual keyboard is dependent on the screen not being broken, users need to pay attention to any seemingly small damages to the screen. Fractures in the screen can not only be a hazard to the fingertips, but they can also lead to misalignment of the responsive aspects of the software.

The touchscreen virtual keyboard has become the most common aspect of most mobile devices, because it allows for so many more possibilities of menus, icons, and other data manipulation applications.  It frees up the space that actual physical keys can take up on the smartphone, for instance. The pragmatic aspects of the touchscreen virtual keyboard are likely to keep it part of our computing devices for the foreseeable future.

The Projection Keyboard

Another type of virtual keyboard that is entering the field of computing is the projection keyboard. A projection keyboard uses the image of a keyboard projected onto a surface. Keystrokes are registered as the fingers disrupt beam projections in various ways. The advantages of a projection keyboard are, like the touchscreen keyboard, the fact that you can use a variety of keyboard layouts: the standard Roman alphabet, a keyboard with keys for other writing systems, even keyboards for non-language functions.  A projection keyboard also allows the keyboard to be projected at a comfortable size for the user, rather than being crammed closer the way a touchscreen keyboard is. The drawback is that it does require a projection mechanism to function.

These developments in input technologies can provide challenges to experts who deliver services such as laptop screen repair. As the screen takes on more duties besides simple display, keeping the device functioning is a basic factor. All users need to stay aware of what the changes in technology mean to their basic maintenance.