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I have been using [GNU Emacs](http://www.gnu.org/software/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
[init file](http://org.ryuslash.org/dotfiles/emacs/init.html) 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 [colemak](http://colemak.com). 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 [Xah Lee's](http://xahlee.org/index.html)
[Ergonomic Keyboards Gallery](http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/ergonomic_keyboards.html),
I see my vision has come to life.
[The Truly Ergonomic Keyboard](http://www.trulyergonomic.com/) 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.
[[!meta date="2012-06-29 18:17:00"]]
[[!tag keyboard emacs life]]
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