deskthority

My understanding is that the difference between a full ANSI/ISO keyboard and a "TKL" (tenkeyless) board is the absence of the numpad keys. If so, the term "tenkeyless" is clearly a misnomer since the numpad consists of seventeen keys, not ten. Who came up with this term, and where did they learn to count?

Somebody from a marketing department.

vvp wrote: Somebody from a marketing department.

LOL

Diatec for the Filco Majestouch.

I thought that TKL meant "the keyboard lessening"

It goes way back to early adding machines. The numeric cluster where the number 1 to 9 are in three throws with the 0 at the bottom has long been called a "Ten key". http://retrocalculators.com/sundstrand.htm

webwit wrote: Diatec for the Filco Majestouch.

This is what I thought, too -- Japan. If may have existed earlier but the rise of Filco in the west certainly helped to re-popularise it.

Engicoder wrote: It goes way back to early adding machines. The numeric cluster where the number 1 to 9 are in three throws with the 0 at the bottom has long been called a "Ten key". http://retrocalculators.com/sundstrand.htm

Hmm. You're probably right. It doesn't make any sense--whomever first put "TKL" on a keyboard model knew full well they weren't making ancient adding machines--but marketing names don't always make sense, I suppose.

numpads have long been referred to as 'tenkeys', at least in the USA.

webwit wrote: Diatec for the Filco Majestouch.

Would not suprise me at all. Marketing. Older "tenkeyless" keyboards like the SIIG Minitouch were not called that. Even way way before that I'm sure that term did not exist, I own a "tenkeyless" keyboard from 1976.

seebart wrote:

webwit wrote: Diatec for the Filco Majestouch.

Would not suprise me at all. Marketing. Older "tenkeyless" keyboards like the SIIG Minitouch were not called that. Even way way before that I'm sure that term did not exist, I own a "tenkeyless" keyboard from 1976.

I wouldn't be surprised either, but I kind of like the phrase. In fact much better than the one IBM chose for theirs.

Yeah, I also like SSK but it's a bit vague. "Space saving keyboard" says what it achieves, but not how. Tenkeyless is good and direct. You've got to be a real, card carrying, pedant not to understand it instantly. And it sounds sharper than Numpadless, or Wristsaver too.


@Engicoder: Where's the reference to tenkey in your link? I don't doubt you guys called it that. Over here I suspect they'd just be dull and call them calculators, or worse: tabulators!

I agree that TKL sounds the best when spoken and thought, so I'm sure that's why it caught on.