These shifters are normally designed for use in sim-racing/gaming, but I haven't sim raced a single time in my life. The shifts can be reconfigured for various actions, and I use it for things like switching workspaces or various emacs bindings.
What a brillant idea... I have sim-racing gear amassing dust in the garage, you make me want to try it out...
I probably won't but only because the Logitech shifter I have requires to be plugged in to the whole steering wheel assembly which would be bulky to have around the desk...
Foot pedals. I'm using one with three axis for flight simulation. One day I ran linux on the computer they were connected to, not "using" them, just connected.
Suddenly, without any warning, my screen turned left/right/upside down like it would on a tablet.
After the initial surprise it took a bit of time to figure out that it was caused by stepping on the pedals. And even more time to figure out that anything unkonwn with three axis is considered an accelerometer, and that an accelerometer defaults to turn the screen in gnome.
It was a long time ago. I haven't checked recently if there's finally a hwdb or whatever is needed for systemd to do some meaningful mapping.
I've tried using foot pedals like this before but there were two issues which made it not work.
1. You need to keep the ball of your foot raised when not pressing the button, which leads to an ache super quick. And foot switches tend to be pretty tall. The actuation distance is also pretty large.
2. The fact your foot is raised messes up your sitting balance. And you need to keep your foot in the same place all the time: no spinning your chair, no leaning to the side, shifting your weight, etc.
I'd like to see a good foot input device. Maybe something attached to the foot?
About #1: it takes about a month of sim racing for these muscles to develop. After a while, you even forget it used to be hard.
About #2: That's why you have special seats and rigs in sim racing. Your position is more at an angle and not fully vertical. Never expect a normal gaming chair to be of help for this.
There was a point when this was joke poking fun at emacs users. With time, it makes more and more sense. Foot pedals offload some strain from your hands to your feet which in theory sounds healthier when it comes to joints. They may even improve blood circulation to your feet. Something which is quite desirable given the sedentary nature of computer work.
Although I'm a vim user, I took inspiration from the many emacs users who swap left control and caps lock. For me, it's worth having for ctrl-l alone. After getting used to it, I can never go back.
I did this for a while, but I was getting RSI-ish symptoms in my left pinkie after a while.
If you ever get that as well: What works for me is swapping the left Alt and left Ctrl keys (without other keyboard changes). I happened to never use alt for anything combined with a right hand key, and now I can access the left Ctrl with my thumb.
I did this! I electrically extended the two keys on the bottom right of my keyboard (a 4 row 12 column Let's Split [0]) to two switches that you'd use for, say, running a drill press. I used hold/tap to give them more functionality, so one was shift/tab and the other was command/enter. I could change applications pretty smoothly with Command Tab and it was satisfying to send a command line command on its way with my foot. The switches were heavy enough that I could rest my foot on them without pushing them down at all. But it was weird keeping my foot in the same spot the whole time; I'd rather fidget and move them around. If I make them work with my Iris [2] (possibly by making a third half of it on the i2c bus) I'd strap the switches to my feet.
My trackball, a Clearly Superior Technologies L-Trac (I know best name ever), has 3.5mm ports that you can hook external switches in.
For a while I tried putting these switches below where my palms are when I use my ErgoDox keyboard. One was set to the command modifier on Mac and I don't remember what I set the right modifier to. I guess that is because I rarely used them (given that the ErgoDox places at least 4 keys under my thumbs).
I use a small two-way KVM-switch for my main setup in the living room (GF demanded that my main setup was in the living room so that I wouldn't spend too much time in my lab).
The KVM-switch has an external button on a wire to switch between two computers . It fell behind the desk a few years ago, and now I just use my foot to switch between computers. It works well.
Side note, it anyone is experiencing pain in your pinkies, another option is a keyboard where the action keys are offloaded onto the stronger thumbs. Personally I use the Kinesis Advantage 2 and it has been amazing
Your feet are just never ever going to be as coordinated as your hands. I guess an on-off pushbutton would be ok, but a "mole" (mouse moved by foot) will never have the accuracy of a hand-manipulated mouse.
Well that's a neurotypical illustration corresponding to a typically developed brain with typical usage patterns. People who can't use their hands or train a lot with their feet can display astounding dexterity.
Response time was ultimately why I discarded foot pedal after going trouble of setting it up. Brain to foot response time was too long for me and it significantly degraded productivity, especially since modifier keys are meant to be pushed in sync with other keys.
Foot pedal works for music because in music you plan to push the pedal ahead of time, whereas in programming it is a snap decision and therefore requires low latency reaction time.
Probably not. IIRC, nerve signals are actually much slower than we like to imagine, but our brains plays tricks with our memory such that we don’t percieve it.
I've been using the Olympus RS31H for control (left), shift (right), meta (middle), and super (top), which is all right, but reaching the top pedal is a bit cumbersome, because one has to raise one's whole foot. (Beware that, although it works on Linux, MS Windows + further proprietary software is needed to configure this.) I imagine organ pedals would be better, but I haven't found anything promising.
I am super into macro keys and I have been thinking about buying a foot pedal for ages. Aside from my 5 dedicated macro buttons, I have remapped the numpad buttons, the function buttons and several other buttons to macro functions. I also use a mmo mouse which has its own set off macro keys. It doesn't stop there as I am using HIDmacro to remap several keys own my laptop's keyboard. I also use AHK.
For the average macro lover getting a foot pedal has very little utility to offer but it does sound cool. The productivity bump of footbpedal is non-existent. But like homeopathy if you feel good about using something you will find it to be effective somehow.
[+] [-] georgewsinger|4 years ago|reply
These shifters are normally designed for use in sim-racing/gaming, but I haven't sim raced a single time in my life. The shifts can be reconfigured for various actions, and I use it for things like switching workspaces or various emacs bindings.
It's extremely mechanically satisfying to use.
[+] [-] leobg|4 years ago|reply
But I like the idea. Would also be interested to know how you’re using it!
[+] [-] egypturnash|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ghotli|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] panda88888|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] panda88888|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fleaaa|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] notRobot|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lelag|4 years ago|reply
I probably won't but only because the Logitech shifter I have requires to be plugged in to the whole steering wheel assembly which would be bulky to have around the desk...
[+] [-] unemphysbro|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mhh__|4 years ago|reply
Magnetic shifters with a direct drive wheel are positively orgasmic then.
[+] [-] unknown|4 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] alexhwoods|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] esho|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] someweirdperson|4 years ago|reply
Suddenly, without any warning, my screen turned left/right/upside down like it would on a tablet.
After the initial surprise it took a bit of time to figure out that it was caused by stepping on the pedals. And even more time to figure out that anything unkonwn with three axis is considered an accelerometer, and that an accelerometer defaults to turn the screen in gnome.
It was a long time ago. I haven't checked recently if there's finally a hwdb or whatever is needed for systemd to do some meaningful mapping.
[+] [-] rendaw|4 years ago|reply
1. You need to keep the ball of your foot raised when not pressing the button, which leads to an ache super quick. And foot switches tend to be pretty tall. The actuation distance is also pretty large.
2. The fact your foot is raised messes up your sitting balance. And you need to keep your foot in the same place all the time: no spinning your chair, no leaning to the side, shifting your weight, etc.
I'd like to see a good foot input device. Maybe something attached to the foot?
[+] [-] a_t48|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Shorel|4 years ago|reply
About #2: That's why you have special seats and rigs in sim racing. Your position is more at an angle and not fully vertical. Never expect a normal gaming chair to be of help for this.
[+] [-] sam_lowry_|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ChickeNES|4 years ago|reply
Perhaps an accelerometer in your shoe?
[+] [-] swader999|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] adaszko|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tharne|4 years ago|reply
I use a split (Dactyl Manuform) keyboard with qmk, and there's no end to the ongoing jokes about my "nerd keyboard", even from fellow programmers.
I can live with the jokes though. The keyboard cured my RSI and saved my career.
[+] [-] a9h74j|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] epr|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] harryvederci|4 years ago|reply
If you ever get that as well: What works for me is swapping the left Alt and left Ctrl keys (without other keyboard changes). I happened to never use alt for anything combined with a right hand key, and now I can access the left Ctrl with my thumb.
Hacker man!
Edit: left Cmd and left Ctrl on mac.
[+] [-] 1-more|4 years ago|reply
[0] https://keeb.io/products/levinson-lets-split-w-led-backlight
[1] https://www.ebay.com/itm/372481343130?hash=item56b99e3e9a:g:...
[2] https://keeb.io/collections/iris-split-ergonomic-keyboard
[+] [-] __mharrison__|4 years ago|reply
For a while I tried putting these switches below where my palms are when I use my ErgoDox keyboard. One was set to the command modifier on Mac and I don't remember what I set the right modifier to. I guess that is because I rarely used them (given that the ErgoDox places at least 4 keys under my thumbs).
[+] [-] mortenlarsen|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] warent|4 years ago|reply
https://kinesis-ergo.com/shop/advantage2/
[+] [-] Biganon|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] GrinningFool|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ajuc|4 years ago|reply
Basically this https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51976931606_3a854f959d_c... is duct taped over this https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61PnQO-fmzL._AC_SL1485_....
[+] [-] bediger4000|4 years ago|reply
Your feet are just never ever going to be as coordinated as your hands. I guess an on-off pushbutton would be ok, but a "mole" (mouse moved by foot) will never have the accuracy of a hand-manipulated mouse.
[+] [-] formerly_proven|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] LordDragonfang|4 years ago|reply
Models are just that, models. They often don't actually reflect reality.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedal_keyboard
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4XeClV_NCQ
[+] [-] samatman|4 years ago|reply
Ask any rock guitarist or concert pianist how they feel about stomping pedals while doing fiendishly complex things with their hands.
[+] [-] soheil|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] qrian|4 years ago|reply
Foot pedal works for music because in music you plan to push the pedal ahead of time, whereas in programming it is a snap decision and therefore requires low latency reaction time.
Not sure if it was a matter of training.
[+] [-] teddyh|4 years ago|reply
Probably not. IIRC, nerve signals are actually much slower than we like to imagine, but our brains plays tricks with our memory such that we don’t percieve it.
[+] [-] unknown|4 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] minimilian|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] medstrom|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] thinkmassive|4 years ago|reply
aka: PTT or push-to-talk
[+] [-] Shorel|4 years ago|reply
There are a few programs in both Windows and Linux to assign joystick axis to actions.
It was amazing.
[+] [-] soheil|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] keybored|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gotaquestion|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] anyfactor|4 years ago|reply
For the average macro lover getting a foot pedal has very little utility to offer but it does sound cool. The productivity bump of footbpedal is non-existent. But like homeopathy if you feel good about using something you will find it to be effective somehow.