Add blog post "My new keyboard"

blog/blog-2012-06-29-1817.org

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+#+TITLE: My new keyboard
+
+I have been using [[http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs][GNU Emacs]] for a few years now, at first only in my
+spare time, and for about 1.5 years also for work.  Since I've started
+using it for work my [[http://org.ryuslash.org/dotfiles/emacs/init.html][init file]] has exploded in size and my knowledge
+of both emacs and emacs-lisp have as well.
+
+As a result of using it full time, I have started paying more
+attention to what I'm doing and how I can do it faster or more
+efficiently.  Sometimes this means writing a function, and possibly
+hooking it up to some key combination, but sometimes it also means
+changing the way you use your PC.
+
+The first change was trying more and more to leave the mouse behind
+and use the keyboard for everything.  In emacs this is easy, there are
+many window managers that offer this, mostly tiling, and for browsers
+this is somewhat more difficult.
+
+After switching to an almost completely keyboard-based system, I was
+starting to feel pain in my left pinkie.  It was getting tired of
+always having to travel to the lower left bottom of my keyboard in
+order to press that darn ~CTRL~ key that I use oh so very much.  So I
+switched my ~CTRL~ and ~Caps Lock~ keys, as is suggested by many an emacs
+user.
+
+Following that, much later, was the desire to type more efficiently.
+I've read a long time ago already that QWERTY was designed to be slow
+and that it is unbelievable that we all still use it.  Now, as I don't
+like mangling my keyboard by using a layout that it was never designed
+for and which was never designed for it, like dvorak, I chose [[http://colemak.com][colemak]].
+I've now gotten the hang of it, for the most part, and I'm happy with
+it, it types pretty nicely and still fits well on a QWERTY keyboard.
+
+At this point, I'm at the stage where a friend of mine commented to
+me, once, that he would just love to see a burglar/thief make heads or
+tails of the setup I'm using, since my keyboard doesn't show the keys
+in the right place, when you log in you're greeted by an empty screen
+with no hints on how to proceed, the ~CTRL~ key is not the ~CTRL~ key and
+the mouse does absolutely *nothing*.
+
+*But*, after a while of using colemak and paying attention to my typing
+and paying attention to tips about how to type, like use the modifier
+on the opposite side of the keyboard in relation to the character you
+have to use with it, I got frustrated by my keyboard.  Using the
+modifier opposite of the key you're using with it doesn't work well if
+they're hidden away from your hands, all the way down in the lower
+right and left corners.  So I started keeping an eye out for keyboards
+that would better fit my needs.
+
+After weeks, months, of seeing absolutely nothing that interested me I
+finally came across [[http://xahlee.org/index.html][Xah Lee]]'s [[http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/ergonomic_keyboards.html][Ergonomic Keyboards Gallery]], I see my
+vision has come to life.  [[http://www.trulyergonomic.com/][The Truly Ergonomic Keyboard]] seems like
+exactly what I'm looking for, *finally* a keyboard that has /big/ modifier
+keys on /both/ sides.
+
+From the moment I saw it I knew I wanted it, but impulse buys are
+never a good idea, so I slept on it, talked to some people I respect
+and I thought about it, it is €230 after-all.  Then after a few days
+there I am, ordering it, having just weeks before proclaimed that I
+couldn't fathom ever paying more than some €20 for one.
+
+Unfortunately it was still in production, or at least this batch was,
+and I had to wait.  I went to pick it up a few days ago, an extra
+charge of €64.12 was added by customs.  The people that brought me
+there were intrigued and surprised by my purchase and didn't really
+understand it, but they thought it looked cool nonetheless.
+
+Now I have it and have been using it for a few days.  *Man* is it
+different.  It's like learning colemak all over again, although
+luckily this seems to be going faster.
+
+The few moments I have where I don't screw up every single word and
+have to type everything at least thrice I feel comfortable using it.
+Having both the Control and Shift keys near the sides of my hands, big
+and high up is convenient.  Being able to press ~RET~ with either my
+thumbs or my index fingers is much more comfortable than my right
+pinkie.  It also makes a nice sound when I'm typing and the keys are
+not all that resistant, so I don't have to press hard, on either the
+modifiers or the keys, which would be a pretty big downer.
+
+Of course it's not all perfect.  I still have to press ~M-x~ with just
+my left hand, since the right ~ALT~ key is an ~AltGR~ key, which is
+completely different and doesn't seem to be recognized as a modifier
+by any program, instead being a direct switch on the keyboard itself.
+But in this case I could look into reprogramming the keyboard's
+firmware, which it supports and allows, to switch the two alt keys, or
+I could use xmodmap.  Having my ~Super~ key in the top-center portion of
+my keyboard is an adjustment, I usually use it as /the/ modifier key for
+everything window-manager related.  And, of course, having often-used
+keys such as (back)slashes and brackets/accolades in far-away places
+is different.  But I'm sure I will overcome these difficulties once I
+get a little more used to it.
+
+Well, writing this post should help, I feel my proficiency has grown
+about 10%.
+
+Anyway, if you're writing a lot on the computer, or you use a lot of
+modifier keys with programs like emacs, I won't yet recommend buying
+it, but I will recommend taking a serious look at it, it might be /just/
+what you are looking for, even if you don't yet know you're looking
+for it.  In the end it cost me €293,12 and I haven't regretted it yet.
+In fact, I already felt completely lost when using my netbook, to
+which I did not connect my new keyboard.