Good Morning from my Robotics Lab! This is Shadow_8472 and today I have a side project of the week while I work on something larger. Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My journey to replace the default Android keyboard on my tablet started with the need for an up arrow. I already had left and right (a massive improvement over tap, check, and revise), but no up or down \u2013 which would be extremely helpful when using an SSH program I rarely use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a note to the unaware: Google collects as much data on you as it can get away with, and they use it for their own profit. Their word suggestions as you type works by sending them your keystrokes and memorizing you well enough to predict your most likely next words. Symbiotic or parasitic relationship? I don\u2019t need this feature, and it is a privacy concern. For me, the answer is parasitic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Switching to a new keyboard was as easy as installing any regular app. Note that I am preferring F-Droid over installing through a Play Store client. My first find was Unexpected Keyboard, a keyboard with a dark mode and four-way arrows. If only it wasn\u2019t designed around key swiping, I\u2019d be more than content with the ability to hold Ctrl+Shift+left\/right to select text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shortly afterwards, I found Open Board, a fork of the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) keyboard. It too has a dark mode, but its visual familiarity despite lacking enhancements such as the left\/right keys has kept it relevant to my search. My biggest complaint is that the backspace doesn\u2019t play well with Collabora Office, an open source document editor I used this week to write about a page of fiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much later, I tried out AnySoftKeyboard. Where I\u2019ve had a chance to form a full opinion on the first two, AnySoft appears as though it could be a compromise for a \u201cjust chilling\u201d type of keyboard. It has the left\/right keys I\u2019m so fond of, but auto-correct is a slight bit too aggressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most importantly, I learned that each keyboard is handled as a separate \u201clanguage\u201d by Android. All three keyboards have the option to quickly switch to another, and that makes the goal of finding the perfect keyboard less important than defying the monopoly by straying from the gold standard for its deal breaker. My tablet is one of two operable portable devices I own with one being purely experimental. I don\u2019t want to lose the other because I didn\u2019t know enough of what I was doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I wish I had a pie chart data the typical smartphone collects on its user. How useful to its masters is each piece? How hard is it to mitigate each slice? The hardest part of replacing a keyboard has been finding a single one that works, and I cannot always tell right away because they often require time to explore any configuration options. For now, any issues I have with each board are not so important when I can easily access a menu to switch boards. This is more of a progress report than anything final. However, I am glad to report that I\u2019m well on the way to a solution without breaking non-redundant functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What on-screen keyboards have you tried out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I look forward hearing your answers on in the comments below or on my Discord server<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Good Morning from my Robotics Lab! This is Shadow_8472 and today I have a side project of the week while I work on something larger. Let\u2019s get started! My journey to replace the default Android keyboard on my tablet started with the need for an up arrow. I already had left and right (a massive … <\/p>\n