January 13, 2012
We’ve made quite a song-and-dance about mechanical keyboards here at MakeUseOf, and now that more and more manufacturers are jumping on the bandwagon they’re no longer specialised bits of kit reserved for the upper echelons of PC gaming. If you’re wondering what the fuss is about you might want to read our relevant Technology Explained feature.
December 17, 2011
One of the biggest issues I encounter when hunting for one of those obscure and uncommon Unicode characters is the fact that there’s thousands and thousands of them in total. It’s tough to squeeze too many of them into your brain. Shapecatcher.com eases your pain by allowing you to find that special character by using your visual memory.
December 8, 2011
This infographic made me take a good long hard look at my own keyboard. Especially after I read that a keyboard has about 60 times more germs than a toilet seat. Excuse me while I go and disinfect my hands thoroughly several times as well as go out and buy a replacement keyboard and a new toilet seat. It seems the germs are everywhere and are running rampant around all our houses.
November 13, 2011
A huge majority of computer users use Qwerty as their keyboard layout; it’s the default in almost every keyboard in the world, and everyone is used to it. But there are at least two more layouts out there, and according to the people who use them, they’re actually better. So what do MakeUseOf readers think of them?
October 28, 2011
For geeks, mechanical keyboards are the holy grail of input devices. They’re relatively rare, they’re expensive, and require some explanation for people to understand them. It’s everything a geek could ask for. If you’re not a keyboard enthusiast then you’ve probably heard of mechanical keyboards and their wondrous benefits, but you may not know how they work.
October 10, 2011
No matter how futuristic typing on touchscreen devices may seem, the larger reality is that you (and plenty of other users) are probably more used to typing with physical keyboards. You have probably even come to the conclusion that a full-sized physical keyboard is much bigger a joy to use compared to a smartphone or tablet on-screen keyboard. It can take some getting used to, but typing on a touch-screen device doesn’t have to be a complete nightmare, especially if you download one of the fully-featured keyboard apps on this article.
October 5, 2011
In a recent article, I reviewed a free text expansion program called DashExpanders that automatically types designated words, phrases, sentences, or entire paragraphs, based on an assigned abbreviation. So for example, if I type “bkc”, the text expansion program I use will replace it with my full name. For every article I write, I use at least a dozen text expansions to speed up the process.
September 20, 2011
When it comes to controlling my computer using hotkeys, I’m a huge fan of AutoHotkey. However, if you’re just starting out on the path to complete keyboard domination, AutoHotkey may seem a bit daunting. Add-ons like ActivAid can make it easier to get started with AutoHotkey, but some people just prefer to go for a simpler app, at least at first.
September 1, 2011
Over a year after the initial launch of the iPad, we are finally seeing some decent tablet alternatives on the market. Recent legal quarrels between Apple and Samsung indicate that competition will be fierce. Obviously, the most recent Android Honeycomb tablets are up to par, even in the eyes of Apple.
August 31, 2011
Laptops offer many advantages compared to desktop computers. Most importantly they are small and portable. The convenient hardware features of laptops, however, also imply a lot of limitations. In this article I will introduce you to a selection of applications that address these hardware limitations.
