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Happy Hacking Keyboard

Issue 56

From Issue #56
December 1998

Dec 01, 1998  By Jeremy Dinsel
 in
According to PFU America, the keyboard's design makes it easier for programmers to reach the keys they want quickly and efficiently.
Disgruntled Gamer

As a part-time game player (Linux Quake), I'm accustomed to using the keyboard for all player movements, such as turns and running. With this keyboard, I'd have to hold the function key down constantly (to select the arrow keys) or figure out how to use the mouse. Otherwise, keeping the function key depressed (two keys away from the arrow keys) and trying to fumble around with the arrows might increase the probability of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.

After a few games of Quake, I think I'll be comfortable with the bizarre fingering required. Also, using the keyboard to program in XEmacs helped in the adjustment needed to get into the gaming world.

Technical Support and On-line Documentation

Documentation is also available on-line. While I haven't had to use their tech support e-mail, it is readily available—my contact at PFU America was quick to reply to any e-mail I sent. Furthermore, all of the information needed to install and hook up the keyboard can be found on-line. All of the information in the manual is included in their on-line documentation.

In Closing

Overall, I would be hard-pressed to sum up this review with anything but a positive remark. With the price tag recently dropping by $40, the keyboard is more affordable. I'm sure other hackers will be quite happy to own it.

For someone who hasn't experienced the keyboard, it's hard to believe everything reported about the Happy Hacking Keyboard by PFU America. In fact, I was skeptical about the remarks I had heard before I became a Happy Hacking Keyboard user. Now, one month after laying my fingers on it, I can't imagine using any other keyboard. I wonder if PFU America makes a Happy Hacking tote bag.

Jeremy Dinsel is an almost-graduate of California University of Pennsylvania, where he studies computer science and operates the Math and Computer Science Linux server. He welcomes questions and comments and encourages western Pennsylvanians to join WPLUG—a Linux organization (http://sighsy.cup.edu/~dinselj/wplug/). He is also the webmaster for SSC and can be reached at jeremy@ssc.com.

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Eight Years Later...

Jeremy N. Dinsel's picture
Submitted by Jeremy N. Dinsel (not verified) on Mon, 11/13/2006 - 23:33.

After posting an image of a new desk I made, a friend recently asked if the keyboard on the desk was a Happy Hacking keyboard. As it turns out, it is. In fact, it's the same keyboard that I wrote about in this article almost eight years ago. All of the keys still have their lettering, none of the keys broke and the cable has never been replaced. If I knew that eight years later, this same keyboard, my primary interface tool, would be working as if it were new, I would have added that to the article. I'm amazed and glad that PFU made such a sturdy product.

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