Different types of typingManish Swarup/The Associated Press
This week, we decided to write the entire Collected Wisdom column as a text message on our cellphone. It took 38 hours and we've now got carpal-tunnel syndrome, but it worked.
THE QUESTION: Norman Holler of Whitehorse, who says he has been "plunking away at a muffin-crumb impregnated keyboard," wonders why regular computers can't have flat-surface, touch-sensitive keyboards like the ones on iPhones and iPads.
THE ANSWER: George Obourne of Richmond Hill, Ont., says users of handheld devices such as cellphones and personal digital assistants always watch their fingers as they type on these devices because the keyboards are so small. However, a touch-typist using a regular keyboard can type without looking at the keys.
He says the curved indentation of the keys on a normal keyboard provides feedback to the typist when his or her fingers don't directly contact the proper key, so that he or she can correct the positioning of the fingers.
He also points out that the little ridges on the "home" keys (F and J) allow the typist to detect the home position on the keyboard when the typist's hands return to it, without having to look for it. "A flat, featureless surface would not permit this, and would be unusable by touch-typists."
Also, as a couple of readers pointed out in comments to the online version of Collected Wisdom, the cost of a touch-screen-type keyboard for a computer would be considerably higher than for a regular keyboard.
THE QUESTION: Why do public washrooms have low urinals for little boys but no low washbasins? Wes Libbey of Cornwall, Ont., wants to know.
THE ANSWER: Bathroom hand basins in general are actually lower than standard kitchen and bar sinks to accommodate male (and female) children, writes Derek Wilson of Port Moody, B.C.
He explains that, in a public washroom, the position of a wall-mounted urinal has to allow for the average height of the male child aged five years and older.
"The hand basin is less restricted in elevation," he says, "because children's arms are long and jointed so they can use a basin set at a height to be used comfortably by adults too."
He points out that he has an older bathroom hand basin that's 76 centimetres (30 inches) above the floor and another, newer bathroom cabinet at 86 cm (34 inches) in height. "These are well suited for kids to use."
In contrast, he says, "the sink in my kitchen is 91 cm (36 inches) above the floor because it is primarily used by adults for long periods. The higher position reduces back strain."
HELP WANTED
- With cars having become so highly computerized, why are gas gauges still so low-tech? asks Sheryl Taylor-Munro of Saltspring Island, B.C. She says her hybrid car gives her a digital readout of how much of its battery is being used whenever the engine is switched on. "Why not show digital fuel readings too?"
- Lis Muise of Nanaimo, B.C., has a macabre question she has been pondering since watching many beheadings on the CBC series The Tudors: How long after a person's head has been separated from his or her body does brain activity persist?
Send answers and questions to wisdom@globeandmail.com. Please include your name, location and a daytime phone number.