Left handed keyboards

[Minskleip]

I'm looking at left handed keyboards now, and all I've found have just the arrow-etc-section and numpad moved to the left side, numpad being leftmost.


This doesn't seem logical. In my mind it would be much better to have at least the numpad mirrored so that 1 is under the left index finger and enter under the pinky:

Code: Select all

- * / n
+ 9 8 7
+ 6 5 4
e 3 2 1
e d 0 0

Smart eh? The E is for Edison

[microsoft windows]

I bet you could easily re-map it and swap out the keys.

[Minskleip]

Yeah, but that's not doing it right from the beginning. I'd rather have a left handed than a regular if I were to get another full sized, but not like this. Not like this!

[sixty]

I think every single left handed keyboard that I have seen had this layout. There are a few good ones btw, Sejin in Korea made a few with Futaba switches. They have been rebranded till the late 2000s.

[nanu]

I should have flipped over the PCB for my custom numpad since I place it left of my keyboard, but obviously I was too mentally and physically lazy. I may have to follow Mass' holey guide now!

[Minskleip]

If you use a straight grid with keys, you could use double spaced keys and move around like MW suggested (if you could program it yourself).

[nanu]

I don't get what you're saying.
What's a straight grid ..with keys?
What's a double spaced key? The keypad I have has cherry stabilizers in it, so the 2x1 keycaps don't have 2 keystems on center for 2 1x1 keys, but 3.
What's moving around? "You could (use double spaced keys and) move..." <- I'm the one moving around?

[Minskleip]

Sorry for that crappy explanation
Straight grid is just a grid of keyswitches without stabelisers. A double spaced key is one which is mounted on top of to switches. If you had this, and can reprogram the numpad, you could move the keycaps around on it arbitrary.

[keyb_gr]

Yes, commercially available lefty keyboards make no sense. Like, at all.

On my German keyboard page I have discussed various keyboard arrangements that made sense to me under the aspect of handedness and mouse usage, and none of them looks like the one seen on the keyboard in the first post. (This developed from a GH post at the time.) You will also find mirrored numpads there (btw I don't think there is any benefit to mirroring 1..9), and I doubt that nobody had the idea before me.

[joeqj]

I use a Microsoft Sidewinder X6 with detachable num pad.

I guess it works just the same

[BababooeyHTJ]

Do left handed people buy special cell phones with mirrored number pads too?

[strike015]

Do left handed people buy special cell phones with mirrored number pads too?

that's not really a good assumption. With mobile phones you type with your thumb regardless of which key you press, whereas with a keyboard you use different fingers for different keys on the number pad

[keyb_gr]

I use a Microsoft Sidewinder X6 with detachable num pad.

I guess it works just the same

Until it stops working, that is.

But yes, the detachable numpad is one of the nicer things about this board. Too bad they don't really hold up.

[amleth]

Some potos

Cherry

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Cherry

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Alps

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Alps

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For more information ? --> STRONGMAN, Taiwan !!!

[webwit]

Ha, I didn't know such a thing existed.

[amleth]

As you can see, the design of board housing is just simply one (dust gathering horizontal slots).
Strongman, Taiwan made it.

Filco DFK-901LF II
http://www.diatec.co.jp/products/det.php?prod_c=38

Filco DFK-901LF
http://www.diatec.co.jp/products/det.php?prod_c=37

and another ones. SeJin, Korea.

SeJin SKM 1040
http://www.kbdmania.net/xe/91641

SeJin SKM 2040
http://www.kbdmania.net/xe/92217

[amleth]

lastest one.

Taiwanese exhibition, last year.

StrongMan_04.jpg (82.68 KiB) Viewed 16012 times

[webwit]

Thanks for the links! Do you know of any tenkeyless ones?

[amleth]

Sorry, not yet.

Actually, that is not my flavor.

[amleth]

take old SUN models and cut it out. ^^.

[Findecanor]

Mirroring the nine keys is just silly in my opinion.
The tenkey arrangement is also found outside the realm of computer keyboards. Lots of left-handed people are used to using calculators with their left hand.

Mirroring the position of the Enter and 0 keys make more sense, though. Those keys were intended to be struck with the pinky and thumb respectively.

[amleth]

yes.
Maybe you are right. Or maybe not.
There are many situations and peoples out there.

I, just have my own ways and happy with that. ^^.

[amleth]

the other day one asked layout like this... really..

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i guess he is born-again Mozart.

[keyb_gr]

L001.jpg

L002.jpg

Cool, I didn't know there were "lefty" boards with a mirrored numpad out there - even though as stated, mirroring 1..9 does seem excessive. (Try using MouseKeys with that one!)

So... does anyone make a standalone lefty numpad with -/+/Enter/./0 mirrored? Would seem like a market niche.

[amleth]

5 mins to find out correct date.

FILCO DFK-901LF
2002年02月08日
http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/329/329127/

FILCO DFK-901LF II
2002年04月25日
http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/330/330707/


KB-8861XPL (104 keys)
2004年09月30日
http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/344/344516/
(Edit: The topmost poto in this thread model number is KB-8862XPL. Has three different basic casing color/slider color schemes.)

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[amleth]

and some meaningless pieces of history (not worth as one thread).


The very first Realforce, hit Japanese market (see Editing details)
-106 keys.
-says, showed one year earlier in an local exhibition.
2003 Jan. 25
http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/335/335822/

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Edit: added 3 lines and a link
They say, it was July 2001.
Below link is the only one I could find out in the net.
Japanese electronics magazine AKIBA Aug. 11 2001.
http://akiba-pc.watch.impress.co.jp/hot ... _i_in.html





The first 101 keys.
2003 Apr. 24
http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/337/337458/

RF101.jpg (55.33 KiB) Viewed 15929 times

[keyboardlover]

Wow, that's interesting actually. Do you have any photos of the complete board and/or the home row?

Edit, nevermind, I just clicked your link.

[Minskleip]

Really cool mirrored numpads there!

Findecanor, if you don't mirror the right way, you mirror the wrong way.

[lucidlts]

never know how a topre capacitive switch feels like

[woody]

never know how a topre capacitive switch feels like

Like a rubber dome.