4 ms·

I have no idea why numpads even exist on most desktop keyboards. They just make it more difficult to reach the mouse. I use the Filco Majestouch-2 in its "Tenke

I have no idea why numpads even exist on most desktop keyboards. They just make it more difficult to reach the mouse. I use the Filco Majestouch-2 in its "Tenkeyless" (no numpad) version[0], and it's great being able to reach the mouse so easily. 0: http://www.amazon.com/Filco-Majestouch-2-Tenkeyless-FKBN87M-EB2/dp/B004WOF7QM http://www.amazon.com/Filco-Majestouch-2-Tenkeyless-FKBN87M-...

jolt 13y ago
I use the numpad for every number i type on my keyboard. It's much faster and the time/energy i would save by having to move my hand a shorter distance to the mouse, is no where near the amount of time/energy i save by not having to look at the keyboard and find each individual number.
- w1ntermute 13y ago
  > the time/energy i would save by having to move my hand a shorter distance to the mouse, is no where near the amount of time/energy i save by not having to look at the keyboard and find each individual number. This isn't true for the vast majority of people, because they don't enter enough numbers for it to make sense. Moreover, if you learn how to touchtype the number keys above the letter keys, it's actually not that much slower than using the numpad.
- eddiedunn 13y ago
  I felt exactly the same way when I first got a keyboard without a numpad. Then I realized that I should just get used to touch typing on the number row instead. Though I still prefer a numpad (old habits die hard), using the num-row really isn't that bad once you get the hang of it.
- tluyben2 13y ago
  I have been typing with 10 fingers blind for over 30 years now and I have used, first, the little nob some laptops had/have as mouse and now the trackpad on the Macbook; I don't lift/move my hand from the keyboard at all to use all keys and hardly for the mouse (trackpad). I type really fast at that, including numbers. A numpad on a laptop would be rather a waste of space and would slow me down as well as I would miss my right hand when typing words instead of numbers. I can see it's handy for some people (like most people like an actual mouse) but I do see the OP his point; at least here most shops carry mostly laptops with numpads and they are not an option. The choices are heavily limited because of this.
DanBC 13y ago
How many numbers do you enter? A numpad is really nice if you have to enter a bunch of numerical data. I prefer add-on USB numpads, because I'm left handed and etc. But still, numpads are great and you only really appreciate how good they are when you have to type out a stupid list.
- w1ntermute 13y ago
  > How many numbers do you enter? Very few, and if I did, I would get an add-on numpad. Chances are, I wouldn't be continuously entering numbers - there would be times when I needed to enter a lot, and times when I didn't need to enter that many. Having an add-on numpad would let me move it out of the way when I didn't need it. In fact, even though I'm right-handed, I would try to learn to enter numbers left-handed, because it would be great to be able to put the numpad on the left side of the keyboard, thereby solving the distance-to-mouse problem. But my basic point is that numpads are not needed by the majority of computer users, as evidenced by the popularity of laptops that don't have numpads (ironically, unlike the linked article suggests, I actually haven't seen that many PC laptops with numpads).
  - dingaling 13y ago
    > Having an add-on numpad would let me move it out of the way when I didn't need it. You'd think so, but muscle memory is very powerful. If you're accustomed to a number pad and are typing an e-mail that contains just one reference to a number ( 2.388 ) the default action is still to try to type it on the num pad. Using the top-row of numeric keys whilst tapping the decimal with the little finger is very slow and awkward by comparison and requires a context-change.
    - w1ntermute 13y ago
      I don't think it would be that difficult. I have a set of custom keyboard shortcuts on my main computer, which runs Linux. But when I have to use someone else's computer that runs Windows or OS X, I have no trouble instantaneously adapting to the shortcut setup on those OSes. And there are plenty of reports of people who primarily use Dvorak but can use Qwerty as well when necessary.
MarkTee 13y ago
I LOVE my Majestouch-2. That Amazon link is massively overpriced, though (looks like it's coming from Japan); I got mine for $140 from NCIX. If you type for even an hour each day, you owe it to yourself to try out a mechanical keyboard...I'd never go back.
- w1ntermute 13y ago
  Yeah, I don't know what's up with the price. I got mine from an Amazon reseller for $172 shipped from Japan. Not sure why it's so expensive on there now.

jolt 13y ago

I use the numpad for every number i type on my keyboard. It's much faster and the time/energy i would save by having to move my hand a shorter distance to the mouse, is no where near the amount of time/energy i save by not having to look at the keyboard and find each individual number.

w1ntermute 13y ago
> the time/energy i would save by having to move my hand a shorter distance to the mouse, is no where near the amount of time/energy i save by not having to look at the keyboard and find each individual number. This isn't true for the vast majority of people, because they don't enter enough numbers for it to make sense. Moreover, if you learn how to touchtype the number keys above the letter keys, it's actually not that much slower than using the numpad.
eddiedunn 13y ago
I felt exactly the same way when I first got a keyboard without a numpad. Then I realized that I should just get used to touch typing on the number row instead. Though I still prefer a numpad (old habits die hard), using the num-row really isn't that bad once you get the hang of it.
tluyben2 13y ago
I have been typing with 10 fingers blind for over 30 years now and I have used, first, the little nob some laptops had/have as mouse and now the trackpad on the Macbook; I don't lift/move my hand from the keyboard at all to use all keys and hardly for the mouse (trackpad). I type really fast at that, including numbers. A numpad on a laptop would be rather a waste of space and would slow me down as well as I would miss my right hand when typing words instead of numbers. I can see it's handy for some people (like most people like an actual mouse) but I do see the OP his point; at least here most shops carry mostly laptops with numpads and they are not an option. The choices are heavily limited because of this.

DanBC 13y ago

How many numbers do you enter? A numpad is really nice if you have to enter a bunch of numerical data. I prefer add-on USB numpads, because I'm left handed and etc. But still, numpads are great and you only really appreciate how good they are when you have to type out a stupid list.

w1ntermute 13y ago
> How many numbers do you enter? Very few, and if I did, I would get an add-on numpad. Chances are, I wouldn't be continuously entering numbers - there would be times when I needed to enter a lot, and times when I didn't need to enter that many. Having an add-on numpad would let me move it out of the way when I didn't need it. In fact, even though I'm right-handed, I would try to learn to enter numbers left-handed, because it would be great to be able to put the numpad on the left side of the keyboard, thereby solving the distance-to-mouse problem. But my basic point is that numpads are not needed by the majority of computer users, as evidenced by the popularity of laptops that don't have numpads (ironically, unlike the linked article suggests, I actually haven't seen that many PC laptops with numpads).
- dingaling 13y ago
  > Having an add-on numpad would let me move it out of the way when I didn't need it. You'd think so, but muscle memory is very powerful. If you're accustomed to a number pad and are typing an e-mail that contains just one reference to a number ( 2.388 ) the default action is still to try to type it on the num pad. Using the top-row of numeric keys whilst tapping the decimal with the little finger is very slow and awkward by comparison and requires a context-change.
  - w1ntermute 13y ago
    I don't think it would be that difficult. I have a set of custom keyboard shortcuts on my main computer, which runs Linux. But when I have to use someone else's computer that runs Windows or OS X, I have no trouble instantaneously adapting to the shortcut setup on those OSes. And there are plenty of reports of people who primarily use Dvorak but can use Qwerty as well when necessary.

MarkTee 13y ago

I LOVE my Majestouch-2. That Amazon link is massively overpriced, though (looks like it's coming from Japan); I got mine for $140 from NCIX. If you type for even an hour each day, you owe it to yourself to try out a mechanical keyboard...I'd never go back.

w1ntermute 13y ago
Yeah, I don't know what's up with the price. I got mine from an Amazon reseller for $172 shipped from Japan. Not sure why it's so expensive on there now.