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On 03/13/2016 08:23 PM, David Niklas
wrote:
If you want a keyboard with real switches, look for an old IBM model M.Sorry for such a late post, I caught the flu and have only now caught up with my emails. I've included the full quote. On Sun, 14 Feb 2016 20:34:27 rlharris@oplink.net wrote:On Sun, February 14, 2016 7:12 pm, Gary Roach wrote: ...I've been using a microsoft Ergonomic model 4000 v.1 for years. I love it. I recently looked around for a replacement ( turned out not to be the problem). I found that the newer Microsoft keyboards were garbage in comparison. The only one that came close was a Fellows for which I can not remember the model.I enjoyed using the thin Apple keyboard, but put it away a few years back when I could not figure out the proper xkb category; but I think I now know how to specify the keyboard to the Debian installer.I spend a lot of time on the keyboard and much prefer the slanted ergonomic layout.I did not notice any comments on my comparison of a computer keyboard with a piano keyboard in this respect; but that also is something to consider. Who would suffer from poor "ergonomics" more than would the pianist?I don't understand the fascination with the Dvorak keyboard. While I will admit that it is more efficient than the qwerty lay out, this really will come into play if you can type faster than 150 wpm or so. Who can?I like dvorak because it lessens the amount of strain on you, thus you will be less likely to get corporal tunnel syndrome. I'm young and try to think ahead.Perhaps you should consider your definition of efficiency. I live at the keyboard, and to me the measure of that which you term "efficiency" involves consideration of a number of factors, including fatigue, typographical error rate, and intuitiveness of the layout; the words per minute count is at the bottom of my list. To me, one of the greatest benefits of the Dvorak layout comes in entry of text which incudes numerals. With the Classic Dvorak layout, the keystrokes for numerals are instinctive; thus I seldom make an error.I'm learning dvorak, but the numerals are all in the top bar with the punctuation marks, only the home and adjacent rows are changed. Where are your numerals? I just type loadkeys dvorak (there are only 3 dvorak layouts, dvorak-ASCII, dvorak-Sun, and dvorak on my computer).Such was not the case forty years ago when I could type 120 wpm on QWERTY on a manual keybar typewriter.Wow! I was most particularly interested in weather the (clear), cherry key switches last. No one mentioned them. Being able to know what you get and improve/repair it is a big attraction of opensource, be it HW or SW, at least for me. Thanks, David They're just about indestructible, so one that's 30 years old should still be working fine. If you can't find one somewhere, an outfit called clickykeyboards.com refurbs them, as well as manufacturing its own versions-- I guess the modern ones would have Windows keys, if that matters to you. (You can get the left Win key by pushing either ctrl+esc or alt+esc--I forget which.) I use nothing but IBM model M k/bs on three computers at home. Don't use one at the office, tho--they really are loud! The model M came in different versions--the standard k/b with insert/home/page-up arrangement to the right, above up/down/left/right arrows, and then a number pad to the right, and a version without the number pad--good to plug in to a laptop as not being so large. They all have the function keys on top, but I think there might have been an earlier one with function keys on the left. Don't know if that was called an M. I got all mine back in the 90's at Computer Fairs--which don't exist anymore. They were all "scrapped" from office upgrades, and they all work excellently. So I don't know how old they really are. --doug |