kbd diamonds

["Wendell Cochran" atrypa@xxxxxxxx]

> Date sent:    Wed, 19 May 1999 20:46:45 -0600
> From:       "Michael Luth" 

> The "WordStar diamond" refers to the layout of the the 'e','s','d'
> and 'x' keys, and others around them and their use in conjunction
> with the CRTL key for moving about a document. Once you learn to
> use it it is nearly impossible to tolerate having to reach for an
> arrow key or one of the other cursor movement keys. WordStar has
> a whole series of CTRL key commands for touch typists that are very
> addictive . . .

Note the equally beloved diamond in the vi editor -- h, j, k, l (for
left, down, up, right). The parallel is exact, & for GUI
ultra-addicts the lesson is the same: the gods meant fingers to stay
close to the home position.

I've recently re-learned the lesson, acquiring tendinitis from
mouse-bite.  In addition to aspirin & abstinence I've bought a
Cirque touchpad (magic!) & learned keystroke equivalents for many
mouse motions. All are recommended.

Wendell Cochran
West Seattle

PS:  Cirque's Web site & 'support' insist that its touchpads are for
the Microsoft stable of operating systems (only), but at least one
model works almost equally well under Linux. What's more, a man I
know is writing a Linux driver by agreement with Cirque. The right
hand knoweth not etc.