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The CODE Keyboard

codinghorror.com

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Re: The CODE Keyboard

#291

Post by wffurr »

tammer wrote: post #139
X-Istence wrote: post #97

I don't understand what the obsession is with the old IBM Model M type keyboards. I am able to type faster and more accurately on my Apple flat aluminum keyboard that I have ever been able to type on a Model M. On top of that, switching to a flatter keyboard that sits closer to the desk has actually caused any and all pain I used to get while typing to go away. The other thing is I'd miss the extra function keys I ge…

The difference is pressure - you have to be used to typing softly on newer Apple keyboards or else you'll soon get pain from the low travel. Learning to do so can be very rewarding, since the low travel allows a very fast keypress. Typing softly in general is great for finger pain, and mechanical keyboards allow one to use more force but retract before connecting with the keyboard's backplane (bottoming-out in keyboa…

I pound on my Apple keyboard and my Macbooks like a madman. It's actually quite loud, especially when I get going.

How soon am I supposed to feel pain in my hands? Two years? Four? Hasn't happened yet.

I have come to really prefer the low travel keyboards, even with my hammer hands.

Re: The CODE Keyboard

#292

Post by gtani »

Keyboard preference is something that takes a while to build and a while to undo, if you use just one. I have a few Matias tactile kb's (deep key travel) and a couple Mac aluminum wired kb's (laptop like key travel), use both simultaneously

(I also switch between piano, woodwinds, guitar/fretless bass and sometimes cello, which is Hors catégorie as far as the complexity of the left hand action compared to the other three

Re: The CODE Keyboard

#293

Post by shawnbaden »

I've been using a UNICOMP UB4044A (http://pckeyboard.com/page/UKBD/UB4044A) since mid 2007 and it. is. fantastic. I love the tactile feedback from the keys. My co-workers even find the noise from the buckling springs comforting when I'm typing fast and furious knowing that work is getting done. I highly recommend it at $80.

Re: The CODE Keyboard

#294

Post by agumonkey »

jacques_chester wrote: post #88
agumonkey wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I saw the book mention below the first picture, I thought I misread and that this first picture was just the starting point before being inspired by code analysis found in the book. I imagined a new , more efficient, principled layout.

So did I. For example, I'd think about reclaiming the top row, where the numbers live. On keyboards with a numpad, they're passengers. At the very least, invert the meaning of shift, so the default is to produce sigils.

Nice idea, even though I'd head toward a more dramatic different path.

Re: The CODE Keyboard

#295

Post by AndresNavarro »

kps wrote: post #288
X-Istence wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My desk is the right height so that my elbows form just over a 90 degree angle with the table. Having my chair lower, and thus having my arms bent more is extremely uncomfortable. The problem I have with the Model M and their various clones is that the keys simple sit too high. The only way I could get comfortable is by getting one of those keyboard gel cushions that sits in front of the keyboard. Not required with t…

I don't follow you. If ‘the keys simple sit too high’, then the keyboard is too high, which can be solved by lowering it.

I think he means too high with respect to the desktop/table surface.

Re: The CODE Keyboard

#296

Post by AndresNavarro »

kamaal wrote: post #178
X-Istence wrote: post #97

I don't understand what the obsession is with the old IBM Model M type keyboards. I am able to type faster and more accurately on my Apple flat aluminum keyboard that I have ever been able to type on a Model M. On top of that, switching to a flatter keyboard that sits closer to the desk has actually caused any and all pain I used to get while typing to go away. The other thing is I'd miss the extra function keys I ge…

I can type faster and accurately on any keyboard. In fact once you've learned how to touch type, you can type on any kind of keyboard. But you are missing the whole point. Apple's flat keyboard is designed to look nice. Glossy finish, easy to carry and use cases around that. This looks like a keyboard designed for people who don't treat the computer as a work machine but as a utility device. More like browsing the in…

I don't think he's missing the point. I also find the scissor type keyboards to be a better fit than the model M and derivatives. And I also touch type & spend hours a day typing.

Re: The CODE Keyboard

#298

Post by swah »

cmhamill wrote: post #274
swah wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm thinking of giving a try to mini-keyboards, but I also use the arrow keys/pgdown/pgup frequently. So I have 3 tenkeyless for now.

I'll add my voice to "the HHKB2 is the greatest keyboard imaginable." Also, re: arrow and paging keys, I manage to avoid them as much as possible, but reaching for 'Fn' with the pinky and hitting the appropriate key with my index or middle finger became second nature rather quickly. Also, rarely noted — and the thing that every single keyboard gets wrong, including Atwood's here — is that the HHKB has the Escape key…

Have you tried the Realforce? I'm more interested in it than the HHKB because of the ergonomically weighted keys (jrockway here says he likes them).

Re: The CODE Keyboard

#299

Post by gavinpc »

chrismonsanto wrote: post #203
gavinpc wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love emacs, but I can definitely see how rms got RSI. Like Jeff, I was not content with any of the available keyboards. I have two Kinesis Freestyles (the old one and the new one), and they are both great. But the halves only separate by 20", which is not enough to mount them on armrests. So, I cut the separator cord one night, only to find that it contained twenty fine, individually shielded wires. At length, I re…

Mapping caps lock->ctrl destroyed my pinkies on Emacs, just saying... thumb modifier keys is the way to go IMO

Yes, and I tried using AutoHotKey to use spacebar as a modifier. But it's too hard to avoid conflict with "actual" spacebar usage.

You definitely have to be careful with your left pinky. I've started "palming" the corner control, when possible -- even for things like C-v and C-b where you can catch the other key with your thumb.

I've also tried key-chord-mode, with strong but uncommon pairs ("fj" "fk" "dk" "dj") set as a prefix for a custom map. The jury is still out on this, mostly because it's hard to change my habits.

Re: The CODE Keyboard

#300

Post by cmhamill »

swah wrote: post #298
cmhamill wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll add my voice to "the HHKB2 is the greatest keyboard imaginable." Also, re: arrow and paging keys, I manage to avoid them as much as possible, but reaching for 'Fn' with the pinky and hitting the appropriate key with my index or middle finger became second nature rather quickly. Also, rarely noted — and the thing that every single keyboard gets wrong, including Atwood's here — is that the HHKB has the Escape key…

Have you tried the Realforce? I'm more interested in it than the HHKB because of the ergonomically weighted keys (jrockway here says he likes them).

I haven't tried it, no. I'm big on the HHKB's layout, so the Realforce didn't really interest me.
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