Xah keyboard Blog
Put $5 in my patreon. https://www.patreon.com/xahlee
trackball vs mouse
here's epic trackball playing fps (battlefield 1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhY0LcvYyiE
and here's epic trackball playing osu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfbPwAYdemU
yes, the trackball am refering to is same as you are using, the Logitech Trackman Marble. here's my review and photo of me with it Logitech Trackman Marble Review yes, it's 300 dpi only. i've been sloppy on reddit here.
there is some debate in the comment here you might find interesting Trackball vs Mouse, and How to Choose a Trackball
and i think a “scientific” way to judge is to play osu with different devices. i have collected video of them here Test Your Mousing Efficiency!
See also: Maltron Keyboard Review
japan diy helix keyboard carrying case. nice.
see https://twitter.com/yohewi/status/1029591617173315585
See also Helix Keyboard Helix Keyboard
mouse and trackball, dpi, internal acceleration?
reddit discussion https://www.reddit.com/r/Trackballs/comments/97abhf/the_physics_of_internal_mouse_acceleration_or_are/
nah, i don't think this makes sense.
as far as i know, no trackball has internal acceleration. Actually, i don't actually know a mouse that has acceleration built in, though i've heard they exist.
there's lots myth about this topic, and seems to be a perennial obsession since optical mouse around 1998 or so.
polling rate does affect cursor speed. e.g. if you have a gaming mouse, and you set polling rate from 1k hz to 0.5k hz, you can notice a speed up in cursor speed, even the dpi is set to 1200 and didn't change.
on linux, the os acceleration is typically, when certain distance is reached within a given time, then multiplier kicks in.
so the curve looks like, beginning with a small flat segment, then a straight line going up. (x axes is speed, y is distance traveled)
i think ms windows acceleration does the same, but not sure.
trackball dpi has very diff effect than mouse dpi. The larger the ball size and smoothness (e.g. can it spin), the more dpi it feels. imagine a maglev ball that can spin for 10 seconds and ball size of palm like in some arcade games. such trackball, even technically 300 dpi, will feel like 3000 dpi.
you can see many comments here (my page) Trackball vs Mouse, and How to Choose a Trackball
and What's Mouse DPI? Does DPI Matter in Gaming?
for lots discussions. There are many nerds who created custom acceleration software for Microsoft Windows. But i think it's not worth the effort. Just get a nice mouse or trackball with good enough dpi, and arguably turn on acceleration.
to trackball or not trackball
reddit discussion https://www.reddit.com/r/Trackballs/comments/95h5t1/is_there_any_objective_evidence_showing_the/
nah, i don't think there's any evidence at all.
i've read a lot articles about trackballs , and am obsessed about how it compared to mouse as a input system, since 1990s. i actually didn't own any, untill few years ago.
now i've used a few trackballs daily for a few years, and i'd say, nah.
there are some wiz kids who use trackball more proficient than mousers at FTP shooter. it's on YouTube. i'll find the link if you need.
I also conclude, trackball can't be controlled as precisely as mouse either. e.g. when you have to say aim at the close window box quickly.
one easy test is to write your first name in print on screen with trackball and mouse, as fast as possible. Am sure, vast majority will be more accurate with less time by using mouse, given same amount of time/training with each device.
trackball is just in general easier to use, and easier on hand.
@/u/SynBogaNajwyzszego
that video https://www.reddit.com/user/SynBogaNajwyzszego is most annoying. how do we know he's using trackball? well, maybe trust can be established from his reputation or his other video recording showing trackball in parts of the screen... but still, yeah, we need to see that video.
the Logitech Trackman Marble is ancient. I have it. Even last month, i tried to use it again, but decided to put it away. The resolution is too low. (something like 800 dpi?) yes, i have acceleration on. but i also noticed, on the Mac, it makes the cursor jump.
(one interesting thing about polling rate i discovered is that, when OS acceleration is on, higher dpi can make the cursor moving speed significantly slower. here's my story: few months ago i got logitech g502. it has 1k Hz polling rate by default. I have acceleration on. And i set dpi to 1200. And i have another logitech mouse plugged in, the g600, also set to 1200 dpi but polling rate at 250Hz. Then, i noticed, the g502 is a lot slower. If i reduce its polling rate to 500hz, then it becomes faster. while doing all these, i have also my trackball plugged in, the ancient logitech trackman marble. The trackball becomes very jumpy sometimes (when cpu is busy or something) when acceleration is set to highest. )
apparently, you can still find this in trash if you are lucky.
updated. thx to Max P.
Steno, PianoText, Michela, Englebart
twitter discussion. https://twitter.com/johnkitchin/status/1026206042936340480
been thinking that too. Something like Akai MPK Mini could work. there's already midi/usb/key interface. @batchout has done it. and there's steno/pianotext/michela as “layouts”. I've been really wanting to do. think it'd be most efficient. Not sure what's the long term effect on hand.
am thinking, would take ~6 months to do this project. e.g. so others can just buy a mini controller keyboard, install software, and read tutorial, as complete PC keyboard replacement, including for ctrl etc shortcuts. (and maybe 2 months to become fluent)
as a personal project i think it'd be very interesting. it can include many ways to do emacs commands. i think the downside is, effort cost is big, but 0 commercial prospect, cuz most people don't want new input system. e.g. maybe 1% of emacs fan might actually buy/try.
See: Input Devices
Rubber Feet for your keyboard
Discovered this product. Rubber Feet, bumper pads Buy at amazon
now, added letter frequency.
Truly Ergonomic Keyboard 2018, incoming!
not sure what this is. if you have info, comment please.
intro to Chinese Input Methods
more update. on its own page.
very nice design!
the scroll wheel can be used as arrows.
- left/right arrow
- move cursor left/right by word
- prev/next window
and for the other hand:
- up/down arrow
- move cursor up/down by paragraph
- page up/down
emacs keyboard used in 70s and 80s
keyboald layout travel graph, interactive app
very interesting.
head tracker
this is a head tracker, for gaming. TrackIr 5 Head Tracker. TrackIr 5 Premium Head Tracking for Gaming a new type of input device that's becoming popular. it's very significant for programer as well. replaces mouse. Use together with OS's “dwell” (autoclick) feature
See also: Ergonomic Mouse
minor update
top keyboard experts
top keyboard experts i know of (no order):
- • Marcin Wichary https://twitter.com/mwichary
- • ripster ( https://www.reddit.com/user/ripster55)
- • webwit (on deskthority.net or geekhack.org )
- • Thomas Ran https://twitter.com/chyrosran22
- • Jesse Vincent https://twitter.com/obra (keyboardio)
they usually have ~100+ keyboards, historical or otherwise. Done research on various keyboard tech etc.
history of the inverted T arrow key arrangement on keyboard
great article.
[history of the inverted T arrow key arrangement on keyboard By Jim Burrows. At http://www.eldacur.com/~brons/NerdCorner/InverseT-History.html ]
2018-07-12 to read [The Keys To Success. A lot of early video game consoles secretly wanted to be home computers, too: Their makers either sold keyboard add-ons or failed miserably in the process. By Ernie Smith. At https://tedium.co/2017/04/27/video-games-keyboards-intellivision/ ]
thanks to Marcin Wichary
major update. more photos.
major update. more photos.
Workman Keyboard Layout still going strong
Elecom DEFT Pro Trackball News. Works in linux. plug and play, all buttons detected understand latest kernel. thanks to t184756
best keyboard site. Marcin Wichary, JavaScript expert, and segmented display
of all keyboard sites on the web, if there's only one best one, this is perhaps the one.
https://www.getrevue.co/profile/shift-happens
you don't want to miss it.
its by Marcin Wichary https://twitter.com/mwichary he's writing a book on history of keyboards. He research, have tens of books on the subject, and travels the world to dig info. and often, he take high quality photos of ancient keyboards that you would not find anywhere.
i've mentioned him a few times here. e.g. he gave me answer to why space bar was a bar. see Typewriter Spacebar History
by the way, he's also a coder. He used to work for Google, and he wrote the google packman doodle. He's a top expert of JavaScript.
segmented display
he recently wrote this fastastic app, on segmented display. https://aresluna.org/segmented-type/
See also: Programable Keypads
it's extremely annoying that on the Mac, mouse thumb buttons do not work by default. Why? of course, noboby'd buy Apple's mouse or trackpad if so.
one thing annoying on the Mac is that in Safari, it doesn't support holding Ctrl or Cmd and scroll mouse wheel to zoom in/out. It's trivial to support, but Apple's lose sale for its trackpad.
Mac: Keyboard/Automation Tools (updated. Added more good tools.)
my webcam arrived.
- Full HD 1080p video calling (up to 1920 x 1080 pixels)
- H.264 video compression
- Built-in dual stereo mics with automatic noise reduction.
- Automatic low-light correction
- Tripod-ready universal clip fits laptops, LCD or monitors
- Compatible with: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 or later. Works in USB Video Device Class (UVC) mode: Mac OS 10.6 or later (HD 720p on FaceTime for Mac or other supported video-calling clients; Full HD 1080p video recording with QuickTime Player) Chrome OS,Android v 5.0 or above (with supported video-calling clients),USB port,Internet connection
it's very good.
Why You Need 9 Buttons Mouse? (updated)
Sun Microsystems Type 6 Keyboard New photo, type 7.
spend $220 on amazon, or, how i became a keyboard expert
spend $220 on amazon. that's, like, biggest spending in 12 years. a shoe, a mouse, a usb hub, a web cam. necessity for rich living.
when u wanna buy a keyboard, u spend days to read all reviews. undecided. it becomes months. Then after 10 years of daily fretting, you still haven't decided which one to buy. That's how i became a keyboard expert.
the things i got are:
Vintage: HP 02648-60005 Mechanical Keyboard (1970s)
currently on ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/273284114558
XMIT Hall Effect Switch Keyboard. added a video by Chyrosran22
TRS-80 keyboard
haven't found out exactly which what is this.
Manus keyboard
Apple Keyboard History ⌨ (lots more photos)
lots more updates.
Apple Adjustable Keyboard 1993 (added a video of typing on it.)
Northgate Omnikey Evolution Ergonomic Keyboard (updated with more info)
Keyboard Articles Index (updated. now 531 articles)
best usb hub
ok. after 2 hours research, the best usb 3.0 hub seems to be Buy LENTION 4-in-1 USB-C Hub with Type C, USB 3.0 you want shielded cable. Else, it screws wireless devices.
Best powered usb hub is Buy Anker PowerIQ Charging Macbook Surface
i have a Mac mini. 4 usb ports. 1 for keyboard, 1 mouse, 1 keypad, and just 1 left. So, to record a video, need 1 for cam, 1 for headset. Not enough.
need web cam
someone buy me this Buy Logitech C922x Webcam i can't record video reviews with my current lousy cam logitech c270
enamel paint your keyboard
just got a great idea. just buy some enamel paint, and you can paint your keyboard pretty.
you can see a example at Kinesis Keyboard Gallery
you can go basic by painting home key with diff color, or the esc key. Or, paint dvorak label, or on programable keypad.
or, you can go artistic. at that point, anything goes. comics, drawings, math formula, abstract, or whole thing pink Cadillac.
Kinesis Keyboard Gallery added many photos.
mitosis keyboard
diy. mitosis keyboard. https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/66588f/wireless_split_qmk_mitosis/
(new page)
Apple Keyboard History ⌨. New page
Apple Keyboards ⌨ (more photos)
Emoji Keyboard. No longer made.
Keyboard Key Label Tech (minor update)
someone is looking for a doctor specializing in Repetitive Strain Injury, in San Francisco Bay Area.
does any have recommendations?
Best Trackballs 2018 (updated)
Elecom HUGE Trackball (updated)
Trackball vs Mouse, and How to Choose a Trackball (minor update)
to read
[Assignment Problems for Optimizing Text Input By Anna Maria Feit. At https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/handle/123456789/31312 ]
She's keyboard/input reseacher. She wrote the PianoText
[see Using Piano to Type Text]
If you have a question, put $5 at patreon and message me.