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Comment by aggronn | Hacker News Reader

Same, though I don't know if tired is the best word for me. For me, its just like, whats the point? Being able to use a computer without having to move my arms more than an inch or so is kind of...relaxing?

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Maybe what you need is the AlphaGrip[1]!

[1] http://allthingsergo.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/gri...

Someone did a teardown a couple of months ago. Looks interesting.

http://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/2yfb7e/...

I've got one, the mouse leaves a lot to be desired.

An upgrade I've made to my Alphagrips (with the optical trackball) is to use either a stainless steel ball or a teflon ball instead of the cheap plastic trackball. Edit: Just remembered I also replaced the tiny balls holding the trackball with teflon balls. I think the biggest improvement was just from replacing the main trackball though, I rarely have to clean the sensor/rollers anymore.

My biggest issue other than that is the behavior of Shift doesn't match other keyboards :\ Can't shift click to select ranges of text.

Where did you get them to ensure the right size? I'd be really interested. I tried to mod mine with an IBM trackpoint, with no success.

Ordered them from Mcmasters. I'll have to check exact dimensions later, but I want to say they were 1" and 1/8"

Extreme-Temperature Slippery PTFE Ball, 3/4" Diameter

316 Stainless Steel Precision Ball, 3/4" Diameter

Extreme-Temperature Slippery PTFE Ball, 1/8" Diameter

Hope that helps! I also tried the same stainless steel in 1/8", but that made the trackball loud.

Thanks!

It's annoying, but one also loses focus. I'm also a huge fan of i3wm, which is a tiling wm that requires no mouse in order to be used, so I can move around without actually moving my hands off the keyboard.

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