From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Xah Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: How to type when using Emacs? Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2008 06:08:50 -0700 (PDT) Organization: http://groups.google.com Message-ID: References: <03a7c17e-9187-422b-be26-092e15d552be@k30g2000hse.googlegroups.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: lo.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1215870053 27693 80.91.229.12 (12 Jul 2008 13:40:53 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:40:53 +0000 (UTC) To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sat Jul 12 15:41:40 2008 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by lo.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.50) id 1KHfLy-00019D-6E for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:41:34 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1]:42681 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1KHfL6-0002oI-8X for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sat, 12 Jul 2008 09:40:40 -0400 Original-Path: news.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!postnews.google.com!34g2000hsh.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help Original-Lines: 91 Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.6.97.120 Original-X-Trace: posting.google.com 1215868130 30056 127.0.0.1 (12 Jul 2008 13:08:50 GMT) Original-X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com Original-NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:08:50 +0000 (UTC) Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com Injection-Info: 34g2000hsh.googlegroups.com; posting-host=24.6.97.120; posting-account=bRPKjQoAAACxZsR8_VPXCX27T2YcsyMA User-Agent: G2/1.0 X-HTTP-UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X 10_4_11; en) AppleWebKit/525.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.2 Safari/525.22, gzip(gfe), gzip(gfe) Original-Xref: news.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:160134 X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:55484 Archived-At: some more comments for this thread. (and thanks for all the feedback) On the issue of keymaping, modifier keys, ergonomics... part of the problem is the keyboard hardware itself. The standard keyboard out there used by some 99% of computers worldwide, namely the PC keyboard or Microsoft keyboard; is derived from the design of type writers. The design of the type writer itself, is largely concerned about getting the machine to actually work. Like most inventions, in the begining the concern is just to get it to work. The concept of keyboarding ergonomics didn't come about or become popular after few decades of keyboard use. Let's consider some examples: =E2=80=A2 The Delete key, the Return/Enter key, are among the most usedful special keys. However, they are placed in the most inconvenient spots =E2=80=A2 the vertical key column positions are jagged. i.e. The columns 1Q= AS, 2WSX, 3EDC, etc, are slanted. Worse is that the jagging is not a regular like a triangular grid, but in a ad hoc slant from top left to bottom right. So, for example, going from key D to E, your left index finger moves upwards and in the direction of your pinky. Going from K to I, your right finger also moves upward but in the direction of your thumb. =E2=80=A2 The number of keys for the Left and right are not symmetric. ` 12345 67890 -=3D QWERT YUIOP []\ ASDFG HJKL; ' ZXCVB NM,./ Notice in the above pict, how the right side has lots of extra keys. So, all of the above, makes today's conventional keyboard really a bad piece of hardware. One keyboard that is well known and loved, is the Kinesis keyboard. Which fixed all of the above problems. For keyboard gallery with photos and more detailed commentary, see: http://xahlee.org/emacs/keyboards.html Now, when we consider the placement of modifier keys, or consider keymapping, or consider optimal keybindings for emacs, the given PC keyboard hardware puts a lot constraint. ------------------- There are many variety of input devices in the past 2 decades, roughly intended to replace the keyboard. (few of them based on =E2=80=9Cchording= =E2=80=9D. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chording_keyboard ) Some of them are good in priciple but maybe bad in practice. Perhaps some of them are truely good. None of them actually caught on. (except the Kenesis in some degree) The main problem is getting people to change (if there's such a need at all). The PC keyboard, although its fairly bad when considered ergonomically, but it works ok. It is widespread, and most people who has to use a keyboard, dont need to type that much. Vast majority of computer users today, use computer to read news, watch video, play music, play games. Typing does not happen that much. Even for programers, perhaps a majority dont need to do continuous, intensive, typing in prolonged hours. They don't want to change, partly because they dont need to. As a fact, a lot professional programers who code 8 hours a day, do not even touch type. The problem is similar to the dvorak keymap. Radical change is hard to get adapted. Radical change is costy. small change or gradual change do happen. For example, most keyboard sold today has several special buttons that launch apps or control mp3 players. The split ergonomic keyboards also been widely adapted. Mouse has become universal since mid 1995, and mouse wheel since Microsoft introduced/popularized it in late 1990s. Large Ctrl Alt keys, on both sides of keyboard, symmetrically distanced to left and right home row keys, are on Microsoft's ergonomic keyboards. On the key layout side, the dvorak is now available on all major operating systems, and as far as i know there are gradually more programers using it. Xah =E2=88=91 http://xahlee.org/ =E2=98=84