I have a real hard time with this. The premise is that keyboards will be replaced with a more natural way of interacting with the computer. While I understand that for a large portion of the Boomer and golden generations, the keyboard is seen as a slow inconvenient interface. Most kids that have grown up since say the 90s are totally accustomed to the keyboard and find it a more efficient method of input than a pen.

I understand the QWERTY keyboard we have today is not the most efficient layout we could have, but I can see that changing long before the keyboard dies. A pen interface is great for drawing, and making quick notations, but for writing longer more formal pieces or even the quick note on a friend’s Facebook wall the keyboard is the best option out there.

More realistically, I can see hybrid interfaces coming out that provide both a keyboard and a pen input along with camera tracking and a touchscreen. Different interfaces for different projects, but the keyboard is here to stay.

Bill Gates Takes on Keyboards and the Cloud: “

Like the rotary dial, the keyboard’s role as a technological interface will soon come to an end as more information — especially visual information such as photos and videos — is stored on computers. And Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates hopes to help put the nail in the keyboard’s coffin, according to his presentation at the 12th Annual CEO Summit. In his keynote Gates focused heavily on natural user interfaces that combine touch, pens and speech to navigate computers and phones and that he expects to be available within the next decade. The keyboard, he made clear, is on notice.

(Via GigaOM.)

Technorati Tags: Interface, Tablets, Pen Input, Keyboards, Bill Gates, Surface