New modifications for Turkish F-keyboards

Ekrem Erdem, the Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) deputy president of research and development, announced that they requested modifications to the keyboard from the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE). Among the modifications are to convert the letters on keys such as "alt" and "cmd" on Turkish F-keyboards, to be able to make diacritical letters with one key and to also add a symbol for the Turkish lira on to keyboards. Speaking to an Anadolu Agency correspondent, Erdem, who is also the president of the Language and Literature Association, claimed the QWERTY keyboard has a difficult letter layout that slows the typing process down while F-keyboards were developed for Turkish. Pointing out that the layout of F-keyboards is the most proper layout for writing fast, Erdem said: "The most evident proof of it is that Turkish people are always champions in United Nations Intersteno competitions."

According to Erdem, F-keyboards enable users to write with 10 fingers without looking at the screen, which protects eye health and prevents orthopedic problems by improving reflexes. "F-keyboards improve your intellect," Erdem claimed. "As both sides of the brain work while writing with both hands, it is important for children's development of intelligence. Hence, children should be taught how to type with both hands at a very early age," he went on. Erdem said that they made a suggestion to the TSE to develop standards for the F-keyboard regarding the latest technological developments. Currently, the institute formed a research group to work on the F-keyboard. "The keyboards feature the symbols for the dollar and euro, but there is no key for the symbol for Turkish lira. The AK Party Research and Development expressed our desire for this symbol to be added to keyboards," Erdem said. He said the experts in the TSE's research group will announce a standard as soon as their work is completed. "People will be able to make objections because other people might see what we have missed," he said.