The Happy Hacking Keyboard made by PFU America, Inc. and for
sale from their Web site is a
product designed specifically for the keyboarding professional.
Only half the size of a standard 104-key PC keyboard, the Happy
Hacking Keyboard has just 60 keys and frees up a remarkable amount
of space on your desk. At the same time, the keys and the distance
between them are all full-sized so that no unpleasant adjustment of
the mind and hands is needed to switch to it from a standard
keyboard.
Next after its diminutive size, I was struck by its weight. As
soon as I lifted it, I knew I was holding a carefully crafted and
manufactured tool. When I placed it on my desk, it sat down solid
and flat. When I type on it there is no latency whatsoever between
the keyboard and my desktop. The keys have a rather heavy touch
that favors the worker with strong keyboard skills.
The Happy Hacking Keyboard is manufactured to be compatible with
SunSPARC, PC (PS/2) or Apple Macintosh personal computers and comes
with cables individualized for each type.
A four page user’s guide is required reading. It shows in
pictures the details of cabling for each PC type and the mode
switch settings which determine the scan codes which special keys
will generate according to each user’s preference.
A most important detail mentioned in the user’s guide on page
two is: Caution — To avoid damage to your system, always power
off your computer before you connect or disconnect the Happy
Hacking Keyboard.
Fortunately, I do read user’s guides. But for the majority who
do not, I recommend that PFU America place the warning on page one
of the user’s guide or even better on a separate tag taped to the
keyboard itself over the interface jack.
The most remarkable feature of the Happy Hacking Keyboard is
what is missing. There is no separate numeric keypad. There is no
separate editing keypad. There is no separate function key row.
There is no Caps Lock key. There is no Windows key.
Instead, all of the keys are integrated into the main keypad so
that the touch typist never needs to get his hands out of position
to enter any keycode.
A special plus is the Ctrl key placed just above the left shift
key where it is extremely convenient for entering Ctrl-key
sequences without the awkward wrist rotation required on the
standard PC keyboard and without the necessity of reprogramming the
Caps Lock key to serve that function. This placement of the Ctrl
key is ideal for rapid work using the VI and Emacs editors.
The Esc key is also in a more convenient position — just to the
left of the “1” key.
A Delete key is placed above the Return key and the mode switch
setting determines whether this key functions as a Del key or
Backspace. I chose the mode setting to make it Del, because the
happy placement of the Ctrl key makes it extremely convenient to
enter Backspace with Ctrl-h.
Below the Return key is a Fn key. Pressing and holding down the
Fn key and then pressing one of the keys across the top row of the
keyboard enters the corresponding numbered function key. For
example, Fn-1 enters F1. The editing keys are also associated with
the Fn key and are situated on the right sight of the keyboard.
Pressing and holding down the Fn key with the little finger of the
right hand, it is very easy to use the other fingers of the right
hand to enter any of the editing keycodes. The keycode which each
key enters when used with Fn is printed on the side of each
key.
The Happy Hacking Keyboard was clearly designed to achieve
maximum keyboarding speed by someone with excellent keyboard
skills.
I found the Happy Hacking Keyboard extremely easy to learn to
use even though I had been using an ordinary PC keyboard for many
years. Within an hour, I was as fast as I had ever been on an
ordinary PC keyboard. Now, several days later, I am much faster. I
find I make many fewer mistakes because my hands are always able to
stay in position on the main keypad.
In fact, having used it for only three days, I already know that
the Happy Hacking Keyboard will be my keyboard of choice from now
on.
I suppose that for many the thought of spending $139.00 for a
mere keyboard may seem outrageous when complete PC systems can be
had for under $500 and ordinary PC keyboards can be had for $20.00.
But the difference between even a genuine IBM PC keyboard and the
Happy Hacker Keyboard is enormous. For the person who spends all
day, every day, at the keyboard, having all the keys in the right
places for rapid work is easily worth the modest investment.
You say you’d like to borrow mine to try it out? So Sorry, but
mine is busy at the moment. You’ll just have to get your own.
Dwight
Johnson writes from the Dungeness Valley in the rainshadow of
the Olympic Mountains of Washington State and is one of the
founders of Linux Today. On the rare occasions when he is not at
his keyboard, he enjoys stroking one of his eight cats or making a
squawk with one of several musical instruments.