Has anyone seen a USB number pad that can be attached to a laptop that has feet and inch keys included or maybe programmable keys to allow for feet and inches?
I Googled the hell out of it to no avail.
I approached my brother-in-law several years ago (electronics engineer) with an idea:
Keyboards with the Number pad on the left, with also the ' / " buttons, so you can enter data with your left hand and mouse with the right, instead of releasing the mouse to do so with the right hand. He said it was a waste of time and money to go ahead with the production and the real money is in developing software. I think this very comment could lay my claim to the invention....anyone want to do all the work for me and get this keyboard produced?
Please?
in windows (and probably on mac in some way) you can use utilities to re-map the keys on your keyboard. i think pc magazine had one that i used a while ago. google it
Art Lebedev's "Optimus Maximus" keyboard- each key is it's own fully customizable OLED screen with full color and *supposedly* HD resolution. and all this for only $1800!
agfa8x - It looks like they stopped making those iGesture pads. That is pretty much the solution (it was programmable) with the added benefit of mouse gestures. Too bad it disappeared.
colcol - any idea if you can map the keys on a USB number key pad? It isn't part of the original keyboard, but it does recognize the keys - it would make sense to be able to remap them.
Anyone else have any laptop solutions for efficiently entering dimensions in CAD / Sketchup, etc.? Am I just unaware of some simple keystroke solution that makes entering feet and inches simple?
A 10 key with better ergonomics built for gaming. You don't have to look at it to input. Keys can be assigned a macro for example the " or the ' key or a combination of keys and the standard 0-9 keys.
agfa - I bow down before your Google skills. That's a direct score. The prices are a bit higher than I was expecting, but with the ability to program different sets of hot keys a few of those look pretty useful for a ton of applications. Seems odd though considering you can get an entire full-size keyboard for $20 - $30 bucks. Makes me think I should try to make one myself out of a an old used keyboard. Off to search instructables.
That Frogpad looks like it has a bit of a learning curve.
My mouse has been programed with esc and minimise functions. The escape exits me out of ACAD comands when working, and well, minimise makes it look like im working.
Metric or not, it's still a pain in the can to type lots of dimensions on a laptop when they're all on the top row...at least it is for me. Since I want to add a keypad for numbers I figured I might as well have feet and inches keys since that's a more natural way for me to think. Metric makes more sense - but the old US of A didn't go along with President Carter on the big switch, so I learned feet and inches.
It's a shame. I was interested to note that the US is the only country other than the industrial giants(?) Liberia and Myanmar who haven't adopted metrics...
I'm busy developing a new system of measurement: the 'Sylvia' or the 'Sv'. She is exactly 100lb and 5 feet tall...she's also American which explains why she's still imperial, so she has limited applications. I just need to do some tests to work out her density and speed, and I think we can start rolling her out!
Don't forget to measure her forearms, hands and toenail width for those all important smaller measurements. These can be divided into her total height (or not) for a perfectly logical system of measurement.
Seriously I wish we used metric in the US. I don't think I'll ever understand why feet are broken up into 12ths and inches are broken into 16ths. What the hell is that all about?
The metric system - Change We Can Believe In, Si Se Puede.
USB number pad w/ ' & "
Has anyone seen a USB number pad that can be attached to a laptop that has feet and inch keys included or maybe programmable keys to allow for feet and inches?
I Googled the hell out of it to no avail.
maybe you've just uncovered God's secret plan for your life
you might be able to find a numpad with extra programmable keys which you could set to ' and "
I've been thinking about something like this too--it's a bitch entering dimensions using "10-key" without the ' & "
we need an "architects" keyboard…
I approached my brother-in-law several years ago (electronics engineer) with an idea:
Keyboards with the Number pad on the left, with also the ' / " buttons, so you can enter data with your left hand and mouse with the right, instead of releasing the mouse to do so with the right hand. He said it was a waste of time and money to go ahead with the production and the real money is in developing software. I think this very comment could lay my claim to the invention....anyone want to do all the work for me and get this keyboard produced?
Please?
in windows (and probably on mac in some way) you can use utilities to re-map the keys on your keyboard. i think pc magazine had one that i used a while ago. google it
Art Lebedev's "Optimus Maximus" keyboard- each key is it's own fully customizable OLED screen with full color and *supposedly* HD resolution. and all this for only $1800!
www.artlebedev.com
agfa8x - It looks like they stopped making those iGesture pads. That is pretty much the solution (it was programmable) with the added benefit of mouse gestures. Too bad it disappeared.
colcol - any idea if you can map the keys on a USB number key pad? It isn't part of the original keyboard, but it does recognize the keys - it would make sense to be able to remap them.
Anyone else have any laptop solutions for efficiently entering dimensions in CAD / Sketchup, etc.? Am I just unaware of some simple keystroke solution that makes entering feet and inches simple?
A 10 key with better ergonomics built for gaming. You don't have to look at it to input. Keys can be assigned a macro for example the " or the ' key or a combination of keys and the standard 0-9 keys.
agfa - that's quite a cumbersome mouse!
what about this thing? has anyone ever used it? or one like it?
it's a one handed, supposedly highly ergonomic and easy to learn keyboard.
www.frogpad.com
agfa - I bow down before your Google skills. That's a direct score. The prices are a bit higher than I was expecting, but with the ability to program different sets of hot keys a few of those look pretty useful for a ton of applications. Seems odd though considering you can get an entire full-size keyboard for $20 - $30 bucks. Makes me think I should try to make one myself out of a an old used keyboard. Off to search instructables.
That Frogpad looks like it has a bit of a learning curve.
Okay, someone had to say it:
Metric System.
Problem solved.
My mouse has been programed with esc and minimise functions. The escape exits me out of ACAD comands when working, and well, minimise makes it look like im working.
Metric or not, it's still a pain in the can to type lots of dimensions on a laptop when they're all on the top row...at least it is for me. Since I want to add a keypad for numbers I figured I might as well have feet and inches keys since that's a more natural way for me to think. Metric makes more sense - but the old US of A didn't go along with President Carter on the big switch, so I learned feet and inches.
It's a shame. I was interested to note that the US is the only country other than the industrial giants(?) Liberia and Myanmar who haven't adopted metrics...
I'm busy developing a new system of measurement: the 'Sylvia' or the 'Sv'. She is exactly 100lb and 5 feet tall...she's also American which explains why she's still imperial, so she has limited applications. I just need to do some tests to work out her density and speed, and I think we can start rolling her out!
Don't forget to measure her forearms, hands and toenail width for those all important smaller measurements. These can be divided into her total height (or not) for a perfectly logical system of measurement.
Seriously I wish we used metric in the US. I don't think I'll ever understand why feet are broken up into 12ths and inches are broken into 16ths. What the hell is that all about?
The metric system - Change We Can Believe In, Si Se Puede.
The project I'm working on in a US office is using metric... I'm revelling in using scales like 1:1000 and 1:500, instead of 3/32" and 3/16"
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