I wonder what it would be like to design a phone keyboard specifically to be used with vim

[mcc@mastodon.social]

I wonder what it would be like to design a phone keyboard specifically to be used with vim

[a2_4am@mastodon.social]

@mcc why do you want a keyboard with just W and Q

[aredridel@kolektiva.social]

@mcc Yes! Also, what does modal editing look like with a touchscreen as an input device?

[rk@mastodon.well.com]

@mcc

I am reminded that vi users made a trillion-dollar company restore the escape key to their laptops after removing it for the Touch Bar.

[joshg@mathstodon.xyz]

@mcc
or emacs
*ducks*

[mcc@mastodon.social]

@joshg that sounds easier

[mcc@mastodon.social]

@aredridel phone keyboards are already modal

[mcc@mastodon.social]

@a2_4am so I can quit vi

[aredridel@kolektiva.social]

@mcc Quite. But mostly we're stuffing them into QWERTY-shaped boxes, and purely as input, not as _editing_ beyond cursor moving and backspace.

[bitofabother@swingset.social]

@mcc a usable escape key 🤤

[fluffy@plush.city]

@mcc The one in Termius (iOS) is pretty well suited to it, especially if you add : to the quick-access strip.

[hyc@mastodon.social]

@mcc the Touch Pro 2's keyboard was pretty excellent. https://m.gsmarena.com/htc_touch_pro2-pictures-2690.php

With the adjustable tilt, I haven't seen any other phone get this right.

[orb2069@mastodon.online]

@mcc
Tired - swapping ctrl & caps lock
Wired - swapping esc & caps lock

[chrisamaphone@hci.social]

@mcc lowkey this might be a path forward in the "editing text (after entering it) on a phone is a completely miserable user experience" problem

[bob@feed.hella.cheap]

@mcc have you seen the nine square grid system that psp homebrew uses

[hyc@mastodon.social]

@mcc but if you're just talking about onscreen keyboards, Hacker Keyboard is it.

[docbohn@techhub.social]

@hyc @mcc As someone who's used Happy Hacking Keyboards for mumblety-mumble years, I get where you're coming from on that on-screen keyboard.

But if I were designing an on-screen keyboard to be optimized for vi, the `:` character would not require pressing the Shift key or a long-press.

[vikxin@beach.city]

@fluffy @mcc I can second this. I use it fairly frequently

[mcc@mastodon.social]

@bob no :O

[mcc@mastodon.social]

@Orb2069 phone keyboards typically have neither particularly