Microsoft is adding a new key to PC keyboards for the first time since 1994::Copilot key will eventually be required in new PC keyboards, though not yet.

  • Donjuanme@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    No, fuck you. It’s hard enough to find a keyboard with Ctrl and Alt in the positions I prefer these days. I don’t need any of the current keys smaller to make room for another one, the only times I hit that stupid key between them is quickly followed by cursing. I remove the windows key from my gaming keyboards because I don’t need it, FN is also a pain, especially when there’s no fn lock toggle. Why don’t we just use that as an alternate key? Microsoft go fuck yourself.

    • LWD@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      There’s some pretty wild keyboards out there, but I have to agree. It’s not that they’re adding another key, it’s that the key has no use.

      Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional

      Laptop keyboards in general are a real mess. I don’t think there’s any Fn standardization (or any standardization at all outside of desktop keyboards), so these days it’s one of the biggest things I check before considering a purchase.

      • abhibeckert@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Um… that’s your example of a “wild” keyboard? I would’ve gone with a “Steno” keyboard. Which is inspired by the custom keyboards used in court houses to write transcripts. Typing on them is crazy fast too.

      • laurelraven@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 year ago

        Holy forking shirtballs, the longer I look at that the worse it gets

        As a PowerShell scripter, having the backtick and pipe keys moved with the escape and delete in their places would just drive me batty

        • LWD@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Yeah, it doesn’t seem like the world’s worst change, but it’s weird that they got rid of the keys near the bottom while splitting Backspace in half.

          Could be worse.

          A 40% Vortex keyboard with no number row

          • fl42v@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            Is this one supposed to be worse? 'Cause rn it’s marginally better (split spacebar => ~3 keys for each thumb instead of 2.5).

            • LWD@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              It depends if you like typing anything on the number row

              • fl42v@lemmy.ml
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                1 year ago

                Personally, I find layers more convenient. Like numbers on qwerty…, shift+numbers on asdf…, and all that stuff

                • HelloHotel@lemm.ee
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                  1 year ago

                  I love layers too, caps lock is my escape key/modifier key now and im happy.

                  Also, do you like to peck and type your numbers using “Fn”, “Fn1”, “Pn”, the illusive green modifier or all of them at once for capital numbers /s

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I mean, it seemed pretty obvious from the headline, but the article specifies that while they’re doing this, it’s not like they can somehiw make the 100s (if not thousands) of different keyboard manufacturers include this key…

      What might happen later is they require OEM products to have it when they come with Windows.

      Which would still really only be an issue for laptops.

      And I’m pretty sure even people with “gaming laptops” don’t use the built in keyboard most of the time.

      I dunno tho. I’ve never been able to understand the people who buy gaming laptops.