From my typing class in high school (on a typewriter), we were taught to hit the '6' key with our right index finger. Ergo keyboards always seem to stick it on the "wrong" side. :)
I was taught the same method, although on a keyboard.
Where should the “6” key be?
61–68 of 68 posts
Re: Where should the “6” key be?
#62What's most interesting here to me is that people are taught which fingers to type with. I was never explicitly taught how to type, but I usually hit 6 with my left middle finger. I type at 130 WPM on average. Edit: after some screwing around, I hit every number but 1 with my middle fingers (I hit 1 with my left ring finger).
Do you still type 130wpm if you are typing a lot of numbers? I'd be surprised if you could reach those speeds while typing all number keys but one with a single finger.
No, if I'm typing a lot of numbers I switch to the numpad. If I had to use the number keys along the top, I'd be much slower than 130. Numbers like "130", though, I just noticed that I distribute the keys among several fingers. I'm not sure of the rules my fingers are following in that respect. Examining your own typing habits is fun :)
Re: Where should the “6” key be?
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
Incidentally, if you try to do this with the Caps Lock key on an aluminum Apple keyboard, you will (painfully) discover, that this key has a built-in hardware delay. Remapping it to Control (as most normal people do) means that some of your control combinations will miss, also under Windows (it's really a hardware thing).
It's my understanding that to remap Caps Lock to Control (nicely that is) on Apple's keyboards that you need to use Seil (closely related to Karabiner, and from the same dev). https://pqrs.org/osx/karabiner/seil.html.en
The standard keyboard preferences have this option under "modifier keys..." Is this missing some functionality I haven't noticed?
Re: Where should the “6” key be?
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even worse. Many new laptop keyboards have the media control buttons be the default behavior, and require the "Fn" key to access the F keys.
You can almost always swap that in the BIOS or the OS
Worse is when standalone keyboards do this (many bluetooth and "multimedia" keyboards do).
No BIOS to configure and the software they come with don't usually have the option either.
Re: Where should the “6” key be?
#65Does anyone else have links to other interesting approaches to keyboards (products or otherwise)?
The Kinesis Pro is excellent and by far the fastest keyboard I've ever typed on, as well as the most ergonomic (no strain for me):
http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/shop/advantage-pro-for-pc-mac/
It optimizes the contour of the layout to minimize finger movement distance, and improve comfort. It also moves frequently pressed keys like ctrl, shift, backspace, etc. onto the thumbs which are stronger. Overall I type noticeably faster.
The 3M Ergonomic Mouse is a mouse I use that's very ergonomic as well. No stress or strain for me ever since switching to those with a standing desk, years ago, even despite very intensive computer use.
Re: Where should the “6” key be?
#66A side comment, as it's the first time I see the "ultimate hacking keyboard": Whenever I see a keyboard with an "Fn" key, I sigh. This means that the designer of the keyboard thought he knows better which functions I need and took valuable space in the modifier row for a key which I will probably never use. Media control functions? Come on. Most keyboards that have an "Fn" key do not allow you to remap it in any way…
> "Most keyboards that have an "Fn" key do not allow you to remap it in any way…"
I just got the Vortex Poker 3 which lets you remap (and bind to macros) almost anything, and it's working out great so far.
Re: Where should the “6” key be?
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
I actually use media control keys very often when playing music on my laptop, much much quicker than going into an app first. I actually like the how OS X by default uses the fn functionality, and you press fn to access f1, f2 etc.. Except for very few games, I never actually use those keys anyways. And even then I use something like Palua[0] to automatically enable/disable the fn key based on the app that is current…
Having to press three keys for a force reload (Ctrl+F5 on Windows/Linux) seems incredibly awkward. I can't really imagine living without F5, F11 or F12 as a web developer.
On Mac keyboards, F5 doesn't require Fn because it doesn't have a media key alternative. F5 always does F5 whether you push Fn or not. (F6 is the same way.)
Re: Where should the “6” key be?
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Having to press three keys for a force reload (Ctrl+F5 on Windows/Linux) seems incredibly awkward. I can't really imagine living without F5, F11 or F12 as a web developer.
OS X key shortcuts are very much biased towards alphabetical keys. F-key usage in standard system shortcuts is a very rare thing. In your particular example, reloading is done with Command+R while force reload is Command-Shift-R. Most OS X shortcuts follow this pattern: they're easier to remember (phonetic association) and usually make for less awkward hand positioning when used. Because of this, on my MacBook I've m…
Small point: the phonetic association of Cmd-R is great for English speakers, but much less meaningful to users who don't know English