Alright, so today I’m spilling the beans on my “boika” experiment. Buckle up, it’s a bit of a ride.
It all started last week. I was scrolling through some forums, and I stumbled upon this thread about building a custom keyboard layout. I’ve always been a bit of a keyboard nerd, constantly tweaking things, so it piqued my interest. This “boika” layout seemed pretty out there, like someone had mashed the keyboard with their forehead and called it a day. But hey, I’m always up for a challenge.
First thing I did was research. I dug around for any existing resources, blog posts, anything. Surprisingly, there wasn’t much. This thing was obscure. That’s when I knew I had to try it. I figured, even if it sucked, it’d be a fun learning experience, and maybe I could contribute something to the internet besides cat memes.
So, I downloaded a keyboard layout editor. There are tons of free ones out there. I picked one that looked easy enough to use without needing a PhD in computer science. Then came the hard part: actually creating the layout. I started by mapping the basic letters, trying to keep the most frequently used ones under my strongest fingers. That was the theory, anyway. In practice, it was a lot of trial and error, moving keys around, typing gibberish, and generally making a mess.
I spent a couple of days just messing around with the key placements. I would type a few sentences, realize something was horribly wrong, and then tweak it again. It was a slow process, but I was starting to get a feel for the layout.
Next up, the symbols and numbers. This was even more of a pain. Where do you put the @ symbol when you’ve already used all the good spots for letters? I ended up sticking them on some of the less used keys, using a modifier key (like Alt) to access them. It’s not ideal, but it works.
After what felt like an eternity, I finally had a layout that I was reasonably happy with. Time to test it out in the real world. I set it as my default keyboard layout and prepared for the chaos.
Oh man, the first few hours were brutal. I couldn’t type a single sentence without making a dozen mistakes. My fingers were all over the place, hitting the wrong keys, and I was constantly having to backspace and correct myself. I almost gave up. But I’m stubborn, so I stuck with it.
Slowly but surely, I started to get the hang of it. My fingers started to learn the new key positions, and I was making fewer mistakes. After a week, I was actually able to type at a decent speed. Not as fast as my old QWERTY layout, but faster than I thought I’d be.
The Verdict?
So, was “boika” worth it? Honestly, I’m not sure. It was a fun project, and I learned a lot about keyboard layouts. But I don’t think I’ll be switching to it full-time. It’s just too different from what I’m used to.
However, I did learn a few things that I can apply to my regular keyboard setup. I’ve tweaked a few of the keybindings to be more comfortable, and I’m experimenting with different layouts for programming. So, even though “boika” itself might not be a winner, the experience was definitely valuable.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment. You never know what you might discover.
- Start small. Don’t try to change everything at once.
- Be patient. It takes time to learn a new skill.
That’s my “boika” adventure. Maybe you’ll try it yourself. Or maybe you’ll just stick with QWERTY. Either way, happy typing!
