Urgent Keyboard Recommendations Solicited!

[Jaysen]

I think I've said this before, but just looking at that safetype thing gives me anxiety.

Mr Coffee,

Anxiety should not be part of our make up (our make up kit, yes, personality, no). For those of us infatuated with the pursuit of alternate forms of exercise should know that a little bit of activity does wonders to alleviate even the most ardent forms of this stress based state.

So take heart! Find some time to relax. All you need a stout cudgel, a quite place to work, and properly prepared subject.

Have a good time.

[Sean Coffee]

@John Trantner:

How quiet are those things? I have a Tactile Pro 2 that's loud as hell, and hard to use at night (wakes dogs and wives. Well, dog and wife.) I need a night keyboard and the Filco seems to fit the bill.

I'll have to overcome my aversion to black keyboards though. (Black keyboards and coffee in clear mugs. Hate em.)

s

[Sean Coffee]

I think I've said this before, but just looking at that safetype thing gives me anxiety.

Mr Coffee,

Anxiety should not be part of our make up (our make up kit, yes, personality, no).

I'm seeking help.

For those of us infatuated with the pursuit of alternate forms of exercise should know that a little bit of activity does wonders to alleviate even the most ardent forms of this stress based state.

I run. A lot. It's not even running, it's more like fleeing. Here's some advice: if you're trying to rid yourself of anxiety through exercise, don't listen to Merlin Mann podcasts while you're doing it. He seems like a swell guy, but gosh.

So take heart! Find some time to relax. All you need a stout cudgel, a quite place to work, and properly prepared subject.

I thought of you the other day when I decided I wanted an avatar on this site. I spent two hours looking for a picture of a straw man beating a dead horse. More advice: don't ever google that.

Have a good time.

Always!

In all seriousness re that keyboard, imagining typing on it actually kind of freaks me out a little. It feels like my brain won't know how to find my hands.

[Jaysen]

Mr Coffee,

You may need to seek additional help after that image search.

That keyboard seems like a bad idea. Wouldn't it be simpler and more reliable to use alternate input? Voice, teenage slave labor, direct neural manipulation? A slightly more realistic option might be that "key pad" that was available for computer assisted performances back in the 90's (I never used it but I saw it a few times). Basically you had small segments of keys that you could place in available space and assign various values too. You could configure and place a will. You just build what works for you.

For me it really should be nothing but delete keys...

[Sean Coffee]

I know what's bugging me about it now: I can touch type, I do it all day, but that thing makes you touch type, which seems utterly wrong to me. I don't want to look at my hands when I type, but I want to be able to. By forcing you to do a thing you do naturally, it makes you think about that thing. It's like when you're reading and then you think to yourself "I'm reading. I'm translating symbols into words." It's like that. Kind of.

Okay, now I can't type or read. I'm gonna go watch tv.

Don't think about breathing. In. Out. Great.

[Jaysen]

Isn't watching TV willfully forcing fragmented optical and auditory illusions into a plausible series of events? When was that last you you were having diner at home with the wive(s) and all of the sudden an orchestra starts playing?

[AmberV]

Isn't watching TV willfully forcing fragmented optical and auditory illusions into a plausible series of events? When was that last you you were having diner at home with the wive(s) and all of the sudden an orchestra starts playing?

You haven't tried the little square pink pills with a clover leaf stamp on the top, yet, I take it.

[Jaysen]

Isn't watching TV willfully forcing fragmented optical and auditory illusions into a plausible series of events? When was that last you you were having diner at home with the wive(s) and all of the sudden an orchestra starts playing?

You haven't tried the little square pink pills with a clover leaf stamp on the top, yet, I take it.

No. Should I? Does the wife(s) need one too?

[robertdguthrie]

I have a Tactile Pro 2 that's loud as hell, and hard to use at night (wakes dogs and wives. Well, dog and wife.)
s

Aside from it waking an indeterminate number of wives and dogs, is the Tactile Pro a keyboard you'd recommend? I've been on the fence about getting one, since I have my own "office" at home. It shares a wall with the bedroom, but my special lady friend often wears earplugs -- I think the cats snore or something.

[Sean Coffee]

I have a Tactile Pro 2 that's loud as hell, and hard to use at night (wakes dogs and wives. Well, dog and wife.)
s

Aside from it waking an indeterminate number of wives and dogs, is the Tactile Pro a keyboard you'd recommend? I've been on the fence about getting one, since I have my own "office" at home. It shares a wall with the bedroom, but my special lady friend often wears earplugs -- I think the cats snore or something.

Robert:

I love my Tactile Pro 2, but it's a sometimes irrational love.

I'm assuming you want this kind of keyboard — clackity Alps keys, lots of feedback, a sturdy thing to pound on. If that's the case, this is resolutely THIS kind of keyboard. I've beaten the crap out of this thing for two or three years now, and it's doing just fine.

You can wash it in the diswasher, on cold, on the top shelf. You have to let it dry for like a week, so it's become a vacation ritual for me. Before I leave, I make sure the stove is off and the keyboard is in the dishwasher.

Drawbacks: It has these plastic feet that keep it propped up at an angle, and they break all the time. All. The. Time. The Matias people are a friendly bunch of Canadians, and they'll send you new ones for free, but it's a problem. I fixed it by replacing the feet with that clay-like sticky stuff you use to hang posters on the wall in dorm rooms, and that works well for me. If you're the kind of person who is inclined to think "I spent $150 on this thing and I have to prop it up with PlastiTac!?!?!" then it may not be for you. (Looking at the pictures of the new one, it does seem like the feet are sturdier on the 3. I don't know.)

The 2 has two USB plugs. Not ports. Plugs. You have to plug the thing in to two holes. It is, to say the least, inelegant. It is, to say the most, ghetto. I think they've fixed this too.

So, it is what it is. Like the dog that it wakes up, I love it a great deal, even when it's stupid.

[Jaysen]

So, it is what it is. Like the dog that it wakes up, I love it a great deal, even when it's stupid.

Mr Coffee,

I believe you have just replaced the top line of "best internet quotes ever" list. It is a short list of … one line … but you have reached it.

Although come to think of it the previous top line was yours as well. This is a disturbing trend.

[StaceyUK]

So, it is what it is. Like the dog that it wakes up, I love it a great deal, even when it's stupid.

Mr Coffee,

I believe you have just replaced the top line of "best internet quotes ever" list. It is a short list of … one line … but you have reached it.

Although come to think of it the previous top line was yours as well. This is a disturbing trend.

Seconds this.

[Jaysen]

So, it is what it is. Like the dog that it wakes up, I love it a great deal, even when it's stupid.

Mr Coffee,

I believe you have just replaced the top line of "best internet quotes ever" list. It is a short list of … one line … but you have reached it.

Although come to think of it the previous top line was yours as well. This is a disturbing trend.

Seconds this.

Which part? I assume it is the use of the word "disturbing"…

[InklingBooks]

If you really want to be different, check out the compact little FrogPad, which is supposed to be coming back into production soon:

http://www.frogpad.com/FrogPad/Welcome.html



Here's the Wikipedia article on the FrogPad

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FrogPad

And a YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmzYovAMHE4

Looks like it'd be great for single-handed typing at a reasonable speed. Amazon even sold a white Bluetooth version to mixed reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-FrogPad ... B000222734

--Michael W. Perry

[ptram]

I was taught to touch-type with my arms (and wrists) off of any surface.

Letting your wrists rest on a surface while typing, means compressing the muscles that move your hands and fingers. Not a good idea.

Paolo