[geeks] Compact keyboards

[William Enestvedt]

(Follow-up, in case anyone cares, to my request for feeback on compact
keyboards.)

   I got a Happy Hacking Lite 2 and a 4x5 Wacom Graphire tablet.

   I slung a narrow strip of Closet-Maid dipped-wire shelving from the
underside of my desk to use as a keyboard tray. I put the PowerBook up
on a Sun one-drive external HD case to raise the LCD to a comfortable
height, and I pulled the Wacom tablet right up to the front edge of the
desk.

   It's not perfect -- I still need to reach a little more than I'd like
to get to the tablet -- but it's far better than using the built-in
keyboard & trackpad. Also, having a
Command/Apple/Splat/Whatever-you-call-it key (which the old Wang
keyboard lacked) often lets me avoid use of the tablet in the first
place.

   My arm still hurts some, but sitting up straight and keeping my hands
above the little Happy Hacking keyboard is good. (The cheap wire
shelving is a little springy, so it encourages me to scoot right up and
rest the keyboard on my thighs while I type.)

   Before anyone asks, no, I don't have room for a keyboard & mouse tray
under the desk in this cubicle. I'm getting a combination tray for my
desktop PC where the "L" corner of the desks is deepest [which holds a
giant Sun CRT] but there just isn't enough space for a second rig. And
with the new keyboard and tablet, I think I can get by without one for a
while.

   Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

-wde
--
Will Enestvedt
UNIX System Administrator
Johnson & Wales University -- Providence, RI