[geeks] Keyboards

[Dan Sikorski]

On Mar 26, 2013, at 10:02 PM, Phil Stracchino <alaric at metrocast.net> wrote:

> On 03/26/13 22:37, Dan Sikorski wrote:
>
>> Regarding the numeric pad positioning:  I initially did not use that much
on
>> the kinesis, and similarly thought it was kind of useless until i got used
to
>> using the kinesis pedal for num lock, with that easy ability to switch on
the
>> keypad, i find it pretty useful  I know that keyboard doesn't have a pedal
>> option, but if the num lock is easy to use, you may find it more useful
than
>> you initially think after you get used to using it.
>
> The numlock key is in a pretty reasonable position, but I still intend
> to never use it.  The English language does not contain expletives
> sufficiently vile to adequately express my hatred of embedded numeric
> keypads.  Keyboards, like editors, should not be modal; you should be
> free to think about what you want to type, not about what mode you need
> to be in to type it.
>

Fair enough, with the pedal for the kinesis, it's a modifier key, like holding
the shift, alt or ctrl keys.  If it doesn't work that way for that keyboard, I
can easily understand never using it, after all, i never use caps lock.
Either way, the bigger benefit to me is that without having a dedicated
keypad, the mouse is closer to the keyboard, which gives the benefits of less
arm movement to move from keyboard to mouse and a more comfortable/natural
position when using the mouse.