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The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

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Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#41

Post by stronglikedan »

coldpie wrote: post #17

I am continually baffled by how keyboard enthusiasts almost never have ergonomic layouts. If you care this much about typing, surely the first thing you do is get an ergo layout. The rectangle layout is really bad, people! How can you spend this much time and energy and money on keyboards, and keep using the awful rectangle layout?

I started having problems with my hands, and switched to a split keyboard. I used them for years, but kept having problems. Now I'm back to a rectangle, with my wrists at an angle to the keyboard, and I don't have problems. I don't think it's the keyboard shape that's the problem, but just how some people align their hands with it. I do credit the years of split keyboards with teaching me proper wrist alignment though. And after getting my fingers used to it, I'm much faster and more accurate on the rectangle. Not to mention I have a real choice when purchasing keyboards again.

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#42

Post by colanderman »

coldpie wrote: post #17

I am continually baffled by how keyboard enthusiasts almost never have ergonomic layouts. If you care this much about typing, surely the first thing you do is get an ergo layout. The rectangle layout is really bad, people! How can you spend this much time and energy and money on keyboards, and keep using the awful rectangle layout?

The rectangle layout is only bad if you are a home-row typist.

The problem with home-row typing is that your wrists are bent.

It's possible to learn to type without bending your wrists. I am self-taught and have typed this way for three decades with no wrist issues due to keyboard use. My fingers rest naturally on "QWERF" and "JIOP". I actually cannot type on "ergo" keyboards due to the angles being wrong, and not being able to reach certain keys with both hands.

(I did once have wrist issues due to mouse use, about 15 years ago. This disappeared when switching to a trackball.)

Anyone who prefers "Control" next to "A" (myself included) is likely old enough to have learned to type before computer typing lessons were common, so maybe the author also is not a home-row typist.

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#43

Post by jwells89 »

PeeMcGee wrote: post #26

This seems pretty nice if you spend 100% of your computer time in a shell. For typical usage, swapping out F keys with a modifier seems like a downgrade unless you're short on space, and macros seems sorta like a workaround to address absent keys that unexpectedly become important. Also sorta unclear whether delete will go backwards or forwards, and in any case how do you delete in the other direction? (the backtick/…

My F-key usage is extremely low, and so layering them is no big deal. On average I think I might use layered F-keys a single-digit number of times per year. This probably has to do with the platform of choice (macOS, which favors mnemonic shortcuts over F-keys) as well as the software one uses on a day-to-day basis.

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#44

Post by stronglikedan »

jeppesen-io wrote: post #2

First glance I thought this was silly with left ctrl changed to fn But on closer look, I saw caps lock was changed to ctrl. Which is what I do on all my computers I hope the Framework ecosystem grows so we might someday see a keyboard like this for it

> I saw caps lock was changed to ctrl. Which is what I do on all my computers

But then how do you yell at people on the internet?!?!

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#45

Post by madphilosopher »

hyperhopper wrote: post #11
lawn wrote: post #10

> A proper Unix keyboard layout must have escape next to 1 and control next to A. I don't get it, why is this a hard requirement?

Vim reasons I'm guessing

You can remap the key combination "jk" to ESC in order to switch effortlessly from editing mode to normal mode.

    inoremap jk
("jk" doesn't normally appear in English and is easy to type)

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#46

Post by jsheard »

manaskarekar wrote: post #31
coldpie wrote: post #17

I am continually baffled by how keyboard enthusiasts almost never have ergonomic layouts. If you care this much about typing, surely the first thing you do is get an ergo layout. The rectangle layout is really bad, people! How can you spend this much time and energy and money on keyboards, and keep using the awful rectangle layout?

There is the world of ergo and/or split keyboards, which is quite fascinating, but rather expensive to `try one that best fits me`. (Ergodox EZ, Kineses advantage, OLKB splits and many more) There is also the Alice layout, which is an interesting step towards ergonomics on a traditional keyboard. I wish there was a keyboard club or something that let you try these out for a week or so.

> I wish there was a keyboard club or something that let you try these out for a week or so.

There's a useful tool for comparing ergo layouts and printing out 1:1 scale templates to get an idea of how they would fit your hand size:

https://compare.splitkb.com

It's not quite a substitute for actually using a real keyboard, but it can help to narrow down what you might want to try.

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#47

Post by benreesman »

fanf2 wrote: post #12
JKCalhoun wrote: post #6

I've built a few custom keyboard myself. What always stings though are the fairly limited keycap sizes that are available. I found you need to more or less target the least common denominator among keycaps lest you find yourself pigeon-holed into one single source for your keycaps. To that end, really wide spacebars are out — you'll either have empty real estate along the bottom row or end up adding arbitrary "filler…

Yes, the downside of this layout is that inexpensive keycap sets usually lack the necessary extras. I am brewing a followup blog post with some notes on some of the more subtle things I have learned about keycaps.

I originally went to blank keycaps to break myself of ever looking down to type, I was a decent touch typist before but doing that is “next level or bust” move.

That was years ago, but I kept it because people seem impressed by it.

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#48

Post by jwells89 »

jeppesen-io wrote: post #2

First glance I thought this was silly with left ctrl changed to fn But on closer look, I saw caps lock was changed to ctrl. Which is what I do on all my computers I hope the Framework ecosystem grows so we might someday see a keyboard like this for it

If there were an HHKB or Tsangan layout keyboard module for Framework laptops, first party or otherwise, that'd make them significantly more appealing to me when laptop shopping. One of the main downsides of becoming a keyboard enthusiast and finding a layout that really "clicks" with you is that you're stuck with standard layouts on laptops.

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#49

Post by fanf2 »

drewg123 wrote: post #32

Please tell me that I can buy this somewhere..

I don’t know of a way to get one that doesn’t involve a lot of DIY.

There are multi-layout PCBs that can support a unix69 layout, eg https://mechboards.co.uk/products/65-pcb but they all require soldering, and you also need to find a suitable multi-layout switch plate.

I designed my own PCB and enclosure, mostly for fun. I will publish it but I need to make sure the custom KiCad library footprints are committed to the right git repository…

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#50

Post by madphilosopher »

0cf8612b2e1e wrote: post #14
grozmovoi wrote: post #5

I like this layout. I'm used to the F keys tho...

The lack of F keys continues to boggle my mind on these custom layouts. I need to be be able to mash F5 or F8 at a moments notice without any chording nonsense. Unless you are working from an ironing board, most desks have ample “vertical” space to extend towards the monitor with the extra keyboard row.

And keep them in groups of 4 so I can easily and deftly land on F5 and F8, which are to the extremities of the group.
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