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Re:Keyboard innovation is making them worse by mark-r on Friday January 17, 2014 @06:41PM (#7079250)
You missed one key point of the article, this is only practical if it's the only machine you use. When you try to switch between an "innovative" keyboard and a "normal" keyboard you'll go batty.
Re:Keyboard innovation is making them worse by vizeroth on Saturday January 18, 2014 @12:22AM (#7080192)
This is also highly theoretical. If the machines are different enough, you can adapt quite well. Even if you have trouble telling other people exactly what to do, your brain doesn't have much trouble. I especially find it easier if I use different operating systems with keyboards that are somewhat different, because my brain has an easier time treating them differently when there are visual cues (since I'm not looking at the keyboard).

For instance, I have always though that cmd+X/C/V vs. ctrl+X/C/V would drive anyone nuts if they used them enough, and realistically most of the common Mac/Windows editors commands have exactly that one difference of ctrl vs. cmd, which is essentially pinky vs. thumb (at least for me) for the modifier key. It turns out that it is extremely rare for me to accidentally use the wrong one even though I usually use the same software in both environments, because my brain picks up on visual cues from the OS and the tactile differences between my keyboards.

Of course, coming from this mix of environments, I think they could have taken the cue from the MacBook and just kept the backspace key and removed the delete key (even though Apple wants to call it the delete key...), rather than bastardizing the key with that weird split key.

Re:Keyboard innovation is making them worse by larkarvin on Saturday January 18, 2014 @01:24AM (#7080328)
i remapped cmd and fn keys. i can now press windows like keys. :D
Re:Keyboard innovation is making them worse by seniorsassycat on Saturday January 18, 2014 @01:07AM (#7080297)
Over the past year I've used four drastically different types of keyboards: a classic keyboard, a lenovo laptop, a Truly Ergonomic Keyboard [0], and an Ergo Dox [1].

The laptop keyboard was pretty normal, but Fn and Ctrl are switched. When my other keyboard was a classic keyboard this was a huge problem, I couldn't get used to Ctrl not being an outside key. That problem went away once I switched to the TEK, I think because the layout was different enough that I developed different touch typing skills. The Dox is even more different, and it's easier to switch between laptop, Dox, and classic keyboards.

[0] https://www.trulyergonomic.com/store/index.php

[1] http://ergodox.org/Default.aspx