3 ms·

Ah, is this one of the reasons Windows users are so attached to full-sized keyboards with numpads? In any discussion of TKL-or-smaller keyboards, there’s a coho

by K7PJP 2y ago

Ah, is this one of the reasons Windows users are so attached to full-sized keyboards with numpads? In any discussion of TKL-or-smaller keyboards, there’s a cohort of people baffled at how any keyboard without a numpad could be fit for purpose. I take it this Windows feature is among the reasons why.

TylerE 2y ago
My biggest beef with TKL is not having a full sized, edge places enter key to thwack.
- snvzz 2y ago
  You're not alone on that. I use a topre-switched TKL in the office and find myself uselessly hitting the corner of the keyboard every so often.
  - TylerE 2y ago
    Same. When my mostly beloved Microsoft Natural got too mushy and wobbly to tolerate anymore, I replaced it with a TKL which I tolerate but don't love. If I had it to do over again I'd get a full sized. For my home rig I'm running a kbdfans odin which is a non-standard layout that gives you 99% of a full size layout but in a size only about 2.5 keys wider than a typical tkl. (Example: https://kbdfans.com/cdn/shop/products/9_08accc65-e9f0-4455-a2eb-6e52bf6dc578_720x.jpg?v=1678267523 https://kbdfans.com/cdn/shop/products/9_08accc65-e9f0-4455-a...)
    - snvzz 2y ago
      Realforce R3HC13[0] is what I have. They have variants that are full-sized, which is what I'll get for home soon. Probably a 45g one rather than 30g, so that I can test the difference. 0. https://www.realforce.co.jp/products/R3HC13/ https://www.realforce.co.jp/products/R3HC13/
      - TylerE 2y ago
        I ran one of their full sizes for years. The Topre is easily my favorite switch, but I got tired of the cost, the very limited board selection, the non-repairability, and the total lack of customization. I've got some nice boutique switches in this that are pretty light, like 40g, so it's pretty close to that feel.. I forget the exact switch offhand, but it was some limited run/special edition Kailh Box or something like that.
novagameco 2y ago
I doubt it; you can insert unicode symbols with Win-. now, so the alt keys aren't as important. Personally I used to see coworkers with 65 or 60% mechanical keyboard and I have no clue how they could code without arrow, home, or page up/down keys. They must have been really committed to vim keys or something.
- immibis 2y ago
  Fun fact about Win-. (the emoji keyboard): this is an Input Method Editor, something formerly used by writers of ideographic languages for example, so now we all have no excuse not to test our Win32 code for IME support.
SOTGO 2y ago
There's a significant contingent of people who find typing numbers with the number row cumbersome (me included). If, for whatever reason, you need to type a lot of numbers, it can be quite inconvenient to not have a numpad.
- brokenmachine 2y ago
  It always looks stupid to me when I see those people typing their password and it has numbers in it. Switching their hands between the alphabet and number keys, sometimes multiple times, with bonus points for not knowing the numlock status and having to do it all over again. With the amount of time all of us spend on keyboards, it just seems lazy/inefficient to not learn to touchtype, including the numbers and at least the common symbols.

by K7PJP 2y ago

TylerE 2y ago

My biggest beef with TKL is not having a full sized, edge places enter key to thwack.

snvzz 2y ago
You're not alone on that. I use a topre-switched TKL in the office and find myself uselessly hitting the corner of the keyboard every so often.
- TylerE 2y ago
  Same. When my mostly beloved Microsoft Natural got too mushy and wobbly to tolerate anymore, I replaced it with a TKL which I tolerate but don't love. If I had it to do over again I'd get a full sized. For my home rig I'm running a kbdfans odin which is a non-standard layout that gives you 99% of a full size layout but in a size only about 2.5 keys wider than a typical tkl. (Example: https://kbdfans.com/cdn/shop/products/9_08accc65-e9f0-4455-a2eb-6e52bf6dc578_720x.jpg?v=1678267523 https://kbdfans.com/cdn/shop/products/9_08accc65-e9f0-4455-a...)
  - snvzz 2y ago
    Realforce R3HC13[0] is what I have. They have variants that are full-sized, which is what I'll get for home soon. Probably a 45g one rather than 30g, so that I can test the difference. 0. https://www.realforce.co.jp/products/R3HC13/ https://www.realforce.co.jp/products/R3HC13/
    - TylerE 2y ago
      I ran one of their full sizes for years. The Topre is easily my favorite switch, but I got tired of the cost, the very limited board selection, the non-repairability, and the total lack of customization. I've got some nice boutique switches in this that are pretty light, like 40g, so it's pretty close to that feel.. I forget the exact switch offhand, but it was some limited run/special edition Kailh Box or something like that.

novagameco 2y ago

I doubt it; you can insert unicode symbols with Win-. now, so the alt keys aren't as important. Personally I used to see coworkers with 65 or 60% mechanical keyboard and I have no clue how they could code without arrow, home, or page up/down keys. They must have been really committed to vim keys or something.

immibis 2y ago
Fun fact about Win-. (the emoji keyboard): this is an Input Method Editor, something formerly used by writers of ideographic languages for example, so now we all have no excuse not to test our Win32 code for IME support.

SOTGO 2y ago

There's a significant contingent of people who find typing numbers with the number row cumbersome (me included). If, for whatever reason, you need to type a lot of numbers, it can be quite inconvenient to not have a numpad.

brokenmachine 2y ago
It always looks stupid to me when I see those people typing their password and it has numbers in it. Switching their hands between the alphabet and number keys, sometimes multiple times, with bonus points for not knowing the numlock status and having to do it all over again. With the amount of time all of us spend on keyboards, it just seems lazy/inefficient to not learn to touchtype, including the numbers and at least the common symbols.