{"id":809,"date":"2013-10-10T09:33:42","date_gmt":"2013-10-10T07:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.streppone.it\/cosimo\/blog\/?p=809"},"modified":"2014-02-15T15:32:23","modified_gmt":"2014-02-15T14:32:23","slug":"my-quest-for-a-perfect-keyboard-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.streppone.it\/cosimo\/blog\/2013\/10\/my-quest-for-a-perfect-keyboard-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"The quest for a perfect keyboard — part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

I think I have become addicted to computer keyboards<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Maybe I always was, but I didn’t notice until about a year ago. Let’s go back in time a bit.<\/p>\n

Year is 1981. I am about 6 years old. Not going to school yet,
\nin fact I would skip first grade and start straight in second. I must have been too adorable, so my mom didn’t want to let me go to school :-)<\/p>\n

My dad brings home something that would change my life forever, some sort of toy. One of the first mass market home computers ever made. The Commodore VIC-20.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The computer *is*<\/b> the keyboard. I think that is where
\nthe magic started. Fast forward a few years, and I got
\nthe C64, then the Amiga 500, the best home computer ever built:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tried a few more (old) computer models in school, and then the second “strange” encounter.<\/p>\n

My dad again :-) was trying to buy a computer powerful
\nenough to run some architectural CAD program, that only
\ncame with PowerPC Macs series 6000 at the time.<\/p>\n

That’s when I saw my first split keyboard.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Don’t know why, but it felt irresistibly attractive for me, subconsciously imprinting in my mind the link between split keyboards
\nand raw processing power :-)<\/p>\n

Fast forward another few years when my then girlfriend,
\nabout 15 years later still my wife, gave me a completely
\nunexpected and totally awesome gift:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A split keyboard, similar to the Microsoft Natural Elite,
\nthe old model. I have been working on this very keyboard
\never since, for more than ten years. It has undergone
\nthree or four full disassemblies and cleaning cycles.<\/p>\n

Up to last year, when it started having the first aging
\nproblems, particularly with the space bar that needed
\na few hits to record a keystroke.<\/p>\n

Not sure if I was more sad or more excited to start
\nsearching for a replacement keyboard :-)<\/p>\n

After a few days, I found what I think are the reference
\ncommunities for keyboard enthusiasts: GeekHack<\/a> and Deskthority<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A month later I already had an IBM Model “M” scavenged
\nfrom a recycled electronics bin here at work, and having annoyed my
\noffice colleagues with the buckling springs noise
\nfor a couple of weeks, I finally went on to buy
\nmyself this little gem:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This is a “Filco Majestouch Ninja 2 TKL”<\/i> with US layout.
\nI’ve been using US layouts for my entire life more or less.<\/p>\n

The Filco is a really good keyboard, very good build quality,
\nsturdy, heavy, awesome to look at and to work with<\/b>.
\nA bit noisy, yes, I’m reminded every now and then :-)<\/p>\n

After months of using the Filco, all I can say is that it’s
\ngreat, and I love working with it. If you map CAPS LOCK to
\nCTRL it’s even better.<\/p>\n

I use it with awesomewm, so the Windows\/Meta4 key is used a lot.
\nOn some particularly long sessions, I can feel some strain on
\nmy left hand fingers, pinky and thumb.<\/p>\n

Which made me wonder whether I should go back to a split layout…<\/p>\n

Stay tuned for part 2 – The search continues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think I have become addicted to computer keyboards. Maybe I always was, but I didn’t notice until about a year ago. Let’s go back in time a bit. Year is 1981. I am about 6 years old. Not going to school yet, in fact I would skip first grade and start straight in second. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[526],"tags":[527,531,530,528,533,535,64,534,532,536,529],"yoast_head":"\nThe quest for a perfect keyboard — part 1 - Random hacking<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.streppone.it\/cosimo\/blog\/2013\/10\/my-quest-for-a-perfect-keyboard-part-1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The quest for a perfect keyboard — part 1 - Random hacking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I think I have become addicted to computer keyboards. Maybe I always was, but I didn’t notice until about a year ago. Let’s go back in time a bit. Year is 1981. 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