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Comment by zzo38computer | Hacker News Reader

It might be reasonable to have a separate key for "tab" vs "next field", as well as separate key for "line break" vs "send". (But, tab and line break are not applicable for all contexts.)

However, it might also be reasonable to have a key or key combination (some programs use ^V) to enter control characters as data rather than as commands.

It might also be a consideration when designing a new computer (which does not have to be the same as existing ones); I had thought about such things and may make such a consideration.

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Put it where the capslock key currently goes. Not sure what purpose it serves these days.

Its whole purpose is to be remapped as CTRL, as god intended.

Why the need for a third CTRL key, when the only backspace key is currently in Siberia?

If backspace is in Siberia, delete is in the Arctic. Wouldn't mind having easier access to that function.

Speak for yourself. I prefer SHIFT, I have too much muscle memory with CTRL+ZXCV and just pushing down CTRL down with an edge of my palm.

Is that how you do it? I have always used my left pinky. As I try it, unless I'm moving my hands off home row, both Ctrls feel just too far to be confident I'm hitting the right one (and not hitting the modifiers second in from the edges, and not hitting both). Maybe it's just my small hands!

In terms of ergonomics, the curled-left-thumb "Command" activation (it's where Alt is on a normal keyboard) is my favorite thing about the Mac key layout.

Depends.

Sometimes it's pinky on the CTRL and index on AZXCV ie the hand lower/closer to me.

Sometimes it's pushing CTRL with an edge of the hand and with the fingers on the ASDF to press AFRCVB.

Sometimes it's my hand on ESDF with run around in Zandronum and pushing CTRL with an edge of the hand to invoke 'invuseall'.

The main driver for moving SHIFT to CAPSLOCK is what SHIFT is used way more common than CTRL and with my big hands it gets quite uncomfortable for my pinky to used too much in an awkward shrimp mode.

NB on a non-laptop keyboards I flip both Windows/Super keycaps upside-down, helps a bit.

It was a sad day (well, presumably pair of days) when Sun & Apple gave up that fight and moved caps lock into that position.

Also, Apple definitely had the nubbins correct (D and K) and foolishly surrendered that as well: they're easier to notice when they're under the wrong fingers. With them on F and J, if your hand is offset towards the outside you're forced to notice the absence of the nubs.

Wow I never thought about that, but it makes complete sense. I just tried shifting my hands "as if" the nubs were on D and K and wow, it should have been this way.

Oh well, just like caps lock can be remapped, so can my keycaps be swapped (perks of blank keyboards I guess), though it'd be even harder to use a keyboard that's not mine I guess.

> as well as separate key for "line break" vs "send"

There is: Return vs. Enter. Sadly there are not many OSs and programs that honor this. I'm personally also sad about Scroll Lock. It would be useful, some programs even reinvent it, on Firefox it's basically F7.

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