Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 12:27:41 +0200 (MET DST) From: grog@lemis.de (Greg Lehey) To: hoek@freenet.hamilton.on.ca (Tim Vanderhoek) Cc: chat@FreeBSD.ORG (FreeBSD Chat) Subject: Re: FreeBSD keyboard Message-ID: <199607161027.MAA17281@allegro.lemis.de> In-Reply-To: <Pine.SOL.3.91.960715134956.17819B-100000@james.freenet.hamilton.on.ca> from "Tim Vanderhoek" at Jul 15, 96 02:15:29 pm
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Tim Vanderhoek writes: > > On Mon, 15 Jul 1996, Greg Lehey wrote: > >> Tim Vanderhoek writes: >> i suppose i should make it clear at the >> outset that there's no way to access f keys as easily as the base >> keys, no matter where you put them. but i maintain that it's easier >> to do so if they're on the left than if they're above. > > maybe your hands are in some way dysfunctional? :) what makes you assume it's my hands? hands up all those people with three 4" fingers on any hand. >>> the f keys, however are greatly placed! just curl the thumb to hit the >>> <alt> and extend a finger and you're gone! >> >> i tried this with alt-f1. the easiest way to do it is with the thumb >> on alt and the forefinger on the f1. in this position, the other >> fingers are over the top half of the left-hand pad, which suggests it >> should be easier to reach than the top. > > forefinger?!?! my god! no wonder the rest of your hand ends up over top > half of the left-hand pad! you should be using the finger right between > the pinky and the middle finger (ring finger). why? it's still uncomfortable. > if you follow the `xsw2' up a little bit, you'll find it ends up on > f1 on most keyboards (i expect). on my keyboard it lands between f2 and f3. >>> by tilting one's left hand to >>> the left, you can even hit <ctrl> at the same time! >> >> yup, i can even manage that, but it requires the forefinger on ctrl >> and the middle finger on f1. > > what on earth are you doing here!? you can't possibly be using the > finger beside your thumb (the forefinger) to hit the ctrl!? that's > ludicrous! you have to hit the <ctrl> with the bottom of the knuckle of > your pinkie finger. by pinkie you mean little finger, do you? ok, i tried that. with *great* difficulty i managed to avoid pushing down tab or shift, got my thumb on alt, and managed to get my middle finger on f2, but i couldn't get f1 at all. >>> i love it! >> >> it hurts. > > no. what hurts is twisting one's hand to hit the arrow keys, which are > stupidly placed far enough to the right that you can't hit them without > twisting your wrist in ways it's certainly not meant to be. who was talking about the arrow keys? on the whole, i don't have a problem with them. they're useful when you're browsing. when you're typing, there's no reason to use them. >>> otoh, i suppose if your fingers are less than 10cm each (that's 4 inches >>> for all the americans here :) it could be a little harder... ;) >> >> this must be the problem. i never thought i had short fingers, but my >> forefinger is 7.8 cm (3 1/16") long, my middle finger is 8.7 cm (3 >> 1/2"), and my ring finger is 8 cm (3 1/4"), if that's relevant to this >> discussion. > > well, my fingers are 10, 11, 10.5, and 7cm from index to pinkie > respectively. i suppose this could be part of your problem... ;) or of yours. i don't know anybody with fingers that long. > I just can't see myself hit the F keys on the left nearly as easily as > when they're up at the top. Have to twist my wrist quite nastily. Try moving it to the left. Then they're under your fingers. This whole discussion reminds me of a fortune I got yesterday: A man goes to a tailor to try on a new custom-made suit. The first thing he notices is that the arms are too long. "No problem," says the tailor. "Just bend them at the elbow and hold them out in front of you. See, now it's fine." "But the collar is up around my ears!" "It's nothing. Just hunch your back up a little ... no, a little more ... that's it." "But I'm stepping on my cuffs!" the man cries in desperation. "Nu, bend you knees a little to take up the slack. There you go. Look in the mirror -- the suit fits perfectly." So, twisted like a pretzel, the man lurches out onto the street. Reba and Florence see him go by. "Oh, look," says Reba, "that poor man!" "Yes," says Florence, "but what a beautiful suit." -- Arthur Naiman, "Every Goy's Guide to Yiddish" Greg
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