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The weakest linkCurrently, the most problematical area of the man-machine interface is computer input devices.The available bandwidth is low - and the risk of overuse injuries is substantial. This site docments some of my efforts to construct a safe, efficient computer input device.
KeyboardsCurrently I use a home-built microswitch keyboard as my main keyboard.I also use two X-Keys keypads, a Cherry keypad, several mice, a trackpad, some foot switches, and speech recognition software. Devices that have previously been featured here include:
ProgrammableThe Kinesis keyboard, the X-Keys devices and the Cherry keypad are all programmable.You can use the keys to trigger arbitrary actions - including executing keystroke macros. Using programmable keyboards is the most obvious way to obtain large numbers of distinct keys which can perform different functions. A larger number of keys means that the total number of keypresses is reduced - since often one key can be made to do the work of many. This increases productivity - and reduces keyboard-related stress issues.
Kinesis keyboardAnother page with more details about the Kinesis keyboard is available.
X-Keys devicesAnother page with more details about my X-Keys devices is available.
Cherry keyboardsA Cherry MX 8100 keyboard was my previous keyboard.Before that I used a Cherry G80 2334 keyboard. I also use a Cherry G84 4700 programmable keypad.
Keyswitch issuesThe keyswitches are really the most important part of a keyboard.By far the best keyswitches I have found are snap-action low force microswitches. I have a page about these microswitches. I discuss more general keyswitch issues in more detail on the keyswitches page.
Spring surgeryBefore discovering the possibilities offered by dedicated microswitches, I dismantled some of my keyboards and tried my hand at some spring surgery - in an attempt to decrease the keyswitch activation forces manually.The surgery was successful. More details are on the keyboard surgery page. Keyboard macrosKeyboard macros are a totally fundamental tool for users of keyboards.I tend to use the [AutoHotKey] product when running under Windows. This has a basic scripting language built in - and is open source software.
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