3 ms·
- I often use apps that will produce extra noise on the computer (with headphones, not to annoy my workspace-sharing wife) to enhance the physical sensation of
by prionassembly 6y ago
- I often use apps that will produce extra noise on the computer (with headphones, not to annoy my workspace-sharing wife) to enhance the physical sensation of typing. Maybe this is because I'm an "older millenial" who grew up tinkering on my dad's typewriters, but it helps me feeling "settled down" and "embodied".
- Yes, but most (I'm having a bad experience with a malfunctioning 5-year-old Kinesis, but that's way too complicated a keyboard with too much electronics, programmability, etc) are simple and hardy. I've lugged a Happy Hacking inside a backpack for many many years and it's just great. It's lasted me three laptops by now.
- Judgement call, yeah.
- You don't have to press keys to the bottom. Keys that go all the way down take some getting used to, since they have an "implicit" point where they'll register, but overall travel time doesn't have to be much larger than in a thin keyboard. What makes it ergonomic is precisely that there's a lot of yielding to this point where keys will register, so your fingers aren't hitting the metal all the time.
I started using mechanical keyboards because I was trying to get into the classical guitar and had long fingernails on one hand. Except for the Kinesis, which does assume a whole postural ergonomics setting and desk space to place it, smaller keyboards like the Happy Hacking are a great add-on to a travelling laptop setup. Besides, since they're usually also USB hubs, you can switch your wireless mouse between laptops together with your keyboard.
The only thing I wish my Happy Hacking had is a wireless interface like the ubiquitous Microsoft mouses with the little dongle. But I'm not in a phase of my life when I'm spending a lot of money on new stuff.