"... Yeev noticed that one of the electives, surely placed there by mistake, was Typing. Like, on a typewriter ..."
What an elective? Mine was compulsory complete with manual typewriters and battle-axe teacher. One thing I do miss about those old clunkers was the solid feel the keys had. You had to learn to position your index fingers at 'F' and 'J' remember where each key was positioned and hit hard. So letters like 'P' and 'q' required a greater force than say 'v' or 'n' (because my index fingers are stronger than pinkies). Keyboards these days have no resistance so typing fast leads to random hits.
I have an ancient Northgate with delicious feel. It's huge, and heavy, with some kind of mechanical switches that snick into place in the coolest way when you press a key. Feels like an IBM Selectric typwriter, if you remember those.
I haven't used it in years, since I now use laptops exclusively. I can't bear to get rid of it, though.
"... It's huge, and heavy, with some kind of mechanical switches that snick into place in the coolest way when you press a key. Feels like an IBM Selectric typwriter, if you remember those ..."
My last IBM model died. The Selectric model was good. Big & heavy I used these in undergrad for creating camera ready artwork. Are the laptop keyboards you use any good?
I've been disappointed with my MacBook Pro kbd. Usable, but not great. It helped a lot for emacs to remap the caps lock key to control. I also have an old Thinkpad T42 that I keep around for running Windows apps. The keyboard is quite nice, but I don't use it enough to have really learned it. Both are way behind the Northgate.
The old DEC VT220 dumb terminal had a nice feel, too, though nothing like the Northgate or Selectric.
Previously they also carried a "professional" model which featured blank keys. Not only was it "l33t", but it was supposed to improve your speed by forcing you to learn to touch type which of course is required for late night hacking sessions in the dark.
Finally, there is the classic carpal tunnel inducing IBM keyboard:
"... Previously they also carried a "professional" model which featured blank keys. Not only was it "l33t", but it was supposed to improve your speed by forcing you to learn to touch type which of course is required for late night hacking sessions in the dark ..."
That is pretty sad. While I can touch-type, typing accuracy at night decreases not because I can't find 'F' & 'H'. Must be murder with long passwords.
At risk of public shame, I actually use a blank keyboard. And, I switched to it from a kinesis ergo. O_o
Regarding passwords, for the past 10 years I've chosen passwords based on "shape." It is a trick I learned from a sysadmin friend, and know more than a couple other sysadmin guys who do the same. It can suck when you switch to a keyboard on a mobile device and the keys aren't where you think they are going to be.
Its keys are wonderfully weighted, tactile without being obnoxiously loud, but it's not really practical these days as it doesn't have F keys and the ins/del/home/end/pgup/pgdn set, and the arrows aren't in inverted-T form, which is annoying.
Otherwise I prefer laptop keyboards (50/50 between Dell's current-ish stuff and the traditional ThinkPad design). I'm more than happy to be more gentle in order to extend the life of my fingers and wrists.
My completely science-free analysis (it seems to me) that the less force your fingers have to exert, the less strain you're putting on the internal body parts that actually make that happen. Most laptop keyboards require less force and have less travel, both of which seem advantageous.
This of course assumes that all else is equal (good ergonomic fit, sitting properly, etc. I am not a doctor or ergo councilor, so your mileage may vary.
Kinesis advantage pro. The keys are placed very well, and require little movement to register. A small speaker goes off when it registers the stroke, so you know when you can stop pressing.
Comments
"... Yeev noticed that one of the electives, surely placed there by mistake, was Typing. Like, on a typewriter ..."
What an elective? Mine was compulsory complete with manual typewriters and battle-axe teacher. One thing I do miss about those old clunkers was the solid feel the keys had. You had to learn to position your index fingers at 'F' and 'J' remember where each key was positioned and hit hard. So letters like 'P' and 'q' required a greater force than say 'v' or 'n' (because my index fingers are stronger than pinkies). Keyboards these days have no resistance so typing fast leads to random hits.
What's the most solid keyboard you have used?
I have an ancient Northgate with delicious feel. It's huge, and heavy, with some kind of mechanical switches that snick into place in the coolest way when you press a key. Feels like an IBM Selectric typwriter, if you remember those.
I haven't used it in years, since I now use laptops exclusively. I can't bear to get rid of it, though.
"... It's huge, and heavy, with some kind of mechanical switches that snick into place in the coolest way when you press a key. Feels like an IBM Selectric typwriter, if you remember those ..."
My last IBM model died. The Selectric model was good. Big & heavy I used these in undergrad for creating camera ready artwork. Are the laptop keyboards you use any good?
I've been disappointed with my MacBook Pro kbd. Usable, but not great. It helped a lot for emacs to remap the caps lock key to control. I also have an old Thinkpad T42 that I keep around for running Windows apps. The keyboard is quite nice, but I don't use it enough to have really learned it. Both are way behind the Northgate.
The old DEC VT220 dumb terminal had a nice feel, too, though nothing like the Northgate or Selectric.
The Happy Hacking Lite keyboard is nice and compact with a solid feel:
http://pfuca-store.stores.yahoo.net/haphackeylit1.html
Previously they also carried a "professional" model which featured blank keys. Not only was it "l33t", but it was supposed to improve your speed by forcing you to learn to touch type which of course is required for late night hacking sessions in the dark.
Finally, there is the classic carpal tunnel inducing IBM keyboard:
http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/customizer.html
"... Previously they also carried a "professional" model which featured blank keys. Not only was it "l33t", but it was supposed to improve your speed by forcing you to learn to touch type which of course is required for late night hacking sessions in the dark ..."
That is pretty sad. While I can touch-type, typing accuracy at night decreases not because I can't find 'F' & 'H'. Must be murder with long passwords.
At risk of public shame, I actually use a blank keyboard. And, I switched to it from a kinesis ergo. O_o
Regarding passwords, for the past 10 years I've chosen passwords based on "shape." It is a trick I learned from a sysadmin friend, and know more than a couple other sysadmin guys who do the same. It can suck when you switch to a keyboard on a mobile device and the keys aren't where you think they are going to be.
I'm partial to most of the Apple Desktop Bus keyboards. That my nickname here is an Apple computer is correlative, not causative. :)
My favorite keyboard of all time is: http://www.old-computers.com/museum/photos/Apple_IIgs_Keyboa...
Its keys are wonderfully weighted, tactile without being obnoxiously loud, but it's not really practical these days as it doesn't have F keys and the ins/del/home/end/pgup/pgdn set, and the arrows aren't in inverted-T form, which is annoying.
Otherwise I prefer laptop keyboards (50/50 between Dell's current-ish stuff and the traditional ThinkPad design). I'm more than happy to be more gentle in order to extend the life of my fingers and wrists.
"... I'm partial to most of the Apple Desktop Bus keyboards. ..."
I'm pretty tempted to look at Apple kb's next time my MS bendy board lucks out.
"... I prefer laptop keyboards (50/50 between Dell's current-ish stuff and the traditional ThinkPad design). ..."
What is about laptop kb's that's better?
My completely science-free analysis (it seems to me) that the less force your fingers have to exert, the less strain you're putting on the internal body parts that actually make that happen. Most laptop keyboards require less force and have less travel, both of which seem advantageous.
This of course assumes that all else is equal (good ergonomic fit, sitting properly, etc. I am not a doctor or ergo councilor, so your mileage may vary.
Kinesis advantage pro. The keys are placed very well, and require little movement to register. A small speaker goes off when it registers the stroke, so you know when you can stop pressing.