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Mystery of the PLUM Keyboard Layout

Keyboard with the PLUM Layout under a pile of regular QWERTY keyboards. What happened with the PLUM keyboard?

QWERTY, DVORAK, ColeMak, AZERTY, QWERTZ, BÉPO, WorkMan, Halmak, "HandsDown"...the list goes on with the different keyboard layouts in existence today. However, very few, if not almost none, have ever spoken and talked about a layout that never was spoken again after its debut: The PLUM layout. While discussed online in platforms such as Reddit and GeekHack.org, and also discussed by blogger and keyboard reviewer Xah Lee who acknowledged the layout, there's been very little word about this and its benefits. Let's dig through any facts and history we can find for ourselves, and for you, the reader/viewer, to see.

(Let's not get confused with the NIZ PLUM keyboard sold by EpoMaker from here on out.)

Debra L. Woods and the PLUM Company

A lovely American named Debra L. Woods happens to be credited with developing the PLUM keyboard, as well as being the president of Plum, Inc. that sells and manufactures them. Her and her company introduced the keyboards by having some lucky students at Henry Abbott Technical High School to try and test the new device (all taking place at Danbury, Connecticut). The students were guided and supervised by technology coordinator Kevin Cooper. Students also received a typing manual and a software tutorial as supplements to their learning. This was according to the press release back in February 15, 2005, and given this was done and released one year prior to the introduction of the ColeMak layout, it remains to be seen how this layout fared out.

After the press release, we couldn't find any result(s) nor reaction to the PLUM layout and its findings that the layout deserves some kind of mainstay along with DVORAK. Even to this day, while there have been a chunk full of alternate layouts, the PLUM layout mysteriously disappeared with little trace. We're not sure because of its lack of efficiency, its comfort, its ergonomics or anything of that kind. It also seems that after having the students try out the keyboard, there has never been a word from Debra Woods nor the students themselves after its run. Must be fair to add this to the list of "unsolved mysteries" right up there with crop circles and the Bermuda Triangle. According to the PLUM keyboard Wikipedia article, the PLUM keyboard was then discontinued in 2012—seven years after its introduction.

As luck would have it, the very first keyboard review to be published was from Joshua Gulick who got an early copy of the PLUM keyboard back in 2003. While he described the keyboard layout as normal, the last paragraph was where he really mentioned his take. To quote his review:

"I like the PLUM's layout, but I don't like its price or its training material. The $139 keyboard includes a well-written tutorial, but it lacks typing tutorial software, which means you'll have to dig up a copyholder and follow the print exercises."

— Joshua Gulick

Thank you, Mr. Gulick. The fact that the keyboard debuted at $139 was quite a lot back in the day, but sort of understandable because there weren't too many options in terms of ergonomics, let alone ones with styles and customizations (our personal favorite TypeMatrix was selling their now-discontinued TypeMatrix 2020 which, we believe, was priced at $99 that time). However, after the announcement and premiere in trialing the keyboard layout in 2005, it was then priced at $49 via press release. That's a 65% drop from its original suggested retail price! We didn't bother taking time finding a copy of its training material that was paired with it. Gulick, who reviewed and tried the keyboard, didn't say much about the layout itself and its ease of use so we'll take his word for it.

To this day, with the exception of those who asked about the keyboard online and Xah Lee who gave an overview of the layout, this keyboard and discussions of its layout were never talked about—at least not as often as DVORAK or ColeMak. As mentioned earlier, we couldn't find any interviews with Debra Woods talking about her idea behind the layout and trials proving its benefits (same debate could be said about other layouts though according to us, you'd have to wonder why some people find benefit in using another layout other than QWERTY). Since we bought one from a third-party seller on eBay, let's give a brief overview ourselves.

"Read On This" or That

The 'official' PLUM keyboard we own!

This post isn't a keyboard review, but the quality off-the-bat was very flimsy and cheap. Worse, this keyboard works when it wants to, causing frequent disconnections and having to re-plug every time to get it working. Other than that, this is how it looked with its ortholinear arrangement. Not sure if that was the way it was meant to be designed, or that Woods took a page from TypeMatrix, ergonomically speaking.

While practicing typing on this back in the summer of 2023, I never got passed 30 words per minute (maximum was about 28-29 words per minute with an average of 15-20 words). Some of the common words were too awkward to type, having lacked that "fluidity" of the fingers in motion. I found one word that's the biggest challenge with this keyboard layout: Preamble (remember learning that in school?). You may not type that word on a frequent basis, but unless you're a historian, political scientist or law student of some kind, typing this word will twist and curl your fingers (especially typing it with my lesser dominant left hand). For those who own this keyboard, try typing "Preamble" without getting mad at us.

According to the back label of this PLUM keyboard, this was designed and made by Genovation.

Looking at the back of this keyboard, it was designed by a company Genovation to which Debra was their customer. We went ahead and contacted them about this keyboard, and according to their sales representative, the keyboard has long been out of production. We knew that, it just didn't hurt to ask. Judging from their response, they aren't interested in remaking this keyboard at all. What an abrupt ending to what seemed something that could make noise among the quiet but vast world of keyboards and keyboard layouts.

No "after" with the "math"

The website Keyboard-Design.com has provided graphical and numerical analyses, complete with graphs and tables, having tested the efficiency of PLUM. They rated it at 58% overall in terms of the layout itself for typing, comfort and programming. That's a low rating, and after we experienced the typing ourselves, especially with words like "Preamble," it's no surprise after the layout promised in helping with touch typing and comfort. Sum all that with the lack of finding more interviews, reactions and extensive findings about the layout's benefits, along with Genovation not having a slight interest in remaking this, says enough already. It makes you wonder about the sales and units sold as a result after introducing this to the public. It's like that one classmate who's the friendliest and most laid back person in school only to stop showing up the next day and never heard from again.

Look, we don't shame anyone for trying and Debra did her best with this. However, after filing a patent as early as 2000, having expired in 2017, and officially closing in 2021 due to unpaid fees, it seems the public response over this keyboard layout wasn't much (see sources below). That must explain why citation needed appears on the PLUM's Wikipedia article asking for proof about its ergonomic findings. Just because we found no benefit in the layout itself and its comfort didn't mean we disliked it. On the other hand, having to arrange the letter layout in such way where words like "PLUM" and "READ ON THIS" can be done was a cool thing. We also found no video on Youtube, so far, of any graduate from Henry Abbott High School who stepped forward to talk about the time they tried this keyboard and what they thought. If you're one of the alumni who tried this keyboard during its release, we'd love to hear from you (in the comments below or via email—your choice)! Despite that, no YouTuber, big or small, has even presented themselves typing with this keyboard layout (Thomas "Chyrosran22", Hipyo Tech, Keybored, Linus Tech Tips, and Switch and Click, would any of you like to give this keyboard a shot and/or a review? We'll be tuning in!) Anyway, given that search engines confuse this PLUM keyboard with the one sold by EpoMaker also proves how rare the information on this is. Heck, this keyboard doesn't have a page on Deskthority Wiki as we tried searching for it!

Currently, we are proud users of the DVORAK layout; We also suggest ColeMak, as its layout closely resemble QWERTY, for those wanting to jump ship and fast in terms of alternate layouts. We gave PLUM a try and did our best to love it, but found no kind of efficiency and comfort during use. Even worse, its history remains quite mysterious yet dry in terms of its users, reviews and more scientific tests, but we hold our full respects to Debra Woods for trying. Nowadays, many people have purchased the PLUM keyboard to do their own customizations and mappings, despite its ortholinear design and build quality. Speaking of which, would the PLUM keyboard be adequate if it were in staggered form? That, we're not sure, but again, there hasn't been much talk or videos posted trying to type with this layout. Here's hoping, with the help of this blog post, that someone on YouTube or on any platform, tries this PLUM keyboard layout for a month or so then video blogging their reactions, what they've learned, how fast they're able to type on it and if it's recommended. The best thing about keyboards is there's always something for someone no matter how awkward or scarce it is, and we'd like to listen, read and/or watch that particular someone who likes this layout. If it's convincing enough, we will give it another try (we've officially stayed away from the QWERTY layout, so we'd automatically recommend any and all alternatives). In conclusion, having tried and practiced with it back in June and July 2023, we officially gave up on this layout but happily preserved the keyboard for our own keepsake and conversation.

Have you, or will you, try this keyboard layout? What did, or didn't, you like about it? Are you the rare few who uses this layout? Let's talk about it in the comments below!

Debra Woods, wherever you are, thank you for trying and making this keyboard layout! We respect you for taking a chance!

SOURCES:

1. Connecticut Students Among First to Test PLUM Keyboard

2. Computer Power User: Hardware Reviews - PLUM Keyboard by Joshua Gulick

3. Wikipedia: PLUM Keyboard

4. Xah Lee: PLUM Keyboard

5. Keyboard-Design.com: 'PLUM' computer keyboard layout

6. Google Patents: "User Friendly Keyboard" by Debra L. Woods

7. GeekHack.org: PLUM matrix keyboard

8. Reddit: "PLUM keyboard -- new typists learning Plum can touch-type within two weeks"


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