The LittleFingers keyboard by Datadesk Technologies, launched in the late 1990s, was a special product made just for kids and people with smaller hands. Its inventor, Dennis Nusser, was rejected by 262 companies before finding Datadesk.
Both models, the LF-2000 with a trackball and the LF-2100 with a numeric keypad, were sold as the “world’s first keyboard designed especially for children.” The keys were smaller, about 14.5mm wide (compared to the usual 19.05mm), with a “littlefinger-spacing” of around 15mm, made to fit small hands and make typing easier and less tiring.
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A cool feature let you connect a regular keyboard at the same time, so parents or teachers could help kids while they learned. It worked with PS/2-ADB switchable interfaces or USB, so it could be used with PCs or Macs.
Since it was designed for children (mainly K-6 students) and adults with smaller hands, its market was way smaller than that of regular keyboards. Most folks, including schools, likely preferred standard keyboards that work for everyone, so a kid-specific one didn’t seem necessary. Manufacturers probably figured it wouldn’t sell well.
Building a keyboard with tiny keys, a special layout, and features like a trackball or dual-mode option was tricky and expensive. Top-notch components, like Alps mechanical switches (found in some Datadesk products), made it even pricier. For a niche item with uncertain demand, big companies likely saw little profit compared to affordable, mass-produced keyboards.
