I wanted to gauge interest in a library I'm working on. It's called PSP OSK (on screen keyboard). I wasn't sure where to post, here or in the SDK section, I hacked together an on screen keyboard this morning, and it's working fairly well. I'd like to see this, or something like this as a replacement for the PSP's built-in OSK.
The API I coded is fairly simple:
#include "psposk.h"
xmain(){
char str[256];
osk_Initiliaze();
osk_GetString(str,256);
osk_ShutDown();
}
Here's a screen shot. I'll post code if someone's interested.
L8r,
-PMF
"I'm a little source code, short and stout
Here is my input, here is my out."
looks nice pmf, i say post the code, maybe this could be designed to only cover a section of the screen so that if used in apps that require frequent typing it would still be possible to view the previous screen, like in a Web browser
I agree.. the builtin keyboard is goofy... the VNC keyboard is pretty nice. I was thinking about my first project being a few test inputs, like some keyboards, or up/down letter scroller inputs... 'dasher' was mentioned in another post, but i don't think it would be quite right for PSP. Using analog with an up/down scroller might not be so bad because you can scroll quicker to get to a far away letter. Might do some work on this...
The issue of acceptable text input mechanisms is tied very tightly to what sorts of applications are expected on the hardware (and the availability of switches, buttons, etc.)
The phone-keypad (not even T9) standard interface of the PSP is (barely) adequate to enter names and occasional labels. But if people plan to be using the PSP for creating full length posts, sending conventional e-mail, and the many other text-intensive applications currently being worked on, that keyboard is utterly inadequate.
I'm promoting "Dasher" as a "power" interface candidate that could operate totally from the analog pad, and of course there are other choices as well. But the built-in keyboard doesn't even get out of the starting gate.
Just something that may be of interest... when I was running linux on my ipaq, I found the FITALY keyboard layout made typing much easier. There's more information on http://www.fitaly.com. Qwerty is okay if you have both hands to use (dvorak for me!) but fitaly is probably more appropriate for something like this.
-ReK
hmm.. that FITALY actually looks like it could be quite nice. At first it looks odd, but after a minute or so, it seems like it would be quite practical.
mrbrown wrote:For the love of everything ... what is wrong with the PSP's builtin OSK that everyone wants to avoid using it??
Because it's laid out like a phone text entry system, but without two features that make phone text entry usable - T9 predictive text, and automatically moving to the next letter after a short delay. On the PSP, if you want to type an "n" and then an "o" you can't just type "n", wait, and then hit it twice to get "o", you have to do "n", then the right arrow button, and then finally "o".
The Fitaly system has considerable merit. And T9 is certainly an improvement over a straight phone keypad (still not really practical for other than shortish texts though). However, both Fitaly and T9 are patented and licensed systems; they are not free to implement or use, unlike Dasher, which is free, and some other choices that would likewise not have licensing restrictions and/or charges. Getting encumbered with an input system that is not freely usable would not be a good idea.
Yep, you sure can patent this sort of stuff, and that's not the half of it. The U.S. patent system is completely unable to reasonably deal with technology-related patents these days. However, that's not really a topic for here. Bottom line is that many of these systems are patented and licensed and as such should be avoided for PSP homebrew development.
I've seen somewhere a video of a guy typing on a PSP Keyboard (looked like the Logic3 one).. Used font was the nem's one, as in many many projects here. I really wonder which funcs he used to read the keyboard inputs.. :/
Yep, you sure can patent this sort of stuff, and that's not the half of it. The U.S. patent system is completely unable to reasonably deal with technology-related patents these days. However, that's not really a topic for here. Bottom line is that many of these systems are patented and licensed and as such should be avoided for PSP homebrew development.
Are you sure.. Im not sure the patent itself would be on the layout, my guess would be on the product itself.. Just think almost all keyboards use QWERTY so how could that be.. I would think maybe w/ the layout of the board and the extra keys it may or may not have.. But again I do understand this is off topic but Im sorry, I had to put in my 2c..
as far as the fitaly layout, never seen that til 2day.. does seem it layed out nicely for a one-hand typer.. (wish i had one of this for when Im working.. typing one handed on my laptop between stoplights is pretty hard and time consuming.. :) )
Regarding the patent on fitaly, the opie project (http://opie.familiar.org have been using it as one of their keyboard layouts for a while, and they've been able to get away with it...
Regarding the phone input method, to danj in particular: Try using the shoulder buttons instead of the dpad to advance the cursor - using that I found text input mostly bearable. But inputting a 128bit wep key still sucks.
-ReK
The holder of a patent may choose to sue -- or not -- on a case by case basis. These interface design patents are usually drawn up in such a way that they are relatively hardware independent -- a virtual keyboard would likely fall within the same claims.
Here's what happened when a firm got sued by Tegic, the holders of the T9 patent, for example:
