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diff --git a/public/index.atom b/public/index.atom index 18ad7fe..95c48f8 100644 --- a/public/index.atom +++ b/public/index.atom @@ -5,12 +5,110 @@ <link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="./index.atom"/> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="./"/> <link rel="alternate" type="text/markdown" href="./index.md"/> - <updated>2024-07-10T00:00:00+00:00</updated> + <updated>2025-05-31T00:00:00+00:00</updated> <author><name>Luke T. Shumaker</name><uri>https://lukeshu.com/</uri><email>lukeshu@lukeshu.com</email></author> <id>https://lukeshu.com/blog/</id> <entry xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"> + <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="./footpedal.html"/> + <link rel="alternate" type="text/markdown" href="./footpedal.md"/> + <id>https://lukeshu.com/blog/footpedal.html</id> + <updated>2025-05-31T00:00:00+00:00</updated> + <published>2025-05-31T00:00:00+00:00</published> + <title>My footpedal</title> + <content type="html"><h1 id="my-footpedal">My footpedal</h1> +<p>A collection of things I have written about the footpedal that I +sometimes use with my computer:</p> +<hr /> +<blockquote> +<p>I have a VEC Infinity IN-USB-2 that I grabbed at Goodwill for $5.</p> +<p>I love it. I tend to use it less when the RSI isn’t flaring up, but +the first time I had RSI being bad is when I started to use it–it really +helped. My RSI was in the few fingers on the pinky-side of my hands (so +the opposite of CTS; I’m told this is less common, but I’m figuring it’s +more common for Emacs users, with all the talk of “Emacs-pinky”), and +much worse on my right hand. The pedal has 3 keys; I have them as +(left-to-right) Control, Shift, and Alt/Meta, with the addition that if +I short-tap the center, it does Enter; this basically means that I can +avoid using my right pinky at all when typing. This allowed me to keep +using the computer without making things worse, while I did other things +to improve the RSI (stretches, wearing wrist braces at night). The +tap-for-Enter seems a bit weird, but I added it after that motion seemed +instinctual when using left-button for control in a repeated C-s search; +hold foot-left and tap keyboard-S to increment search, then tap +foot-center to complete the search.</p> +<p>About the IN-USB-2 specifically:</p> +<p><strong><em>It’s an XK-3:</em></strong> It’s actually made by P.I. +Engineering for VEC; it’s a <a +href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180119/http://piengineering.com/xkeys/xkfootRear.php">rear-hinged +X-Keys XK-3</a><sup>(<a href="https://xkeys.com/xkfootrear.html">updated +link</a>)</sup> with a different (less capable) firmware. The benefit of +the crippled firmware is that the IN-USB-2 is way cheaper than buying a +“real” XK-3 (even without finding one at Goodwill).</p> +<p><strong><em>Firmware:</em></strong> On the downside of that, the +firmware is less capable; unlike the XK-3, it shows up as a generic HID +device with 3 buttons, instead of as a keyboard, and thus you can’t +configure which button is which key. That is, you’ll have to have a +program running to monitor the HID buttons and synthesize whichever key +events you want, instead of configuring the keys on the device. +Fortunately, the device is supported by P.I. Engineering’s Linux SDK, <a +href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180119/http://xkeys.com/PISupport/DeveloperLinuxSDK.php"><code>pihid</code></a><sup>(<a +href="https://xkeys.com/software/developer/developerlinuxsdk.html">updated +link</a>)</sup> (<a +href="https://github.com/piengineering/xkeys">git</a>), so that program +is fairly easy to write (and as an Emacs user, you probably appreciate +that configuration-is-code gives you more flexibility). The +<code>pihid</code> SDK is a crappy little wrapper around the +<code>hidapi</code> library with the appropriate magic numbers for the +hardware. <code>hidapi</code> is portable to macOS; I imagine that +getting <code>pihid</code> working on macOS is no trouble at all. (IDK +if their <a +href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180119/http://piengineering.com/PISupport/SoftwareControllerMate.php">ControllerMate</a> +program for macOS works with it, or if ControllerMate requires the real +XK-3 firmware.)</p> +<p><strong><em>Hardware:</em></strong> The thing feels sturdy. If the +switch ever craps out (not that I think it would), it’s a generic switch +that’s in everything that you can pick up for $0.50; which is nice for +peace-of-mind. The middle button feels a little wide; I generally have +my foot around the left side of it, for Control, and it is difficult to +reach over to the right for Meta, and usually end up hitting Meta on the +keyboard instead.</p> +<p><cite><a +href="https://reddit.com/r/emacs/comments/7remed/has_anybody_used_foot_pedals/dswhzkt/">Reddit, +2018-01-19</a></cite></p> +</blockquote> +<hr /> +<blockquote> +<p>I love it, but I don’t necessarily love it <em>more than I would any +other foot pedal</em>. If you find a different one for cheaper, go for +it.</p> +<p><cite><a +href="https://reddit.com/r/emacs/comments/7remed/has_anybody_used_foot_pedals/dswrf3r/">Reddit, +2018-01-19</a></cite></p> +</blockquote> +<hr /> +<blockquote> +<p>I found that my brain didn’t want to treat the pedals like it did +keys–it wanted to treat them modally. I wasn’t <em>pressing +control</em>, I was <em>entering control-mode</em>. I wasn’t +<em>pressing shift</em>, I was <em>entering caps-mode</em>. Which works +out, because it isn’t the quick keystrokes that cause the most strain, +it’s holding the modifier with one finger while the rest of the hand +moves around. I wouldn’t use the footpedal Control for the usual quick +C-f/b/n/p, but it’s great for holding Control as you C-s through a +document.</p> +<p><cite><a +href="https://reddit.com/r/emacs/comments/7remed/has_anybody_used_foot_pedals/dswrmo5/">Reddit, +2018-01-19</a></cite></p> +</blockquote> +</content> + <author><name>Luke T. Shumaker</name><uri>https://lukeshu.com/</uri><email>lukeshu@lukeshu.com</email></author> + <rights type="html"><p>The content of this page is Copyright © 2025 <a href="mailto:lukeshu@lukeshu.com">Luke T. Shumaker</a>.</p> +<p>This page is licensed under the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA 4.0</a> license.</p></rights> + </entry> + + <entry xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="./relax-ng-errata.html"/> <link rel="alternate" type="text/markdown" href="./relax-ng-errata.md"/> <id>https://lukeshu.com/blog/relax-ng-errata.html</id> @@ -4113,7 +4211,7 @@ basically the only thing in rc.conf will be <code>DAEMONS</code>.< href="#fn2" class="footnote-ref" id="fnref2" role="doc-noteref"><sup>2</sup></a> For now there is compatibility for the variables that used to be there, but that is going away.</p> -<aside id="footnotes" class="footnotes footnotes-end-of-document" +<section id="footnotes" class="footnotes footnotes-end-of-document" role="doc-endnotes"> <hr /> <ol> @@ -4141,7 +4239,7 @@ role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li> <code>netmask</code>, and <code>gateway</code>. But those are minor.<a href="#fnref2" class="footnote-back" role="doc-backlink">↩︎</a></p></li> </ol> -</aside> +</section> </content> <author><name>Luke T. Shumaker</name><uri>https://lukeshu.com/</uri><email>lukeshu@lukeshu.com</email></author> <rights type="html"><p>The content of this page is Copyright © 2012 <a href="mailto:lukeshu@lukeshu.com">Luke T. Shumaker</a>.</p> |