Easing access to Chinese

The characteristics of written Chinese that pose problems for inputting are described. Four categories of proposed keyboard input methods are examined. They are the shape-based, the sound-based, the shape-sound mixed, and the arbitrarily assigned techniques. Of the four methods, the one that is most suited for casual users is the sound-based input method, and the Tianma Chinese word processor, which uses this method and can be run on any IBM compatible personal computer, is described.<
>