From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Thorsten Jolitz Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: What is a keybinds Richard Stallman uses? Date: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 09:27:18 +0200 Message-ID: <8761jhpmi1.fsf@gmail.com> References: <461201404049504@web7j.yandex.ru> <0A50AA8B-F66C-49BE-BBFA-77EFFBE3DA3A@gmail.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: plane.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1404199675 25953 80.91.229.3 (1 Jul 2014 07:27:55 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2014 07:27:55 +0000 (UTC) To: emacs-devel@gnu.org Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Tue Jul 01 09:27:49 2014 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by plane.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1X1sTj-00083g-S9 for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Tue, 01 Jul 2014 09:27:47 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:38965 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1X1sTj-0006Za-Dw for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Tue, 01 Jul 2014 03:27:47 -0400 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:56732) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1X1sTc-0006ZH-4z for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 01 Jul 2014 03:27:45 -0400 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1X1sTW-0006Px-MK for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 01 Jul 2014 03:27:40 -0400 Original-Received: from plane.gmane.org ([80.91.229.3]:33090) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1X1sTW-0006Pb-GM for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 01 Jul 2014 03:27:34 -0400 Original-Received: from list by plane.gmane.org with local (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1X1sTV-0007tu-Bk for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 01 Jul 2014 09:27:33 +0200 Original-Received: from e178189119.adsl.alicedsl.de ([85.178.189.119]) by main.gmane.org with esmtp (Gmexim 0.1 (Debian)) id 1AlnuQ-0007hv-00 for ; Tue, 01 Jul 2014 09:27:33 +0200 Original-Received: from tjolitz by e178189119.adsl.alicedsl.de with local (Gmexim 0.1 (Debian)) id 1AlnuQ-0007hv-00 for ; Tue, 01 Jul 2014 09:27:33 +0200 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ Original-Lines: 57 Original-X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: e178189119.adsl.alicedsl.de User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/24.3 (gnu/linux) Cancel-Lock: sha1:Lj4neSLChrTPFJ/M3obZN68xW9k= X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: Genre and OS details not recognized. X-Received-From: 80.91.229.3 X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:172835 Archived-At: chad writes: > On 30 Jun 2014, at 11:44, J. David Boyd wrote: > >> Richard Stallman writes: >>> I have caps-lock treated as ctrl at the system level. >> >> Me too. That always has seemed like a great idea. > > I did this for years, and then recently discovered an alternative > suggestion that I'm trying now: remapping caps-lock into a second > delete key. I vaguely remember that I once saw a picture of the original keyboard RMS used back in the old times when figuring out Emacs keybindings, and that keyboard had Ctrl and Meta keys at both sides of the Space key. Maybe that picture inspired me to try another approach that works quite well for me: 1. Use a small compact USB keyboard with a really (!) short space key (spanning from 'v' to 'm' at most), here in Germany e.g. KeySonic Minikeyboard or Hama Slimline keyboard. 2. remap backspace to menu and caps-lock to backspace 3. remap (and somehow rearrange physical keys) of the bottom row like this (with k being 'other key'): | AltGr | k | k | k | Alt | Ctrl | SPACE | Ctrl | Alt | AltGr | k | 4. Use right and left thumb for SPACE and for right and left Ctrl/Alt respectively (and even for right AltGr), use left pinky for left AltGr and Backspace (ex CapsLock) This is only possible due to the very short SPACE key, but I would say it is still more than long enough (why do we need a SPACE key that is > 4cm wide anyway if we are able to hit other more remote keys that are just 0.5cm wide?). The typing is quite different with this system, Ctrl-d means e.g. [right-thumb & 2nd-finger-left-hand], Alt-o means [left-thumb & 3nd-finger-right-hand] etc. The hand barely moves, using Ctrl, Alt and AltGr is symmetrical just like using Shift (-> use right Ctrl/Alt/AltGr/Shift when typing on the left half of the keyboard, use left Ctrl/Alt/AltGr/Shift when typing on the right half of the keyboard). I cannot say anyhing about avoiding RSI with this system because I had that problem already before I started using Emacs and learned touch typing, and as a late starter I'm no typing wizard anyway. But it feels quite efficient and easy on the hands. -- cheers, Thorsten