[hnlmorg]

Because moving your hand is a one time effort vs moving it up and down the keyboard to enter those pesky 6 digit TOTP codes where the digits could be at opposite ends of the keyboard.

Plus I’ve been using keyboards longer than a lot of (probably most) developers on here have been alive and I haven’t ever found using the number pad to be even remotely an effort.

[eviks]

It's a one time effort you can easily avoid with a much smaller one time effort (tapping/holding a very convenient numpad layer modifier). And it's especially a wasted effort for very short numbers like TOTPs

And all the digits are right there, not at some opposite ends, e.g., UIO789 JKL456 M,.123 on a qwerty

[hnlmorg]

I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree on this one.

[Given_47]

I’m fairly certain they’re talking about creating an actual numpad layer on ur keyboard (which I also have), exactly so digits aren’t on the opposite side of the keyb. Mine is triggered by holding down esc/caps lock with my left, while my right is typing on the “numpad”

[hnlmorg]

Yeah I got that, but I disagree having to hold down down additional keys to enable that mode, and importantly in my case, having to remember to hold them down is less effort then moving your wrist two or three inches.

Ultimately there’s going to be a lot of personal habit baked into these preferences and we are talking about micro-optimisations at best anyway. Which I why I think it’s probably better to just agree to disagree.

[eviks]

You don't need to remember since you don't need to hold it down, you can toggle Or both, hold for shorter totp codes, toggle for longer data entry sessions Or you could have a one-shot modifier where for single numbers you wouldn't need to hold anything (while avoiding having to frequently move your hand back and forth just for a single symbol). This works similar to one-shot shift for a First Letter Cap

And the mistake in your first response with the numbers on the opposite ends isn't about "personal habit"

[hnlmorg]

Everything about keyboard preference is to do with personal habit. Using a keyboard effectively requires committing actions to muscle memory. Which is literally just another way of saying personal habits.

The ironic thing is this conversation of ours would have cost us more energy than what would have been saved from a lifetime of any of your keyboard optimisations. Which is why I roll my eyes when people try to intellectualise their keyboard preferences as some kind of revolutionary time and effort saver.

[Given_47]

Oh I didn’t mean to disagree, just wanted to add that it is pretty simple. However I still use the standard top number row for typing in a short sequence of numbers because of habit