On a compact keyboard, the special characters are no further away than capital letters, and often easier to get at than they are on a standard keyboard. For exa

On a compact keyboard, the special characters are no further away than capital letters, and often easier to get at than they are on a standard keyboard. For example, on a standard US layout, } and | require both pressing a modifier key (shift) and a stretch. On my compact keyboard, they do still require a modifier key (I call it "sym" on my keyboard), but there's no stretching - they're all no more than 1 key away from my left hand home row. For digits, it's the other way around. On a standard keyboard, they require a stretch but no modifier key. On my compact, they require a modifier key but no stretch. For my part, I find it to be a net positive because the modifier key puts me on a layer where I've got essentially a numpad under my right hand, which allows me to key in numbers with the speed and accuracy of a numpad, without having to pick up my hand and move it.