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The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

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Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#51

Post by K7PJP »

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.

Perhaps they're using these keyboards on a Mac? MacOS doesn't really use F keys. They're instead dedicated to some system-wide controls (media, volume, display brightness) by default, and you'd need to chord to use them as function keys. They're rarely assigned to anything anyway.

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#52

Post by seabrookmx »

grozmovoi wrote: post #5

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

75% (84 key) is definitely your friend then.

It's similar to a lot of laptop layouts as well, so if you find yourself often switching between a laptop and desktop it feels quite natural.

I use a budget Keycool 84 (MX browns) and love it.

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#53

Post by fanf2 »

jwells89 wrote: post #38

As noted in the linked page, this is very similar to the HHKB layout, which is far and away my personal favorite. This is also basically the layout I use on my 65% boards and is my second favorite. I don't really have much of a need for a left Fn or physical arrow keys. In fact for the latter I find HHKB layered arrows more comfortable, especially when using the various macOS text navigation shortcuts, because it req…

I used Apple keyboards for, um, about a decade, so I am very habituated to fn on the left and arrows on the right for page up / page down / home / end.

I have bound fn + the asdf row to switch virtual desktops / spaces, and left fn is convenient for a one-handed space warp.

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#54

Post by jwells89 »

fanf2 wrote: post #53
jwells89 wrote: post #38

As noted in the linked page, this is very similar to the HHKB layout, which is far and away my personal favorite. This is also basically the layout I use on my 65% boards and is my second favorite. I don't really have much of a need for a left Fn or physical arrow keys. In fact for the latter I find HHKB layered arrows more comfortable, especially when using the various macOS text navigation shortcuts, because it req…

I used Apple keyboards for, um, about a decade, so I am very habituated to fn on the left and arrows on the right for page up / page down / home / end. I have bound fn + the asdf row to switch virtual desktops / spaces, and left fn is convenient for a one-handed space warp.

That makes sense. I rarely used Fn until I bought an HHKB many years ago, and so for me it’s weird if it’s not on the right.

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#55

Post by fanf2 »

otikik wrote: post #20
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?

It’s not even a rectangle, it’s a parallelogram (both hands move “up-left” or “down-right”). It’s quite baffling

Some keyboard designs unreservedly embrace it https://1upkeyboards.com/shop/keyboard-kits/diy-40-kits/zlan... https://www.hackster.io/sonalpinto/purple-owl-a-60-keyboard-...

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#56

Post by boarush »

fanf2 wrote: post #53
jwells89 wrote: post #38

As noted in the linked page, this is very similar to the HHKB layout, which is far and away my personal favorite. This is also basically the layout I use on my 65% boards and is my second favorite. I don't really have much of a need for a left Fn or physical arrow keys. In fact for the latter I find HHKB layered arrows more comfortable, especially when using the various macOS text navigation shortcuts, because it req…

I used Apple keyboards for, um, about a decade, so I am very habituated to fn on the left and arrows on the right for page up / page down / home / end. I have bound fn + the asdf row to switch virtual desktops / spaces, and left fn is convenient for a one-handed space warp.

Yeah I must say, have got quite used to this arrangement now and this has started to feel natural to me after almost a year of using the MacBook keyboard. Kind of perfect layout for me with the full height function row with media keys and the inverted-T arrow buttons.

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#57

Post by julesnp »

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

For my preferred layout in QMK, I have Caps Lock mapped to Caps Lock only on tap, and Control on hold. I also have the right Alt key mapped to Backspace on tap, Alt on hold, to give me an additional backspace which I can hit with my thumb, keeping the rest of my fingers on the home row.

http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/4d894ef5848c4f...

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#58

Post by hyperhopper »

madphilosopher wrote: post #45
hyperhopper wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)

I love this mapping.

Unfortunately 90% of vim interface implementations don't support it.

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#59

Post by ris58h »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #7
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

And no CapsLock at all. Bug or feature?

I've had CapsLock mapped to Esc for years and haven't looked back. I'm OK with holding Shift.

Re: The unix69 keyboard layout: nerdy and nice

#60

Post by strongly-typed »

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 am continually baffled by how keyboard enthusiasts almost never use optimized layouts. If you care this much about typing, surely the first thing you do is get an ergo layout and then use an optimized layout such as Colemak or any of the myriad modern layout options available today. I personally use graphite (github.com/rdavison/graphite-layout), or rather, a mod of it that has an AI generated symbol layer. The Qwerty layout is really bad, people! How can you spend this much time and energy and money on keyboards, and keep using the awful Qwerty layout?

EDIT: Jokes aside, truly I wonder, for the column stagger folks who use qwerty, how do you deal with the “in” bigram? It’s one of the most common bigrams in English, and a column stagger layout usually _increases_ that distance, ie, it’s actually less ergonomic.

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