Comment by zfnmxt | Hacker News Reader

Comment by zfnmxt | Hacker News Reader

The characterization of mouse keys as taking "five...more like ten seconds to get to where you want to go" is incorrect with a decent implementation/practice.

I exclusively use mouse keys with my QMK keyboard [1] and I'm just as fast with it as with a mouse. I have four different cursor speeds that I toggle between as I move the mouse: I use the SUPA FAST LIGHTNING SPEED mode to move across the sceen and then reduce the speed as I zero in on my target. It's totally seamless and easy.

I also happen to use Tridactyl which uses a very similar mechanism as mouseless, but sometimes when I'm lazy I just use mouse keys. I don't think navigating by key anchors is always better: there's a greater cognitive load to reading off characters and typing them vs. using WASD to move your mouse around.

Alternatively, we could all simply relent and accept the fact that this problem was solved long ago in hardware and ship TrackPoints on all keyboards.

[1] https://docs.qmk.fm/features/mouse_keys

I also started using mouse key due to RSI and i was surprised how well it works, I use a single speed and I can still be extremely fast (not yet fast as a "real" mouse but very close).

One feature i would love to see is some sort of absolute pointer mode that work in a similar way of what op is doing as an alternative to do quick large movement (especially in multi-monitor scenario).

A trackpoint with more articulation (probably like a mini joystick), so I don't get pain after two days, would be awesome. Perhaps also with another button you can hold for 3x speed?

I tried a joystick on my keyboard, but for me it didn't really work! To be fair I also don't really like the track-point. I wasn't able to find a joystick "nub" that was comfortable to use, most joystick on the market are not meant for the kind of use that i would need on a keyboard and are really uncomfortable, maybe you could 3d print something more ergonomic but I'm not sure.

One thing I would love to try is a couple of really sensitive encoders for the two axis of a mouse. My split keyboard already has two encoders but they are to "stiff" to be used as mouse.

Interesting. Is your config.h on GH at all with this config to toggle between speeds?

It's not, but it's a straight-forward use of Constant mode, documented here: https://docs.qmk.fm/features/mouse_keys. You change speeds by pressing MS_ACL0, MS_ACL1, and MS_ACL2 (or none, i.e., the default speed).

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