Why do you prefer the ANSI enter? Why the ISO enter?

ANSI or ISO enter? Why?

ISO
33
37%
ANSI
55
61%
Big-L
2
2%
 
Total votes: 90

davkol

06 Aug 2014, 13:39

Then there's the other valid annoyance, i.e. when people claim personal preference is entirely subjective and cannot be based on objective reasoning.

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Muirium
µ

06 Aug 2014, 14:05

Fortunately, we haven't reached that one, yet. Note that I used a spectrum metaphor. ANSI vs. ISO is a close enough fight, as the difference is so subtle, that there's little leverage for authentically objective arguments. That doesn't stop bullshit from putting on an objective hat, however.

A good comparison is the related but distinct argument over QWERTY vs. optimised layouts. Objective evidence is heaped against QWERTY, as it has clearly measurable inferiority to Colemak. So the terms of debate shift. We wind up arguing about adoption and network effects instead.

davkol

06 Aug 2014, 14:13

Availability of replacement sets and motion/distance required to reach desired key are measurable parameters. There's not enough knowledge on aesthetics... just yet.

gioele

06 Aug 2014, 14:18

davkol wrote: Availability of replacement sets […] are measurable parameters.
I would say that the availability of replacement sets is more connected to the cultural background of the person or organization behind that set. If you are used to ANSI and you live in the USA, you probably do not care about ISO keyboards.

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Muirium
µ

06 Aug 2014, 14:23

davkol wrote: Availability of replacement sets and motion/distance required to reach desired key are measurable parameters. There's not enough knowledge on aesthetics... just yet.
I agree with you on both of those, as I prefer ANSI too. (Despite living in the ISO world, with an excess of ISO keyboards in my own collection. That doesn't help the fact that SP and GMK are both ANSI biased, and so is every new GB.)

But does all that you said condemn people with a preference for ISO to having "measurably bad taste?" A preference can be informed by objective inputs, but people's habits and exposure are stronger weighted variables, as seen with QWERTY.

Although people have been analysing aesthetics since the ancient Greeks (golden ratio, carefully distorted columns, etc.), something tells me that beauty is in the eye of the subjective, irrational, badly informed beholder. Or art would be in big trouble once we find the global maximum!

User avatar
kbdfr
The Tiproman

06 Aug 2014, 14:27

Correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that "personal preference" and "objective reasoning" are kind of contradictory.

"Generally, objectivity means the state or quality of being true even outside of a subject's individual biases, interpretations, feelings, and imaginings."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivity_(philosophy)

User avatar
Muirium
µ

06 Aug 2014, 14:59

Good point. I think we, or rather I've, wound up debating whether there's an objective input into subjective taste, but subjectivity is so wild and irrepressible that it's pretty pointless trying to figure it out from the outside. There'll be patterns (growing up used to one layout instead of the other) but the subject still rules supreme.

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Halvar

06 Aug 2014, 15:01

davkol wrote: Availability of replacement sets and motion/distance required to reach desired key are measurable parameters.
Number of keys is, too. And having a strong concept for adding additional characters (AltGr) or not having that concept. And "desired key" would have to be defined. And lower motion/distance is not automatically more desirable for every kind of key. And the used language and use case (writing novels in Swedish vs. programming in vi vs. programming in EMACS vs. writing limericks in English) would introduce important weighting factors.

Trying to objectify this question leads nowhere really.

davkol

06 Aug 2014, 15:07

Muirium wrote: But does all that you said condemn people with a preference for ISO to having "measurably bad taste?"
Yes.
Muirium wrote: A preference can be informed by objective inputs, but people's habits and exposure are stronger weighted variables, as seen with QWERTY.
Unfortunately.
Muirium wrote: Although people have been analysing aesthetics since the ancient Greeks (golden ratio, carefully distorted columns, etc.), something tells me that beauty is in the eye of the subjective, irrational, badly informed beholder. Or art would be in big trouble once we find the global maximum!
Neuroscience to the rescue!

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kbdfr
The Tiproman

06 Aug 2014, 15:22

davkol wrote:
Muirium wrote: But does all that you said condemn people with a preference for ISO to having "measurably bad taste?"
Yes. […]
And I do contend that the "measurably bad taste" is with whoever finds it is acceptable
- either not to align the right edge of the alpha cluster
- or to stretch a "character key" to 1.25u for no other reason than alignment of the right edge.

Now this is a highly objective argument, isn't it? :mrgreen:

davkol

06 Aug 2014, 15:35

Halvar wrote:
davkol wrote: Availability of replacement sets and motion/distance required to reach desired key are measurable parameters.
Number of keys is, too. And having a strong concept for adding additional characters (AltGr) or not having that concept.
Last time I checked, the OP was about *Enter*, not whole layout.
kbdfr wrote:
davkol wrote:
Muirium wrote: But does all that you said condemn people with a preference for ISO to having "measurably bad taste?"
Yes. […]
And I do contend that the "measurably bad taste" is with whoever finds it is acceptable
- either not to align the right edge of the alpha cluster
- or to stretch a "character key" to 1.25u for no other reason than alignment of the right edge.

Now this is a highly objective argument, isn't it? :mrgreen:
I actually think both suck. ~_^

Findecanor

06 Aug 2014, 15:58

How about this one? (provided that it is properly stabilised) This variety is seen on many typewriters. It combines the properties of ANSI (close on Home row) and ISO (big) in one. There is no reason why the right Shift key should be so large otherwise - it is here shrunk from 2.75u to 1.5u.
upsidedownbig.png
upsidedownbig.png (8.81 KiB) Viewed 3613 times
I wonder if SP makes a variation of this one in DCS or SA profile. I can't really decipher the code in the data sheets...

davkol

06 Aug 2014, 16:02

It makes right Shift + Arrows a bit tricky on ordinary keyboards... and I don't see any benefits either.

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kbdfr
The Tiproman

06 Aug 2014, 16:23

davkol wrote: It makes right Shift + Arrows a bit tricky on ordinary keyboards... and I don't see any benefits either.
There we seem to agree:
right-hand configuration.jpg
right-hand configuration.jpg (44.11 KiB) Viewed 3600 times

tobo

06 Aug 2014, 17:23

Whoever voted for the Big-L enter, I got your back :D.

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Muirium
µ

06 Aug 2014, 17:41

Any other keys you like to supersize just for the hell of it? 10u space bar, surely…

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ullr

07 Aug 2014, 07:15

The rest of that keyboard is one big key.

xwhatsit

07 Aug 2014, 07:16

Muirium wrote: 10u space bar, surely…
c.f. 3727 or 3278.
(ok, maybe only 9u)
Last edited by xwhatsit on 07 Aug 2014, 11:29, edited 1 time in total.

andrewjoy

07 Aug 2014, 10:00

I use both and i am ok with switching now,things i don't like about ansi are the placement of the |\ key and @ key. I think however ansi looks better than ISO.

If i was to be forced to chose however i would chose ISO as i have used it for longer

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sth
2 girls 1 cuprubber

07 Aug 2014, 12:20

frankly, i would love to have a 60% board with a bigass enter.

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