Restoring Numeric Keypads to their Rightful Place As Kings of the Keyboard
Hey, you know what’s great? Numbers. Everybody loves numbers! I love numbers, you love numbers. Numbers are the best. But you know who doesn’t love numbers? Laptop manufacturers, who are horrible trolls with hearts of coal. They are so opposed to everything good and right in this world that they have completely eliminated numeric keypads from modern laptops. This is because they are the enemies of numbers, and of fun.
But that doesn’t mean you have to resign yourself to a miserable life of hand cramps and slow data entry! PJRC has a great USB HID implementation for the Teensy that makes it simple to make a keyboard out of just about anything… even a thirty year old piece of lab equipment.
All the code is up at github. EXTRA ARCHAISM BONUS: I’ve converted the character bitmap data from the Waters 600E firmware into a BDF font. You can snag it here!
[…] We have to agree with NYCResistor, the exclusion of numeric pads from laptops is a real loss for productivity. Ever try to working with a huge spreadsheet ledger without a 10-key? Sure, there are usually function key alternatives hiding somewhere on those reduced keyboards. But that’s hardly the same thing. We think it’s time to take back the numpad. This project shows you how easy it is by using some old time lab equipment to replace the missing keys. […]
[…] We have to agree with NYCResistor, the exclusion of numeric pads from laptops is a real loss for productivity. Ever try to working with a huge spreadsheet ledger without a 10-key? Sure, there are usually function key alternatives hiding somewhere on those reduced keyboards. But that’s hardly the same thing. We think it’s time to take back the numpad. This project shows you how easy it is by using some old time lab equipment to replace the missing keys. […]