The enterkeyhint is brilliant. Yet it's sad it can't affect physical keyboards because it would be an ergonomic boom for all the non tech savvy people (input order and submission is often slowed down and confusing due to that, yet something that was leaner in old as400 terminal UIs).
Maybe keyboards will have a few lcd keys, or for cost cutting a colored led keys to match these kind of hints
Keys on Optimus Maximus keyboards have individual LCD screens. Quite pricey last time I checked.
> non tech savvy people
Tech, in many situations that intersect with non-tech people, is now some form of touchscreen with an onscreen keyboard.
Exceptions are corporate HR departments, whose hardware, software, and flow seem to ignore the fact that phones are the primary Internet device now, not PCs like it was in the 90s.
If your actual job requires you to use a PC, you probably simply just need to learn to use a keyboard because the apps you are using are going to be complex to, e.g. Office suite, etc.
> you probably simply just need to learn to use a keyboard
it's not the keyboard, it's the meaning 'RET' has for a particular form. It can be a per field 'accept then go next' it can be 'validate the local group', 'validate the main form and submit it back', 'accept a partial choice but don't change focus'. That's why the hint is brilliant, it removes confusion.
Also people who need this knowledge are never given good tutors. It's mostly "deal with it, and be fast or else.."
I don't really see the point on a physical keyboard. It makes sense to repurpose the enter key on a phone or tablet where there's limited real estate and the keyboard covers half the screen. On desktop/laptop, that isn't necessary - you can just tab over to the next field (or click it, for the less tech savvy), and click the "submit" button.
Also, it's right in front of your eyes, so it's clear when it says something else. Your computer keyboard isn't, and people don't usually look at the enter key before hitting it (even hunt-and-peck typers should have the enter key committed to muscle memory). Forcing people to look down at their keyboards before hitting enter would make ergonomics worse, not better.
>Maybe keyboards will have a colored led keys to match these kind of hints
There are enormous numbers of keyboards with per-key RGB lighting available. And the host OS can control them (right now my keyboard is lighting up with the music)
Maybe keyboards will have a few lcd keys, or for cost cutting a colored led keys to match these kind of hints