#235137 - 27/09/2004 15:41
Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 15/08/2000
Posts: 4859
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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Greetings!
Much joy and happiness in the office. It is on a day like that when a little extra Lava comes in handy...
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Paul Grzelak
200GB with 48MB RAM, Illuminated Buttons and Digital Outputs
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#235138 - 27/09/2004 15:45
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: pgrzelak]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1914
Loc: London
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#235139 - 27/09/2004 18:47
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: pgrzelak]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
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Yeah, know exactly what you mean 
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One of the few remaining Mk1 owners...  #00015
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#235140 - 27/09/2004 19:03
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: schofiel]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
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Hey Rob, that's one weird looking keyboard you've got there.
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Cheers,
Andy M
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#235141 - 27/09/2004 19:29
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: andym]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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#235142 - 27/09/2004 19:41
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: andym]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 06/02/2002
Posts: 1904
Loc: Leeds, UK
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Yea, I can remember trying to use that thing whilst kindly borrowing the PC's to upgrade my player at the Euro Meet last year. I imagine it's one of those keyboards that you could never do without once you got used to it, very nice feel to the buttons. Ah the memories of my Oliveti branded 1989 Cherry keyboard, may it rest in peace after 15 years good service  Cheers Cris.
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#235143 - 27/09/2004 21:31
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: tman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
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It's a Kinesis Ergo, model Elan (Euro symbols model). I bought when I had big RSI problems a few years ago (I figured things were desperate when I dropped a pint of beer 'cos I could not hold on to it). It is wonderful - cannot recommend it more highly. Macro programmable, instant keyboard layout change between Dvorzak and QWERTY. I can type 10 times faster than I used to with less effort and fewer mistakes. I also touch type now as a result of learning how to use the key board properly from the tutorial that came with the unit. Diffficult to use for a few weeks, but suddenly it just clicked and I was flying. I am planning on going over to Dvorzak layout soon as being unemployed still, I have a fair amount of time on my hands (groan)  Try here for info about their products. I am an authorised dealer for them in NL.
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One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015
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#235144 - 27/09/2004 22:02
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: schofiel]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Quote:
I am planning on going over to Dvorzak layout soon as being unemployed still, I have a fair amount of time on my hands (groan)
Why? Don't be fooled by the notion that Dvorak is faster or better for you. All of those claims come from Mr. Dvorak himself and are unsubstantiated. You'll just be tying yourself into a layout that doesn't really exist anywhere.
Of course, if you're just doing it for fun, go ahead.
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Bitt Faulk
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#235145 - 27/09/2004 22:07
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
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Well, that's the whole idea, actually! There's very little else in my life that's "fun" at the moment, so maybe "Learning Dvorzak" being the top rated entertainment at my end of the woods gives you an idea 
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One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015
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#235146 - 27/09/2004 22:10
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: wfaulk]
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old hand
Registered: 27/02/2003
Posts: 777
Loc: Washington, DC metro
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Back when I just worked on my own computer I learned the Dvorak layout, mostly for fun, though I was definately faster and more accurate. (YMMV.) When I started working IT professionally, bouncing from computer to computer, I stayed on qwerty for ease. Odd keyboards are tough enough to move between.  -jk
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#235147 - 27/09/2004 22:37
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: wfaulk]
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enthusiast
Registered: 11/01/2002
Posts: 211
Loc: Qc, Canada
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I'm also in the process of learning Dvorak keyboard (French version though...) And I can testify that maybe it's not as fast for now, it's already a lot more confortable: Fingers don't move as much as they did on a qwerty keyboard.
If things continue to improve, I believe that I'll be as fast as I was with qwerty in a month or two...
Switching from a layout to another (home vs job) isn't as bad as you could think.... a few key strokes and I'm back how I was before leaving...
A side not: "Qwerty" is slower to type on dvorak :-)
Just my 2 cents...
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Patrick
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#235148 - 27/09/2004 23:08
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: jmwking]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Quote:
I learned the Dvorak layout, mostly for fun, though I was definately faster and more accurate.
Ah, but how much of that speed and accuracy was due to you trying harder at learning Dvorak than you were trying at QWERTY?
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Bitt Faulk
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#235149 - 27/09/2004 23:52
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: wfaulk]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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Quote:
You'll just be tying yourself into a layout that doesn't really exist anywhere.
Except that it's simple to set up in windows so you can switch between the two easily. I actually thought about it once but even if it were faster I don't know how much benifit it'd be. I already touch type pretty fast and it's not worth the retraining.
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-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#235150 - 28/09/2004 01:05
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: JeffS]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Maybe, but do you really want to do that for every computer you go to? I'll admit I have a bias here in that as a sysadmin, I use a lot of different computers.
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Bitt Faulk
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#235151 - 28/09/2004 11:25
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: wfaulk]
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old hand
Registered: 27/02/2003
Posts: 777
Loc: Washington, DC metro
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Quote:
Ah, but how much of that speed and accuracy was due to you trying harder at learning Dvorak than you were trying at QWERTY?
I'd taken typing (on old manual typewriters, no less) in high school just a few years earlier, and am a fairly good touch typist, so I don't think it was that. The Dvorak layout, placing the keys used most in everyday English on the home row, definately worked better for me.
-jk
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#235152 - 28/09/2004 12:45
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: jmwking]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5683
Loc: London, UK
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Quote:
placing the keys used most in everyday English on the home row, definately worked better for me.
Wouldn't work for me. I don't use the keys most used in everyday English -- I'm a C++ programmer .
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-- roger
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#235153 - 28/09/2004 12:51
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: schofiel]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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I know somebody who has RSI and a similar keyboard. He said it's great. I tried to type on it and couldn't do anything faster than hunt & peck. I don't mind typing on a plain QWERTY straight keyboard though. I even prefer typing on a laptop keyboard with low travel as the keys are a bit closer than normal.
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#235154 - 28/09/2004 12:54
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: Roger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 17/01/2002
Posts: 3996
Loc: Manchester UK
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I've just looked at the dvorak layout, I don't think I'll be bothering learning any time soon.
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Cheers,
Andy M
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#235155 - 28/09/2004 18:46
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: Roger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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Quote:
I don't use the keys most used in everyday English -- I'm a C++ programmer
Ah yes, the point I forgot to mention: Due to many repetitious words being used for programming and learning key combinations for invoking functions within my editors I've learned so many "finger macros" that it's a bigger hit to move to a different layout than just teaching myself where the letters/numbers are.
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-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#235156 - 28/09/2004 19:57
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: JeffS]
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veteran
Registered: 21/03/2002
Posts: 1424
Loc: MA but Irish born
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Quote:
"finger macros"
What a great term to describe that, thanks!
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#235158 - 28/09/2004 21:47
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: pgrzelak]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/01/2002
Posts: 3937
Loc: Providence, RI
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#235159 - 28/09/2004 23:59
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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I actually picked it up from a fellow empegger I used to work with. He only used it once but I picked it up immediately. Don't know where he got it- I actually thought he made it up on the spot.
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-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#235160 - 29/09/2004 02:55
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: Roger]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
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Quote:
Quote:
placing the keys used most in everyday English on the home row, definately worked better for me.
Wouldn't work for me. I don't use the keys most used in everyday English -- I'm a C++ programmer .
Feh. I'll see that, and raise you one:
I'm a perl programmer -- I'm not sure I use *any* keys found in everyday English. 
I've been using dvorak for a couple years, now, self-taught out of boredom at work. I didn't measure my typing speed on Qwerty, but, since I'd been touch-typing for about 15 years, it was pretty quick (not 100wpm, but not hunt-n-peck, either). I haven't been typing on dvorak for that long, so I still don't feel quite as fast, and I sometimes have a slightly higher error rate on dvorak, too, which I think will go away the longer I type on dvorak. Sometimes, though, when I'm in a groove, I feel like I can type waaay faster on dvorak for regular English, than I could on Qwerty. Totally anecdotal, of course.
I still type Qwerty at work, when I'm at someone else's work station, but it's not exactly touch-typing, anymore. For a while, I'd totally lost it, but the touch typing is coming back slowly, as I do more Qwerty. It's getting easier to switch back and forth.
One thing, though: dvorak is not made for unix. "ls<enter>" is all pinky on the right hand. Bleh.
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#235161 - 30/09/2004 13:34
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: schofiel]
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veteran
Registered: 25/04/2000
Posts: 1525
Loc: Arizona
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I have the Kinesis Contour Professional, and love it to death. It took about a week to learn how to use it, but now I have a problem using the flat keyboards at work. They ordered a Contour for me here, but for some reason it never made it all the way to my desk. I'm guessing the IT guys got a hold of it and confiscated it Only problem I have with it is when playing certain games. I can do fine with most FPS, since remapping the keys is an easy part of it. Some games that require certain keys (like the arrow keys) as well as the mouse are inheriently harder. My wrists do feel a lot better with that keyboard though. - Tim
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#235162 - 30/11/2004 09:52
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: Tim]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 15/08/2000
Posts: 4859
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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An old thread, I know. But I could not resist posting this story. Can anyone say "Darwin Award"?
_________________________
Paul Grzelak
200GB with 48MB RAM, Illuminated Buttons and Digital Outputs
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#235163 - 30/11/2004 11:20
Re: Some days, you just need a little more Lava than others...
[Re: pgrzelak]
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old hand
Registered: 23/07/2003
Posts: 869
Loc: Colorado
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Quote:
An old thread, I know. But I could not resist posting this story. Can anyone say "Darwin Award"?
I am SO going to hell for laughing at that.
_________________________
Dave
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