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The 40% Keyboard

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Re: The 40% Keyboard

#291

Post by boring_twenties »

GrayShade wrote: post #159

I don't have RSI, but it seems to me that rotating your wrists to press Ctrl with your pinky is one of the larger parts of the problem. I prefer to press Ctrl with the side of my palm, but that doesn't work on some Lenovo and Apple laptops which Fn is at the edge of the keyboard.

How is this still a thing in 2019.

Just remap Caps Lock to Ctrl, problem solved.

If using Linux, simply add `ctrl:nocaps` to the XKBOPTIONS= line in /etc/default/keyboard, e.g.:

    XKBOPTIONS='other:options,ctrl:nocaps'

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#292

Post by dima_medvedev »

vijucat wrote: post #153

I have a Diverge 3 and I love the split aspect of it (easier on the wrists / nerves), and love the programmability (I have the keys that I use most near the home row), and I appreciate the wrist rest, but I miss the function keys' row. It has 71 keys. I think 40% keyboards work well for gamers, but are impractical for developers, who need to access all the symbol keys ( (, {, [, etc;), and often need access to the fu…

Also have Diverge 3, using it with Colemak-dh layout. Took me like 6 months to fully adapt, but man it's so much better now. Now it's way easier to reach most dev-related symbols on second Fn layer which is mapped on right thumb key block.

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#293

Post by joecool1029 »

wincy wrote: post #182
dsego wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not hard to learn to use the mouse with your non-dominant hand. It's just a couple of days of practice. And then switch between your left and you right every other day. Don't even have to flip the buttons, just learn to use the index for secondary and middle for primary clicks.

I’m left handed and find it impossible to use a mouse with my left hand.

I'm ambidextrous so it doesn't matter for me. But since I am, I tend to observe who is left and right handed around me since I'm pretty aware of ergonomic shifts between using either hand for certain activities.

Out of left-handed people, around 80% use the mouse exclusively with their right hand. In fact I can only think of one other than you that exclusively uses the mouse with their left (a bookkeeper a few doors down from my office).

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#294

Post by Clubber »

dangus wrote: post #7

Call me cynical, but I think a lot of the small style keyboards I see around the office are more of a fashion trend than anything. I remember when the insistence was on number pads, and how dare they be removed from our laptops and desktop keyboards. Fast forward a few years and I was made fun of at a programming job for preferring a full keyboard with a number pads. I guess programmers are too cool to enter in dolla…

>I remember when the insistence was on number pads, and how dare they be removed from our laptops and desktop keyboards.

I remember when laptops didn't typically have number pads. I rue the day when almost everyone started putting them on laptops larger than 14". I feel "off center" with them on a laptop. With a desktop keyboard, I just shift the keyboard to the right a bit so the traditional keys are centered and the number keypad is off to the right.

16:9 ratio is another bugger for me. Between 16:9 and number pads on laptops, I'm an odd man out. It's tough when my preferences aren't mainstream. I'm also a lefty, so there's that.

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#295

Post by apotatopot »

grawprog wrote: post #285
terandle wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No numpad is an ergonomic benefit. Your mouse is closer so you don't have to move your hand as far. The best way to have a numpad if you really need one, I have found, is to have a separate one like how the Microsoft Sculpt keyboard does it.

>No numpad is an ergonomic benefit. Except I can type numbers a lot faster and more accurately with a numpad. Something I do regularly throughout my day. The enter key is also a quick thumb press with the mouse hand away when I'm using my left hand for commands. I almost never have to use the mouse while typing numbers. It makes sense to me to have a quick one handed way next to the mouse to type numbers. It feels a…

Just because that's how you type numbers doesn't mean it's good for you ergonomically. I switched to using the number line and I'm fine doing it now. It's actually sometimes faster because I have 8 fingers instead of 3/4, and the enter key falls under my pinky when my middle finger is on 9.

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#297

Post by stevenwliao »

ReC757 wrote: post #290
tenebrisalietum wrote: post #289

I want to go the other way. I want a 200% keyboard. I don't want to have to type SHIFT for capital letters or symbols and I want extra keys for diagonal cursor movement. The SHIFT key is an artifact of the physical limitations of a typewriter and is no longer needed.

I want a key for each finger with no movement required. :)

https://www.gboards.ca/product/ginni

I hear you can still get one before Christmas if you order soon :P

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#298

Post by bingerman »

lm28469 wrote: post #207
dangus wrote: post #7

Call me cynical, but I think a lot of the small style keyboards I see around the office are more of a fashion trend than anything. I remember when the insistence was on number pads, and how dare they be removed from our laptops and desktop keyboards. Fast forward a few years and I was made fun of at a programming job for preferring a full keyboard with a number pads. I guess programmers are too cool to enter in dolla…

Don't forget that we're not too far from our ancestors collecting shiny seashells and pearls. Most of humans decisions aren't made following pure reason and rational thinking. Fancy cars / sneakers / coffee machines / pocket knives / &c, people are collecting/buying all kind of "nice" things for the sake of it. Some people I know spend more on shoes than I spend on rent.

As I'm going to spend many hours every day on a computer, I sure want an aesthetic and ergonomic setup. I don't really consider buying tools I like a fashion statement.

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#299

Post by WorldMaker »

isp wrote: post #136
me_me_me wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

God damn you cheating lefties! You cant have cake and eat it too! I really wish for keyboard options with numpad on the left. I am using numpad rarely but its handy to have when in need.

This exists. I have used this keyboard for the past few years, and swear by it: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000V5GQ8O Full num pad, but on the left. For right-handed people like me, this makes the mouse position more natural, while still letting me use the num pad when needed.

Another option (the one I have at home) is Microsoft's current highest end gaming keyboard the Sidewinder X6 has a detachable numpad that you can move to either the left or right as you see fit (including on-the-fly; the connector is magnetically guided and swapping can be crazy quick).

https://smile.amazon.com/Microsoft-Sidewinder-Gaming-Keyboar...

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#300

Post by WorldMaker »

edejong wrote: post #168
Monory wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unlabeled keys and Dvorak

Heck, Dvorak is used way too much. Coleman it is. (disclaimer: typing this on a Dvorak layout)

I've watched first hand how much QWERTY-labeled keys with Colemak layout confuses people. Dvorak people usually figure out things are weird in one or two keys, but Colemak intentionally has enough coincidences with QWERTY that it can take people a while to figure it out depending on what they are trying to type, and the frustration is possibly more rewarding to watch as they try to get grips with how "broken" your keyboard must be.
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