News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (2012). Parent comment

Re:Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (... by copperx on Sunday March 11, 2018 @02:45PM (#16564206)
The kinesis pedals require the foot to move which is requires a lot of energy which produces a lag of about 1 second between you wanting to press a key and pressing it with your foot. This lag turned me off pedals, but in theory it sounds great.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (... by bdamm on Sunday March 11, 2018 @02:59PM (#16564255)
Indeed, a pedal sounds tiresome, unless the switch pressure could be tuned so that the foot could be relaxed and require only a small pressure to activate the switch(es).
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (... by yangyang on Sunday March 11, 2018 @03:30PM (#16564370)
The trouble is tuning it so that you don't need to actively hold your foot to prevent it actuating, and also having enough feedback on actuation.

I felt that some kind of wireless, in-shoe, toe-activated device might be the best option. But that's not really very practical!

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (... by tfha on Sunday March 11, 2018 @07:08PM (#16565221)
Probably not, the toes really aren't built for fine motor action the way the fingers are. You would probably get RSI pretty quickly. You'd want to stick to motions that are more typical, such as stepping the foot.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (... by dharmab on Sunday March 11, 2018 @09:29PM (#16565656)
That makes me think of motorcycle foot levers, where the back of your foot is supported by and pivots around a peg, allowing you to comfortable and quickly push the lever down.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (... by lsc on Sunday March 11, 2018 @10:17PM (#16565815)
hm. Yes, and with a pretty significant (by keyboard button standards) amount of pressure required.

Actually, in a situation where I can't require significant force, the 'upshift' almost seems like it would be more comfortable.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (... by k_sh on Sunday March 11, 2018 @10:57PM (#16565948)
As a motorcycle rider, I'd prefer upshifting all day to downshifting all day.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (... by comradesmith on Sunday March 11, 2018 @10:09PM (#16565790)
What if we mount a foot switch upside down above our toes so we just flip our feet up and hit the switch? + sticky keys on the foot switch modifiers
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Vim Clutch – A hardware pedal for improved text editing (... by woah on Monday March 12, 2018 @01:53AM (#16566426)
The answer is a keyboard for your toes
[ Parent | on HN ]