A Point, A Program, A Plea

[elfs]

First off, thank you all for the advice. I've taken some of it, will implement much of the rest as time goes on. As I observed earlier, the only real "ergo" keyboard option is the Evolution, the one where the keys are on separate arms of the chair. Other than that, I've done everything I can to make my vork environment friendly to me and my wrists. The Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM combo is helping quite a bit, especially when combined with naproxen. I will be calling the osteopath later in the day.

I find it amusing that nobody pointed out the obvious, and I didn't even notice it myself. What was the first thing I did upon hearing the good doctor's recommendation to stop writing? I found a quiet spot and wrote about it. And it wasn't until I'd sent it to LJ that I realized what I'd just done. It is like breathing. I barely notice that there's anything special about writing as compared to speaking.

Anyways, among other things technoshaman pointed me at an algorithm that estimated an author's gender according to stylistic pointers in the text. Amused by the idea but annoyed at the web-only interface, I went and wrote one myself, in Python (a.k.a. Perl for adults and other people who have to manage large systems of code). It can be used as a program on the command line or integrated as a library into larger systems-- not that anyone would want to.

And a plea: Does anyone out there have a copy of Mandrake Linux 8.0 Deluxe, with the "Mandrake Powerpack" CD? If so, I'd be willing to purchase it from you for a reasonable price. This is the CD with the last bugfix of ViaVoice for Linux available on the market.

Comments

Mandrake 8.0 on Amazon

[lucky-otter.livejournal.com]

If you aren't anti-Amazon, you could try there. Powerpack and Prosuite (both of which have viavoice) available for $50, and one of those is even still wrapped.

Prosuite: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/offering/list/-/B00005LL29/all/ref=dp_pb_a/002-7875379-4149659
Powerpack: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/offering/list/-/B00005KJ42/all/ref=dp_pb_a/002-7875379-4149659

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Edit: "gender".

[(Anonymous)]

oh well it will get better and its posible to go amonth with out touching acomputer out side of work
i did it once when my cpu crashed on the 3rd and had to wait till the 28th to get a new Proccessor
let me tell you PC with drawl is very very painfull but you probly have more self control than me
when it got to the 20th-23rd i dug out a tandy Trsx 180 from my closet and used it to connect to an IRC channel via a shell accnt

Split Keyboards

[rightsock.livejournal.com]

If you want to do some digging and can live with older ps/2 keyboards, there are some old IBM and Siemens keyboards that join in the middle with a ball-like structure. Because of this, the two halves are completely separate and are joined by a cable. There is no number pad (external option). It does, however, have capslock in the unfortunate position; next to the 'A' where the ctrl key really ought to be, and no (hardware) way to change it (unless you're using X, then you can use xmodmap).

I own three of these keyboards because they are adjustable. I vary the angle on them several times a day, partially because my regular usage of it causes the keyboard to slide around on its tray. After awhile, it starts to fall off the keyboard tray, so I have to pick it up and move it back to the center of the tray, and this process always seems to jiggle it around a little bit.

For years I keep contemplating getting a recliner, extending the cable between the two keyboard halves, and mounting them to the recliner. I still have not gotten any further than the idea stage. Yay for procrastination...I think.

In any case, good luck in finding a keyboard setup that works for you. In my lap seems to be the best for me.