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The Neo2 and Bone layouts [1] are very interesting for programmers that have organized special characters as you described. There, Caps Lock and the # key are u

by samus 6y ago

The Neo2 and Bone layouts [1] are very interesting for programmers that have organized special characters as you described. There, Caps Lock and the # key are used for switching layers. Another layer includes arrow keys and number keys and almost eliminate the need to ever take your hands off the home row. The best part is that most Linux distros already include it! Yes, it's intended to type German, but it should work for English as well since these languages are so similar. Also, it has many dead keys that should help composing accented characters. [1] https://www.neo-layout.org/ https://www.neo-layout.org/

V1ndaar 6y ago
Yep, switched to neo2 last June or so after thinking about it for a couple of years. Beginning was tough (relearning Emacs shortcuts, ouch), but now I type faster than on qwerty (~90-100 wpm, still improving though). It is so great for programming! Also although I'm German, probably 90% of what I type is English. Works perfectly for English as well. Also being able to type Greek letters is great as a physicist, hehe.
- samus 6y ago
  Great that you like it too! Specifically about Emacs, I'm facing a tough choice between mapping Caps Lock to Mod3 or Ctrl. The latter is a common choice as Emacs shortcuts hail from an era when the Ctrl key was located there. I settled on Mod3 as it is just way more frequently used and I seem to not be able to consistently hit the other Mod3. Remapping LCtrl-Super-LAlt to Super-Alt-Ctrl kinda works though as I can now use my thumbs for it. Swapping Ctrl and Tab could also work as there is a tab key on Level 4, but it's way more involved to do that. I also found it necessary to replace Ctrl-X with Ctrl-V because on Bone the X is just too far away and I would have to twist my hand to reach it. Using RCtrl is also a possibility, most Emacs commands are intended to be performed with LCtrl though...

by samus 6y ago

V1ndaar 6y ago

Yep, switched to neo2 last June or so after thinking about it for a couple of years. Beginning was tough (relearning Emacs shortcuts, ouch), but now I type faster than on qwerty (~90-100 wpm, still improving though). It is so great for programming! Also although I'm German, probably 90% of what I type is English. Works perfectly for English as well. Also being able to type Greek letters is great as a physicist, hehe.

samus 6y ago
Great that you like it too! Specifically about Emacs, I'm facing a tough choice between mapping Caps Lock to Mod3 or Ctrl. The latter is a common choice as Emacs shortcuts hail from an era when the Ctrl key was located there. I settled on Mod3 as it is just way more frequently used and I seem to not be able to consistently hit the other Mod3. Remapping LCtrl-Super-LAlt to Super-Alt-Ctrl kinda works though as I can now use my thumbs for it. Swapping Ctrl and Tab could also work as there is a tab key on Level 4, but it's way more involved to do that. I also found it necessary to replace Ctrl-X with Ctrl-V because on Bone the X is just too far away and I would have to twist my hand to reach it. Using RCtrl is also a possibility, most Emacs commands are intended to be performed with LCtrl though...