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Where do you keep your keyboard?
Obviously, if you have an all-in-one like an iMac or a traditional laptop, the keyboard is connected directly to the display. But if you have a desktop or a docking station — or even a Bluetooth keyboard for your mobile phone — there is some flexibility on where you place your keyboard.
I currently have an old (mechanical) Hewlett Packard PS/2 keyboard sitting on my desk attached (via a USB connector) to my laptop. The laptop sits off to the side and feeds into a much larger external monitor. I've tolerated this arrangement for a while but it is becoming apparent that this is far from the most ergonomic arrangement.
So, I am considering getting a keyboard arm. For those who have gone that route, how has that worked for you? What model did you get and how much did it cost? Did it flex under use or was it rigid and solid? Was there space for a mouse next to the keyboard? Do you have any suggestions on what to watch out for, either pro or con?
I'm in hopes that not only will I benefit from the collected experiences of the SoylentNews community, but that someone else we see a reply and choose to do something to improve their arrangement, too.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Marand on Tuesday September 27 2016, @11:50AM
If you are:
{1} Under 30 * You must use a gamer keyboard with garishly labeled WASD* keys.
{2} Over 30 * You must use a Model M keyboard with keys loud enough to cause hearing loss.
{3} Using a gaming keyboard because it 1. has extra configurable keys (5 left of capslock, 3 under spacebar) that are useful in normal applications, 2. is comfortable, 3. is full-sized unlike a lot of keyboards, and 4. has a proper numpad, arrows/home/end/etc. section.
I actually do have a Model M somewhere, but I really like the extra keys, plus I have one of those thumb keys set as a modifier so I get a whole extra set of shortcuts by doing things like binding mod+[key] to a common combination like alt-f4, or setting up an insane combination (like alt-shift-ctrl-|) and then assigning it in an application, or have it fire off a script.
I didn't specifically want a gaming keyboard, I just wanted something full-sized with a good layout (none of that space-saving fuckery some keyboards do with the numpad/arrows/etc, for example) and extra keys to work with. Turns out gaming keyboards are about the only option in this niche, and they do a pretty good job of filling it. I bought the keyboard mostly for size -- smaller keyboards make my wrists hurt after a while -- and the extra keys, but I was pleasantly surprised by the fancy bindable modifier keys thing. (As a bonus, the dumb backlighting is configurable and can be dimmed or even completely disabled. yay.)
People like to mock gaming keyboards, but they sometimes have a use beyond pointless blinkenlights and keyboard macros.
* Fuck your WASD heresy! ESDF is the One True Way. Keeps the hand on the home row, unlike the heathen WASD.
(Score: 3, Funny) by fadrian on Tuesday September 27 2016, @01:20PM
{3} Using a gaming keyboard because it 1. has extra configurable keys (5 left of capslock, 3 under spacebar) that are useful in normal applications...
Don't tell me... You use Emacs, too.
That is all.
(Score: 2) by Marand on Wednesday September 28 2016, @05:43AM
I do, though my use of extra keyboard keys predates my emacs use, so I can't blame it on emacs. I mostly have the keys bound to things like toggling mute/unmute of microphone, minimise/maximise/close windows, some extra window management stuff, things like that.
I did try making one of the thumb buttons send M-x for emacs use for a while, but I didn't stick with it. I already have ctrl and capslock swapped, so I prefer ctrl+space to fire off the M-x command.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 28 2016, @08:42AM
But Crtl+Space in Emacs sets the mark. So how do you do that if you re-purpose it as Meta-X?
(Score: 2) by Marand on Wednesday September 28 2016, @09:37AM
I rebound set-mark-command to C-t, replacing something else that I wasn't using very much. Though, shift+arrows usually works in GUI emacs as well, which would probably be fine for most people. (I don't rely on that because modes like org-mode often bind those combinations.)
I use the extended commands (via helm-M-x specifically) often enough that I wanted a better shortcut than M-x (though M-x still works because I still hit it sometimes). Did something similar with showing the buffer list and opening new files, repurposing easier shortcuts that I don't use as often for convenience.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by hojo on Tuesday September 27 2016, @01:23PM
Fuck that ESDF nonsense!
Every FPS gets remapped to ASDF, then I use W for Use/Talk/Manipulate or whatever they stupidly had F mapped to.
Once you're comfortable on the home keys, why the FUCK would you scrunch up your hand to hit WASD or any other non-home series??!?
(Score: 4, Funny) by cykros on Tuesday September 27 2016, @06:12PM
JKL; is the true way, so sayeth the cult of Vi.
(Score: 2) by Marand on Wednesday September 28 2016, @06:38AM
Filthy vi heathen, embrace emacs as your saviour or be purged in the coming Hurdpocalypse! ;)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 28 2016, @08:45AM
A true vi user of course knows it's HJKL.
With the meanings of J and K being swapped compared to what intuition would tell you.
(Score: 2) by Marand on Wednesday September 28 2016, @06:01AM
Every FPS gets remapped to ASDF, then I use W for Use/Talk/Manipulate or whatever they stupidly had F mapped to.
I use ESDF because I don't usually need to press forward (E) and back (D) at the same time, and it's still easy and comfortable to hit E from the homerow. I use A for crouch or sprint (depends on game), and W tends to get mapped to some kind of interaction key just like you do. My left hand stays on the home row just like yours.
I once tried doing SDFC (using D for forward, C for back) thinking it made more sense to have forward on the homerow, but the D and C don't line up as well as ED, plus it's more comfortable (to me, at least) to extend the finger up to the E than to curl it in for the C. I tried, but disliked, having all the movement keys on ASDF because I find the A more useful as sprint or crouch. Easy to hold it down while moving that way.
Once you're comfortable on the home keys, why the FUCK would you scrunch up your hand to hit WASD or any other non-home series??!?
I think that's precisely why people use WASD: they don't use the homerow. Most people have no idea how to fucking type, so it never occurs to them to use the homerow for games. I've encountered people that didn't understand why keyboards have those little nubs on the F and J keys because they can't touch-type, so the idea of finding the homerow without looking at the keyboard was an alien concept, even after explaining it.
That's what happens when schools don't introduce typing classes until too late (my school only had a typing class in high school), if at all. Years of bad habits are hard to break. What helped me is I learned the basics of touch-typing from family when I was younger. Promptly ignored what I learned until years later when I got online, but it did help me long-term. :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 28 2016, @09:16AM
I'm not sure that touch-typing would really be that helpful to me. Sure, if I'd copy long text from paper, or from online sources that don't allow copy/paste, the extra speed it would give me would probably be worthwhile. As is, my text writing speed is still mostly limited by my thinking speed, not by my typing speed (especially since I tend to move back/forward in a text quite a lot, in order to make — and sometimes undo — changes to stuff I've already typed).
Note that, contrary to what many touch-typists believe, hunt-and-peck is not the only alternative to touch-typing. As every pianist can tell you, it is possible to hit the correct keys while using all your fingers and moving your hand.
On the positive side, not using touch-typing means that I've got a more natural hand position, so I probably won't ever suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. Also, it means that I have generally no trouble typing unusual key combinations (try to type a backslash on a German keyboard layout [wikipedia.org] using touch-typing!).
(Score: 2) by Marand on Wednesday September 28 2016, @10:39AM
I'm not sure that touch-typing would really be that helpful to me. Sure, if I'd copy long text from paper, or from online sources that don't allow copy/paste, the extra speed it would give me would probably be worthwhile.
Being able to type without having to look at the keyboard is a useful thing for any sort of typing, not just when copying something else. It's not just about the speed, it's about the muscle memory and not having to mentally switch contexts every time you have to add some input. You're right that thinking speed will be the limit for character output in a lot of cases, especially with something like programming, but you can still benefit from the consistency of keeping the hands in a specific location because you develop muscle memory for the characters you need, so you focus more on what you're typing rather than how you're typing it.
As every pianist can tell you, it is possible to hit the correct keys while using all your fingers and moving your hand.
That's part of what you do while touch typing. Ideally, you minimise unnecessary hand movement by keeping the hands on the home row so that you only have to move your fingers, but that doesn't mean that moving your hands for far-away keys or weird combinations instantly disqualifies it as touch typing. When I decide to hit escape or type a ` I take that hand's fingers off the home row, but they still end up right back in the correct location without having to think about it or look at what I'm doing.
Also, it means that I have generally no trouble typing unusual key combinations (try to type a backslash on a German keyboard layout using touch-typing!).
Other than the slowdown that would be caused by unfamiliarity because I don't use that layout, I'm not seeing why that would be so horrible to type. Thumb on altgr, ring finger presses the ß; I can manage that while still keeping my index finger on the j. The { } [ and ] keys look like they'd be far more annoying, at least for programming. Even then, it's not any different than touch typing while using function keys or things like home and end. You can learn to hit those and still go back to the correct location without stopping to look at the keyboard, and it's still touch typing.
The thing I've noticed about touch typing (and possibly why you think you're better off without it) is people get too hung up on the precise rules of it and act like it's an all-or-nothing thing. I learned the rules, then figured out what to change to work better for me. There are plenty of places where I use the wrong finger or hand for a key (especially the numbers row), and some keys I'll use the correct finger some times and the wrong finger others, dependent on what other characters I've had to type (this happens mostly for the middle of the keyboard).
Despite my personal deviation from the "correct" way of doing it, what I'm doing is still touch typing, and I'm much faster at it than I was when I rigidly followed the rules I learned in school. (Not going to mention actual speeds because I'm not interested in seeing this turn into a pissing contest over WPM.) It's also a lot more comfortable for me this way, which has helped me avoid carpal tunnel.
Not trying to convince you to change what you're doing, mind. Your current habits are probably too entrenched for it to be worth the trouble of picking up better ones, and I gain nothing trying to convince you otherwise. Just seemed like you're a little confused about the subject so I wanted to respond with some info.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by riT-k0MA on Tuesday September 27 2016, @02:09PM
I use a Logitech G510 at work. Those 54 (18 keys * 3 modes) macro keys are incredibly useful for scripting mundane stuff. Git flow has never been so easy.
(Score: 2) by Marand on Wednesday September 28 2016, @06:35AM
How's it do with Linux? When I was shopping for my current keyboard a few years ago, Logitech support of Linux was pretty shit and I didn't want to take the chance.
I ended up buying from Roccat [roccat.org], a German company that (unofficially*) supports Linux, and I haven't regretted it. Configuration has worked fine, and better still, all the settings and binds are saved in the keyboard itself, so once it's set up nearly everything the keyboard does works on any system, with or without driver and software installed.
Funny enough, I only found out about the company because my Logitech mx518 mouse was finally about to die after years of abuse, and I wanted to find a replacement that had a similar shape and feel. Logitech's own successor to it doesn't (or didn't, at least) work right in Linux, so I had to look elsewhere, and ended up finding out about Roccat in the process because their Kone+ mouse had a similar shape and feel. It was a great mouse but didn't survive** as long as I would have liked. Bought it at same time as the keyboard, and I'm still using the keyboard while the mouse messed up pretty early on and had to get replaced because repairing it ended up not being worth the trouble.
* It's not listed on "System Requirements" for any device, but the site links to the community-supported Linux page and the company assists the developer with keeping things working for Linux users.
** They don't even have that specific mouse on sale any more, so it may have been a design problem that resulted in it being phased out. They still use the same body for other mice though, so I might try again one day.