After my last post on ideal Emacs keyboards, here’s a reminder of what reality actually looks like. When I used to see pictures like that, I thought they were amusing but couldn’t really relate. Now my own laptop keyboard is showing the same signs.
Oddly, it’s not the Ctrl key that’s showing wear but the Meta key, otherwise known as ⌥ Opt in Apple land, that’s showing wear. That’s probably because I have Caps Lock bound to Ctrl but I use both it and Ctrl depending on the situation. That means that Ctrl gets only half the use it otherwise would.
The other key that’s showing wear is my left ⌘ Cmd key. For Emacs purposes that’s bound to Super but I rarely use it for that. Its wear is probably due to its central role in Apple navigation.
When your Emacs keys begin to wear out, it’s probably a sign that it’s time to upgrade your laptop—or get a new keyboard if you’re using a desktop. I actually have a new laptop ready but it uses the new M-series processors so upgrading is not as easy as I’d like. Still, it’s obviously time to get on with it.