Topic: How much time have you lost to laptop keyboard layouts?

[Bonk]

How much time have you lost to laptop keyboard layouts? Or non-standard layouts - particularly the shift and caps lock keys in both cases. We have all been typing on the standard US 104 key enhanced layout for so long now, who is the sick bugger responsible for switching it up? I'd almost prefer smaller keys and more "whitespace" on the deck to get a traditional keyboard layout.

I think this is a real usability issue. It is particularly difficult switching between standard and laptop keyboard layouts... I know the answer is buy a standard keyboard and plug it in... but that kinda defeats the purpose of a laptop. I wonder if tablet input systems will ever get worked out?

Ha! or what about a full "whitespace" laptop keyboard deck... dig this idea, make the whole deck of the laptop an input tablet, but add either projected or backlit keyboard and pad input configurations, base input on both traditional tablet data as well as optical information. Oh yeah, but what about the tactile feel? It just might not work for me without it. I've seen something similar where every key on the keyboard is a configurable display, but this is different  - a tablet-display input device. I guess effectively a touchscreen keyboard in addition to the traditional display - heck make em both a full display and input tablet, like a book, with all kinds of orientations and rtl language options... etc. Oh yeah iPad killer.

Um, anyway so how much time do you think you have lost to laptop keyboards?

[Sirgod]

Hehe, lately? A lot. But here is why. I'm helping a friend of mine who is a programmer, esp. with Mulitiboxing apps.

I and a few others are testing this new program of his, that will allow us to use two keyboards at once. For example, we can use the main keyboard for moving our toons around in wow, and a second Keyboard, for whatever abilities we want to put on the keys themselves.

Think of it like a Belkin N52 but with 108 more keys.

Stephen

[Nemesis]

I find needing a Fn key to access "Home" and "End" quite annoying on my netbook.

[Javora]

I selected 11-30 min.  I don't lose a lot of time with the keyboard itself but when my hand brushes up against the mouse pad and sends the cursor to a seemingly random place I lose some time and get really annoyed.  And this laptop won't let me turn the mouse pad off.  Grrrr...

[Nemesis]

Can you turn the trackpad sensitivity waaaay down so the cursor doesn't move too far?

[Tulwar]

What I love about tappads is how you're just typing along, and then you're looking for you're curser.  It turns out that you tapped the pad with you're palm, and are now typing the second half of a word, halfway down the page.

[Javora]

Can you turn the trackpad sensitivity waaaay down so the cursor doesn't move too far?

Great idea Nem, but no I looked for that and I couldn't turn down the cursor without effecting the mouse that I use.  This laptop is just too old for that.  Thanks though.

[Nemesis]

For a low tech solution you might try taking a thin piece of cardboard (say from cereal box) and tape over the trackpad.  Any light touch should have its pressure spread far enough not to be detected.  If not cardboard then a piece of soft fabric may work.

[Capt. Mike]

My problem is using the wife's laptop..she's left handed (the communist (and I'm communist because I'm left handed..Paul Simon))..but the touch pad is where I want to put my thumbs, and she keeps the mouse on the left side...

Ah well, normally I don't need her computer, only for bill paying

Mike