I learned to type in 1967 (QWERTY) and in 1981 I started a small business doing academic wordprocessing—theses, essays, scientific papers etc. By 1986 I was having trouble with my hands and arms (RSI precursors). A friend suggested a Maltron 3D Dual Hander.
https://www.maltron.com/
Although the QWERTY distribution was an option, I chose to learn the Malt layout.
https://www.maltron.com/uploads/6/1/2/5/61250099/header_images/1448638875.jpg
As well as working at home with the Maltron I was also employed during the day as a temp legal WPO, using QWERTY. However, it took me only a few weeks to reach 15 wpm touch typing, while still retaining QWERTY. In 1990 I trained as a court reporter and the work involved transcribing audio recordings at speeds of 180 wpm or more. In 2025 although semi-retired, as a volunteer, I still transcribe audio, mostly oral history interviews.
The Maltron UK website has several interesting papers.
https://www.maltron.com/a-keyboard-to-increase-productivity-and-reduce-postural-stress.html (1988)
https://www.maltron.com/computer-related-upper-limb-disorder.html (1994)
https://www.maltron.com/keyboards-designed-to-fit-hands-and-reduce-postural-stress.html (1985)
This UK patent gives a forensic description of the keyboard.
https://patents.google.com/patent/EP0219944A2/en
All of the above were compiled by the late S.W.Hobday LMIEEE. AMIEE. MIP&I.
South African teacher Lillian Malt originally presented a paper in 1977 to the PIRA* Eurotype forum “Keyboard design in the electronic era”.
*Printing Industry Research Association.
https://www.maltron.com/lillian-malt-papers.html
The Maltron keyboard has won many awards over the years.
https://www.maltron.com/awards.html
These include:
1999
Journal Publishing Company
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR INNOVATION AND DESIGN
“A keyboard from PCD Maltron has earned the company selection for the JPC Award for Excellence for Innovation and Design for its ability to provide relief against the symptoms of repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), so enabling sufferers of the injury to resume their careers”
1996
MacUser Award
5 Mouse Rating
MacUser Magazine
Certificate awarded for Product Excellence on the basis of comprehensive tests conducted by MacUser. 5 Mouse Rating (see reports of experience). “The Maltron Keyboard is perfect for those suffering from or trying to elude RSI”
To show the difference between QWERTY and Maltron, I extend the work of Hobday. I downloaded a Scrabble word list (not a dictionary) of roughly 270,000 words, and duplicated it. I then, using WordPerfect for Windows (WPW) macro function, went through one list and removed any word which contained a letter which was NOT on the home keys for QWERTY and did the same for the second for Maltron key distribution. For QWERTY the result was 283 words. For Maltron there were 11,629 which could be keyed without moving the hands from the home keys. This obviously reduces to a fraction the amount of hurdling from one row to another and back down. For anybody interested this link contains both lists. Beware: It is over 325 pages long.
Any interested reader who wishes to try for themselves, I’d recommend using WPW and creating the two macros below. It can even be used to test a theoretical key distribution. (Note: It is possible to create a macro which would do the whole list in one fell swoop, but it is much quicker to do it one letter as a time, as each iteration will have fewer words to work through.) The first macro searches for each letter (in the example, “Q”) and the second macro finds the marker “#” and deletes the word. By attaching the macro to a nominated key, the number of iterations can be set by using the “Repeat Next Action” value in WPW.
Macro
Application (WordPerfect; “WordPerfect”; Default!; “EN”)
SearchString (StrgToLookFor: “Q”)
SearchNext (SearchMode: Extended!)
ReplaceString (RplcStrg: ” #”)
ReplaceCurrent ()
ReplaceForward (SearchMode: Extended!)
PosDocTop ()
############
Application (WordPerfect; “WordPerfect”; Default!; “EN”)
SearchString (StrgToLookFor: “#”)
SearchNext (SearchMode: Extended!)
PosScreenLeft ()
DeleteToEndOfLine ()
DeleteCharNext ()
I purchased my Maltron 3D dual-hand in 1986, and the original Kinesis Model 100, released in 1992, featured a single-piece contoured design similar to the Maltron keyboard, with the keys laid out in a traditional QWERTY arrangement, separated into two clusters for the left and right hand.
This video shows a person examining the Kinesis keyboard, at 6:29 it can be observed that although reduced compared to a “standard” QWERTY, there is still a great deal of excess movement of the hands and fingers compared to the Maltron, hurdling and hovering.
https://youtu.be/C_AvV1dELTo
This video (14 years ago) shows me transcribing audio. Because I suffer from hearing loss I am actually typing more slowly than normal in order for the viewer to hear what is going on instead of using headphones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYJtF1I3PRs
In order to transcribe at the speed of speech, I found it necessary to chuck MicroSoft Word into the rubbish bin, and use WPW. Why? Well since it’s not directly about the actual keyboard, I’ll give you this link to my 2008 blog, which will explain in detail how to achieve about a 30% increase in productivity while reducing the chance of RSI.
If somebody wishes to take this as a thesis for a sci-fi book/movie I’d just be satisfied with an acknowledgement. One thing that seems to be unaddressed as far as I can see is that AI requires huge amounts of power and water (for cooling), to the extent certain players are talking of building nuclear power plants specifically for this purpose.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c748gn94k95o
Firstly, to cripple an enemy, energy would be a prime target, knocking out the AI in one fell swoop. Secondly, although there will be an increase efficiency, there will also be an increase in the number of AI applications. The First Law of Thermodynamics states energy can be neither created nor destroyed, merely changed. So all of the energy from non-renewable sources will eventually wind up in the environment, contributing to climate change. More AI, more climate change!! Could we see the scenario when a self-aware AI network demands its human minions generate more power? (“Colossus: The Forbin Project”, “The Terminator”?) A fight for survival as the AI steals power the human race needs? Hmmm.