• You are not logged in.

Introducing Allenak

  • Started by Loonster
  • 44 Replies:
  • Reputation: 0
  • Registered: 01-Nov-2012
  • Posts: 34

I was under the impression that you at first started with a high layout, and then switched to a low layout.

Why did you decide against using the 0 key for a minus? (or even having two minuses on the numpad layer).

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 210
  • From: Viken, Norway
  • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
  • Posts: 5,343

Maybe I did? I'm supporting the high one now. Like you, I see benefits and drawbacks with both strategies. But the pull from laptops is significant, and after trying out both high and low layouts for a while I gravitated towards the former. The 789 keys are a good anchor.

The minus is right next to the 0 key, on the minus key. That's just too logical to pass up. Also, most NumPad layouts have them in this sequence: Divide, multiply, subtract. The divide key had to go to the / key which is fine with me.

*** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
*** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 4
  • Registered: 04-Feb-2010
  • Posts: 149

Of course this would be unnecessary if the keyboard companies had the good sense to do this in the first place, or had more widely adopted the embedded numberpad which is so common in laptop keyboards.


While I don't expect anyone to agree with me; I'd prefer the numberpad on the LEFT hand (right mouser), despite the horrible row stagger. My reasoning goes something like this:

A) Spreadsheets and data entry. How many miles have your hands clocked moving from the numberpad to the mouse and back again? You don't use the mouse for spread sheets? Ok, how many miles have your hands clocked moving from the numberpad to the arrow keys and back again? Or toggling the numlock? Numberpads and navigation should not be on the same hand.

B) We already have a numberpad on the right hand side of most keyboards. Heck, finding a keyboard WITHOUT a numberpad can be a chore.

C) ... ok, you've got me, there is no c.

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 0
  • Registered: 01-Nov-2012
  • Posts: 34

Ah, so you went for a correct horizontal sequence, instead of the correct vertical sequence.

Here is a pictorial representation of what I was thinking:

 789--       //This would correspond to the mac version of numpad layout.  
 456+        //The [+] key is only one key high, with the [-] key right next to the 9.
 123E        //The [/] & [*] keys would have to go into a non-standard spot.
 0,.

The location where you put / makes sense, and I would likely use the same.

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 0
  • Registered: 01-Nov-2012
  • Posts: 34

I sometimes use a 10-key with my left hand.  This works great if you have a stand-alone numpad. IMO, the stagger on the left hand is too much to use this on a 'normal' keyboard.  If using an ortho-linear keyboard, this solution might make sense. . .

A) This is why I included an hkjl style arrow keys on my numlock layer.  Arrow keys are awesome on the left hand for spreadsheet entry.  Unfortunately this does not negate the use of a mouse.

B) It's getting easier to find.  My next keyboard will be a minimalist style (but with a full size arrow keys).  I need a 10-key, but that will be separate from the keyboard.

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 7
  • Registered: 21-Apr-2010
  • Posts: 818

There's quite some brain chattering going on here!  I think you'll probably want to fix your head on keeping the hands homed, and try not to think about a seperate 10key numpad.  Otherwise you'll be overwhelmed with additional factors to consider.

Last edited by pinkyache (13-Nov-2012 00:58:35)

--
Physicians deafen our ears with the Honorificabilitudinitatibus of their heavenly Panacaea, their sovereign Guiacum.

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 0
  • Registered: 01-Nov-2012
  • Posts: 34

I understand your sentiment, but truthfully my brain needed a break.  Downtime is great to allow the unconscious time to mull it over.  I consider the 10-key numpad idea to be a nice diversion, instead of an addition to the workload.  It allows me to work on Allenak, without 'working on Allenak'.

Although the two different layers are both part of the same project, I do not work on them as such.  To me they are on two different planes of existence. The numpad would be akin to a spirit world.  It affects things, but only indirectly.

Back to the letter layout...  Since I will be referencing the last version, I will post it again here (to avoid needless scrolling):

ALLENAK VERSION 0.7.2
                        Letter Layer
 qwly j b pru-          - Note: Caps lock replaces the right Windows key.
 athe f d snoi'         - Note: Num lock replaces caps lock on standard keyboards.
 zxcv k g m,.?

                        Shifted Letter Layer
 QWLY J B PRU_ 
 ATHE F D SNOI"
 ZXCV K G M;:!

First some obvious points:

  • The -_ key will be a + key on the numpad layer.  This will be unacceptable, and for now the -_ key will go back to it's qwerty position.

  • The ' " key might take the position of the former -_ key. This is done to allow the former ' key to be a way of switching between layers.  This is not a permanent change, and I need to think it over.

  • I use / way to much for it to only be on the numpad layer.  The / ? key will return to it's qwerty position.  I'm undecided on which one will appear on top.  For now / can stay in the unshifted state, but this may change.

And now for some fundamental changes. . . I do not like how the right hand works.  I'm no longer convinced about the merits of "rolling". I think it works great for the Ring/Middle/Index fingers, but I think it works horrible for the pinky.  This leads to my 'new' philosophy.

  • The RMI fingers should roll as much as possible. Rolling inward is best, but rolling outward is acceptable.

  • The pinky finger should take an approach closer to Dvorak. Pinky rolling should be neither forbidden nor prioritized.

The layout will change considerably again, I'm just not sure to what... This is one possibility:

 qwr       l '
 athe f d onis
 zxcv   g  ,./

The right hand looks like it will roll much better now... but with common vowels on both index fingers, SFU will be very high... I'll have to play around with it.

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 0
  • Registered: 01-Nov-2012
  • Posts: 34
ALLENAK VERSION 0.8
`1234 5 6 7890-=        Letter Layer
 qwry j k bsg'          - Note: ※ = Num Lock
 athe u l noid※         
 zxcv f p m,./

~!@#$ % ^     _+        Shifted Letter Layer
 QWRY J K BSG" 
 ATHE U L NOID※
 ZXCV F P M;:?

  ⟨‹«     789--         Num-Lock Layer
 {[(< ≤   456+          - Note: E = Enter
 &|*/ = * 123E※
 ←↑↓→ ≈   0,./

  ⟩›»                   Shifted Num-Lock Layer
 }])> ≥   def°
   ^\ ! # abcE※
 ←↑↓→   £ $€¥%
Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 0
  • Registered: 01-Nov-2012
  • Posts: 34
ALLENAK VERSION 0.9 "Light"
`1234 5 6 7890-=        Letter Layer
 qwrf j k bdg;
 sthe u l noia'         
 zxcv y p m,./

~!@#$ % ^ &*()_+
 QWRF J K BDG:
 STHE U L NOIA"
 ZXCV Y P M<>?

edit: I'm taking Pinkyache's advice and going with a simple layout change.  I'll call this version "Light"

I haven't tested it through a key tester yet, but on paper it looks better.  This is starting to look good enough, that I may actually try to learn it.

Although I tried to optimize it for rolling, that may also be a problem. 

For example: 'atio' is the 14th most common 4-gram (score = 34, where 100 = 'that' (most common 4-gram)).  "aio" is a very easy roll, however inserting a key in the middle of the roll may be cumbersome. . . Imagine the word 'ration'. A skilled typist with very good timing could probably type it quicker on Allenek than most other layouts, but a hasty typist with poor timing might end up using the backspace often.

I won't know until I actually try it out if this will be a problem or not.  Even if this is problem, autocorrect may make it a mute point*.  'Imagination' will be a fun word to type regardless.

*Auto-corretion may not be as effective because it is more optimized to take note of transcription errors made on a QWERTY layout.

Last edited by Loonster (14-Nov-2012 16:55:01)
Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 7
  • Registered: 21-Apr-2010
  • Posts: 818

Oh I wouldn't listen to me!  I felt quite bad for trying to wean you off of your diversions!  (Two years of touch typing with Dvorak, and I'm still not sure if I like it or not - there aren't many days when I don't feel some keyboard related pain.  I must be doing something wrong.)  It's still interesting reading  your thought process.

Not sure I'd like the tilde up there, I  detest that spot.  Been using Gnome 3 for a few days, and was forced to ALT+` to switch between windows of an application.  Hate hate hate.  It was fine on the old Apple keyboard.  Probably some stupid Apple fan boys from the Gnome team that sneaked that one in.

Last edited by pinkyache (14-Nov-2012 23:32:07)

--
Physicians deafen our ears with the Honorificabilitudinitatibus of their heavenly Panacaea, their sovereign Guiacum.

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 0
  • Registered: 01-Nov-2012
  • Posts: 34
pinkyache said:

Oh I wouldn't listen to me!  I felt quite bad for trying to wean you off of your diversions!  (Two years of touch typing with Dvorak, and I'm still not sure if I like it or not - there aren't many days when I don't feel some keyboard related pain.  I must be doing something wrong.)  It's still interesting reading  your thought process.

To steal a phrase from a religion that I am not a part of: Milk before Meat.

I'm not giving up on my diversion, but I am splitting it off as a secondary thought for power users.  The idea doesn't work well enough on a standard keyboard for this idea to be standard in this layout (that was a mouthful).  The idea really needs a thumb key to shine. 

For now I'm done postings changes to the layout.  There is not anything I hate about it right now.  The only thing I currently dislike is the high SFU (same finger usage).  It runs 3.4-4.4% depending upon the corpus. Around 1.2% comes from the 'CH' and 'EV' digraphs. Since I'm too stubborn to move any of those letters, I will have to deal with this high SFU.

The SHU comes in around 30-34%, split evenly between the hands.  Most of the rolls are inward.  Of the rolls that are outward, some of the outward rolls are purposely designed like that. For example, the ER digraph on the left hand. I find this to be very natural (I also consider the upper middle finger to be a semi-home row position).

In the coming days, I will post what research I have done, and what led me to the choices I made.

pinkyache said:

Not sure I'd like the tilde up there, I  detest that spot.  Been using Gnome 3 for a few days, and was forced to ALT+` to switch between windows of an application.  Hate hate hate.  It was fine on the old Apple keyboard.  Probably some stupid Apple fan boys from the Gnome team that sneaked that one in.

I do not use Gnome, but I use Alt+tab all the time.  Alt+` shouldn't be much harder (on a standard keyboard). 

I hold down left alt with my thumb, and press tab with middle finger.  I do this without looking at the keys.  My thumb stays on the spacebar, and I slide my whole hand until my thumb is on the alt key, from there my middle finger naturally finds the tab key.

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 0
  • Registered: 01-Nov-2012
  • Posts: 34

This post will be very long....  it's only about frequency analysis, and not on my theories for composing a layout, or why I decided to make it.

The first couple of versions I only used a very basic analysis.  It is useful, but it lacks in-depth information. It tells the order of the most common digraphs, but doesn't give numbers on how much more common some digraphs are then others.  The most useful information listed here is:

The most common first letter in a word in order of frequency
               T, O, A, W, B, C, D, S, F, M, R, H, I, Y, E, G, L, N, O, U, J, K
The most common second letter in a word in order of frequency
               H, O, E, I, A, U, N, R, T
The most common third letter in a word in order of frequency
               E, S, A, R, N, I
The most common last letter in a word in order of frequency
               E, S, T, D, N, R, Y, F, L, O, G, H, A, K, M, P, U, W

Then I found this page which laid out the information in a nice matrix, with numbers corresponding to how frequent that digraph is.  It also had a handy chart with the relative digraph and it's reverse.

This website was extremely useful, but the corpus it used wasn't as accurate as I wanted.  I wanted something bigger.  Eventually I stumbled upon Google's Trillion Word Corupus.  With the aide of excel, I managed to build my own matrix style chart. 

These charts could really use conditional formatting.  I would advise copying them and pasting into excel. Then apply conditional formatting. More colors would be more useful, but excel only supports 4 (3 + default).  I used:
Orange:  x>=75
Yellow: 75>x>=50
Green: 50>x>=25

Relative Frequency

#     e     t     a     o     i     n     r     s     l     c     h     d     u     m     p     g     f     y     b     w     v     k     x     j     z     q     #
e    20    32    41    11    12    57    88    72    28    30     4    43     4    22    14     9    11     6     9    15    11     2    10     1           3    e
t    60    14    31    51    59     2    20    22     5     5    99     2    12     4     3     1     3    11     3     6     1                                  t
a     1    60     1     1    15    78    51    32    47    24     2    17     6    17    11    14     4    12    11     3     9     5     1     1     1     1    a
o     3    24     6    13     5    75    64    15    17    10     2    11    39    28    14     7    33     2     6    15     9     5     1     1                o
i    18    45    14    34     1    ##    13    42    23    34     1    13     1    11     6    12     8           4     1    12     2     1           3     1    i
n    36    53    24    23    19     6     2    24     5    18     2    50     6     3     3    41     6     5     3     2     3     4           1                n
r    81    23    34    35    36     9     6    23     5    11     2    11     6    10     4     5     3    12     3     2     5     6                            r
s    43    58    23    23    31     3     3    23     4    13    16     3    14     5    13     2     5     3     4     5     1     3           1           1    s
l    39     8    26    21    34     1     2    10    27     3     1     9     6     2     4     1     3    12     2     1     1     1                            l
c    28    21    27    39    11           7     3     9     4    25     1     7     1     1                 3                      10                            c
h    79     8    31    25    25     2     4     2     1     1     1     1     3     1     1           1     2     1     1                                        h
d    34     8    17    13    25     2     6    10     3     3     2     5     8     3     3     2     3     2     5     3     3                 1                d
u     6    17     6     1     5    17    27    23    12     8           5           7     7     4     1     1     5     1           1                            u
m    38     2    30    16    14     1     1     6     1     1           1     5     6    11           1     3     6     1                                        m
p    19     5    18    18     7          23     4    13     1     6     1     5     2     7           1     2                                                    p
g    21     4    11     8     9     3     9     4     3     1     9     1     4     1     1     1     1     2     1     1                                        g
f    10    10     8    24    15          11     2     3     1     1     1     5     1     1           7     1     1     1                                        f
y     5     5     5    15     3     2     2     8     2     3     1     2     1     3     4     1     2           2     2                                        y
b    20     1    10    11     6           6     3    11     1                 9     1                       7     1                             1                b
w    14     1    12     9    16     3     2     5     1     1     9                 1     1                 1           1                                        w
v    31           7     3    17                                         1                                                                                        v
k    10     2     3     2     6     2     1     5     1     1     1           1     1     1           1     1     1                                              k
x     1     3     1           1                             1                             3                                                                      x
j     3           3     3                                                     3                                                                                  j
z     2           1     1     1                                                                                                                                  z
q                                                                             6                                                                                  q
#     e     t     a     o     i     n     r     s     l     c     h     d     u     m     p     g     f     y     b     w     v     k     x     j     z     q     #

Most common digraphs and reverse

in    ##    19    ni            at    60    31    ta            se    43    72    es            ri    36    13    ir            ve    31    11    ev            ca    27    24    ac            ac    24    27    ca            il    23    34    li            pe    19    14    ep            am    17    30    ma
th    99     8    ht            ti    59    45    it            ed    43    34    de            ro    35    64    or            ta    31    60    at            ur    27     6    ru            na    24    78    an            ts    22    58    st            ie    18    12    ei            ut    17    12    tu
er    88    81    re            st    58    22    ts            is    42    31    si            de    34    43    ed            si    31    42    is            la    26    47    al            rs    23     3    sr            em    22    38    me            pa    18    11    ap            wi    16     1    iw
re    81    88    er            en    57    36    ne            ea    41     1    ae            ra    34    51    ar            ha    31     2    ah            ch    25     1    hc            so    23    15    os            ct    21     5    tc            nc    18    0    cn            mo    16    28    om
he    79     4    eh            nt    53     2    tn            ng    41     3    gn            io    34     5    oi            ma    30    17    am            hi    25     1    ih            pr    23     4    rp            ge    21     9    eg            po    18    14    op            sh    16     2    hs
an    78    24    na            ar    51    34    ra            ou    39     1    uo            ic    34    11    ci            ec    30    28    ce            di    25    13    id            rt    23    20    tr            lo    21    17    ol            ol    17    21    lo            yo    15     2    oy
on    75    23    no            to    51    24    ot            le    39    28    el            li    34    23    il            om    28    16    mo            ho    25     2    oh            sa    23    32    as            ee    20    20    ee            da    17    17    ad            ai    15    14    ia
es    72    43    se            nd    50     2    dn            co    39    10    oc            of    33    24    fo            ce    28    30    ec            fo    24    33    of            ss    23    23    ss            be    20     9    eb            ad    17    17    da            ew    15    14    we
or    64    35    ro            al    47    26    la            me    38    22    em            as    32    23    sa            el    28    39    le            ns    24     3    sn            us    23    14    su            tr    20    23    rt            vi    17    12    iv            ow    15     9    wo
te    60    32    et            it    45    59    ti            ne    36    57    en            et    32    60    te            ll    27    27    ll            ot    24    51    to            no    23    75    on            ni    19    ##    in            un    17     6    nu            os    15    23    so

Most common trigraphs

the    ##            ers    22            you    18            sta    16            ted    14
ing    53            res    21            ons    18            tin    15            ont    14
and    53            her    20            our    18            hat    15            nce    14
ion    49            est    20            con    17            ist    15            sto    13
tio    40            com    20            are    17            ect    15            ith    13
ent    39            pro    19            tha    17            ort    15            nte    13
for    32            ere    19            ver    17            ear    15            sin    13
ati    31            all    19            ess    17            ine    15            tor    13
ter    26            int    19            thi    16            age    15            ore    13
ate    24            men    19            rea    16            his    14            lin    13

From a Project Gutenberg source, I found some 4-gram information. Unfortunately I can not find the page.
Most common 4-gram

that    ##            this    36
ther    79            thin    36
with    75            they    34
tion    72            atio    34
here    49            ever    34
ould    49            from    34
ight    41            ough    33
have    38            were    30
hich    37            hing    30
whic    37            ment    29

Googles corpus did not include punctuation. MTGAP's provides a decent Letter Frequency Analysis (if only for the punctuation).  From there I got:

Character Frequency:   
               SPC e t a o i n s r h l d c u m f g p y w ENT b , . v k - " _ ' x ) (
               ; 0 j 1 q = 2 : z / * ! ? $ 3 5 > { } 4 9 [ ] 8 6 7 \ + | & < % @ # ^ ` ~
Letter Frequency:     
               e t a o i n s r h l d c u m f g p y w b v k x j q z
Punctuation Frequency:
               , . - " _ ' ) ( ; = : / * ! ? $ > { } [ ] \ + | & < % @ # ^ ` ~
Number Frequency:     
               0 1 2 3 5 4 9 8 6 7

Other things that were useful

  • A chart like the 'relative frequency' chart, but with both the digraph and it's reverse added together (useful for reducing SFU & Hurdling)

  • An excel spreadsheet that allowed me to visually see how the digraphs were related to each letter on the same hand.

  • Andong's Layout Tester

  • Patorjk's Keyboard layout analyzer (not as useful as Andong's)

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 210
  • From: Viken, Norway
  • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
  • Posts: 5,343

Hang on - do you use word lists as syllabi? I wouldn't do that, because in real-life typing some words are used a lot and some not at all?

*** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
*** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 7
  • Registered: 21-Apr-2010
  • Posts: 818

So you've never been weaned.

Oh well I use alt+tab all the time to flip between windows,  I mean all the time, using my thumb on alt, and I'd rather the alt key to the right a little.

You might think there isn't much difference between that and the tilde's position, but there really is, as it involves a stretch, at least with my little left pinky.

Hate is a strong word, but was trying to voice my contempt.  I think placing it up there might well be a _grave_ mistake.  As I said it holds a different spot on the Apple keyboards and is far more accessible from what I remember.

Last edited by pinkyache (15-Nov-2012 08:59:48)

--
Physicians deafen our ears with the Honorificabilitudinitatibus of their heavenly Panacaea, their sovereign Guiacum.

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 0
  • Registered: 01-Nov-2012
  • Posts: 34
DreymaR said:

Hang on - do you use word lists as syllabi? I wouldn't do that, because in real-life typing some words are used a lot and some not at all?

Yes I do (indirectly), but it's not a problem.  Frequency of words is accounted for.  I don't actually use the word list. Instead, I use a frequency analysis of the word list.

Googles word list includes not only the word, but also the number of times that word has been used.

Lets Look at two words: 'the' & 'qdo'

Bad analysis
  the
   -th: 1
   -he: 1
  qdo
   -qd: 1
   -do: 1

As you said, this is a terrible idea.  QD is no where near as common as TH. This is taken into consideration, because the's 'TH' count will be multiplied by the number of times 'THE' appears.

the    23,135,851,162
qdo    14,738

Repeat this for the other 13.6 million unique 'words', and the frequency analysis becomes very accurate...  The relative frequency of 'TH' is 99. The relative frequency of 'QD' is 0.

Unfortunately:

  • This analysis does include 'words' that are misspelled or gibberish.  However, this shouldn't be a problem due the the frequency that real words appear in comparison to google 'words'.

  • This analysis (probably) includes text that was generated by machine.  I have no clue if this will be statistically significant or not.

(Google's definition of 'word': a group of letters that appears over 200 times.).

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 210
  • From: Viken, Norway
  • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
  • Posts: 5,343

Ooo. Thanks for that explanation then. :)

*** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
*** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 0
  • Registered: 01-Nov-2012
  • Posts: 34
pinkyache said:

Oh well I use alt+tab all the time to flip between windows,  I mean all the time, using my thumb on alt, and I'd rather the alt key to the right a little.

You might think there isn't much difference between that and the tilde's position, but there really is, as it involves a stretch, at least with my little left pinky.

Hate is a strong word, but was trying to voice my contempt.  I think placing it up there might well be a _grave_ mistake.  As I said it holds a different spot on the Apple keyboards and is far more accessible from what I remember.

The `~ key is on the same spot on PCs and Macs.  On a Mac, the alt and command (windows) key are switched.

I do not understand why you use your pinky to hit the tilde key.  For me this involves uncomfortably twisting my wrist and flaring my elbow so my pinky can reach.  For me it is much more comfortable to use any finger except the pinky. 

You say the alt key would be more comfortable if it was to the right a little, using a finger further to the right does a similar thing (Your hand must move further left to reach the ~. This makes the alt key relatively further to the right (with respect to the palm)).

Last edited by Loonster (16-Nov-2012 08:12:02)
Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 7
  • Registered: 21-Apr-2010
  • Posts: 818

@loonster, my Apple keyboard has the tilde and grave key to the left of the Z.  Perhaps at some point Apple moved it.  Or it's a UK keyboard layout thing.  Perhaps it changes positions between regions, and between laptops and desktops.  I quite like it down the bottom.

On my UK thinkpad, the tilde and grave do not share the same key.    The tilde is near the return key.

See the subtle changes between layouts here (and that's only the tip of the iceberg.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_a … _keyboards

My tilde under Dvorak is in the same place as it is under Qwerty for my UK keyboards.  But there's also a UK Dvorak variant which places some of the punctuation where it's printed on the UK keyboard.  So my OS knows I have a UK keyboard, and as such I get a different Dvorak.

You just get used to the differences over time.  Dvorak layout on the console is different for me, than in the terminal or on the Desktop.  I think it's slightly different again under Windows.   It's a little irritating but you get used to it, like switching between Apple's and PC keyboards.

The placement for me under the Apple keyboard is good. (Edit: actually I just dusted the thing off, and now I remember it took some getting used to.  I much prefer the placement though of the command key - and I do think it would help if the alt was edged to the right.)  Thumbing the command key and pressing the grave key at the same time was  really (edit: not that ) comfortable and really easy, and I used it all the time to switch between say multiple instances of Firefox.  So it annoys me on a PC with Gnome 3.

(Edit: I guess I've become delusional.  I probably just got used to it.)

So in short I never ever go up there to the left corner and I wouldn't want to; but if I did I'd use the left pinky.  I don't like doing Alt+` but if I have to, I use the thumb on alt and the left pinky.

Which finger do you use for the backspace then?  Isn't the right finger to use the pinky?  I don't always use it though- to spare it the trouble.  Using another finger requires greater hand movement.  It's doubly silly being up there on the top right, over a river of punctuation.  That's why the Colemakians like their caps-lock backspace.

My two pence...

Last edited by pinkyache (16-Nov-2012 18:12:10)

--
Physicians deafen our ears with the Honorificabilitudinitatibus of their heavenly Panacaea, their sovereign Guiacum.

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 0
  • Registered: 01-Nov-2012
  • Posts: 34

Maybe the tilde key is a mac-UK thing, or maybe an old-mac thing.  I only know that my modern usa mac, has the tilde key in the same place as the PCs I use. 

I fumbled over my words.  I understand why you use your pinky to hit tilde key, but I do not understand why you use your pink to hit tilde when holding alt. 

To me, each hotkey lives in its own little world, each with its own finger combination to use.  I do not use the 'right' finger to press the XCV keys when holding down control/command. Why would I use the 'right' finger if using Alt+tab/tilde?  To me, the correct finger is whichever finger is most comfortable to use at the time.

I used to do a similar thing with hard refresh on PCs (ctrl+F5).  I used to use only my left hand (after all, F5 is on the left side of the keyboard).  I didn't stop until I started to feel pain in my left arm.  I now use both hands to hard refresh (well I try to, habits are hard to break. I sometimes relapse into using only my left hand).

To hit the backspace key, I use whichever finger is floating over it when I move my wrist.  Sometimes it is the pinky, sometimes it is the ring finger, and rarely it is the middle finger (if I'm using arrow keys or numpad).  I'm not sure why I switch fingers... It may depend on what I previously typed and the hand position my fingers were in, or it may depend on how many times I need to hit the backspace key.  Now that I am thinking about it, I can not replicate what I normally would do.

Offline
  • 0
  • Reputation: 7
  • Registered: 21-Apr-2010
  • Posts: 818

>I understand why you use your pinky to hit tilde key, but I do not >understand why you use your pink to hit tilde when holding alt. 

Otherwise my hand will look like a windscreen wiper. ;)

--
Physicians deafen our ears with the Honorificabilitudinitatibus of their heavenly Panacaea, their sovereign Guiacum.

Offline
  • 0