Need new keyboard

[allheart55 Cindy E]

I just ordered one of these. If I really like it once I get it, I'll probably order another one.

[Mommalina]

One summer, my mother made my sisters and I take a typing and shorthand class that she taught.

The typing has come in handy, the shorthand, not so much. :big_grin:

 

Cindy, I still have all my Gregg shorthand books. I even have a

Spanish Gregg shorthand book; I tried to master it without much

success.

 

High-school Typing and English Shorthand in high school included

lessons in grammar, punctuation, and "nit-picking" (attention to

detail). Served me well, as it did some of my college classmates,

when I took notes in class, then transcribed and shared them.

 

I always preached to my kids not to whine about having to learn

something you think you will never use -- you never know!

[allheart55 Cindy E]

Grammar and punctuation was hammered into me in Catholic School. :real_anger:

English was always my favorite subject anyway. :D

[Mommalina]

BTW, I read thru some of the one-star reviews, and it

looks like the manufacturer will try to resolve any

problem before and after warranty expiration. How

refreshing!

Edited September 12, 2015 by Mommalina

[allheart55 Cindy E]

That always good to know.

You don't find that will a lot of companies today.

[AWS]

Grammar and punctuation was hammered into me in Catholic School. :real_anger:

English was always my favorite subject anyway. :D

I went to Lutheran schools and they did the same. Handwriting had to perfect as well.

 

I ordered one as well. I am looking forward to it when I get it.

[allheart55 Cindy E]

Yeah. Penmanship. I remember.

[Mommalina]

Do penmanship lessons still exist? Many (maybe

most) schools no longer teach cursive writing.

[allheart55 Cindy E]

You know, Lina, I don't think that penmanship classes exist any more.

They do teach cursive in the public schools, at least in this area anyway.

I didn't send my children to parochial school.

[Mommalina]

My granddaughters, 10 and 12, attend excellent California

public schools where they have never been taught cursive.

Innovative California usually leads the way they say!

 

I don't quite completely agree with their father who thinks

cursive writing, like Gregg shorthand, have outlived their

usefulness. He's a brain with common sense (rare combo),

so who am I to judge.

 

But cursive-printing software exists and I assume also

cursive-reading software?

[allheart55 Cindy E]

If they are indeed no longer teaching cursive script in the elementary school,

how are children supposed to know how to sign their names to any type of

legal documents? Are they going to have to print their signature?

:eek:

Makes no sense to me....

[Mommalina]

If they are indeed no longer teaching cursive script in the elementary school,

how are children supposed to know how to sign their names to any type of

legal documents? Are they going to have to print their signature?

:eek:

Makes no sense to me....

 

I'll have to ask my son how his daughters sign their names.

Maybe the schools teach that much?

 

Will they be able to read the letters and checks from Granma

and Granpa? :confused::rolleyes:

[allheart55 Cindy E]

I know, right?

I'm going to ask my little sister.

She is an elementary school teacher.

 

It's been a long time since my kidlings were in school.

[Plastic Nev]

Blimey, proper names like "cursive" Just shows the low level of school I went to, we were just told it was joined up writing. :D

However if it isn't taught any more it does beg the question of how are they going to read a letter or perhaps a diary written by grand parents from more than forty or fifty years ago?

It is sometimes such things as written during WWII in a diary (Like my dad did) that really teaches what it was like to live in those times, if today's children can't read it, how are they going to learn such history?

 

Nev.

[allheart55 Cindy E]

You are correct, Lina.

Cursive writing is no longer part of the required curriculum.

 

I am in shock! :yikes:

[Mommalina]

Cindy, my son told me not to worry about the demise of

cursive writing:

 

"It's going the way of the dinosaur. Over time, fewer and

fewer transactions will be based on what your signature

looks like.

 

"On almost every credit card transaction, just for fun, I

make a different and inscrutable scribble. Except when

I sign Warren G. Harding or Not My Signature. I've

never been challenged."

[allheart55 Cindy E]

That's funny but also a bit scary.

Just shows how little signatures are compared.

 

It bothers me, because, among other things, a lot of our historical documents are in cursive.

Our next generation will struggle to read anything written in script.

[AWS]

I can't believe they took that out of the curriculum. The younger generation are too tech dependent and I think that is going to turn into a major problem.

 

Lina, I used to sign my checks John Hancock although it wasn't very legible and never once got questioned. Probably because it was always deposited and the account was at the issuing bank. I've had direct deposit for years now so I never sign a check. I do have to sign off on invoices to pay vendors and if I wasn't taught how to properly sign my name it would be a problem.

[Mommalina]

Software probably exists to read numerical, capital-

letter, and cursive writing.

 

I recently wrote a check, and the numbers I wrote

did not match the larger cursive amount. The cursive

amount prevailed! My check book had the correct

amount deducted, so no problem.

 

Some years ago, I left the Pay to the order of line

blank on a check to my credit card company. It

processed without a problem. Either a very honest

worker handled it or it processed automatically.

 

I now check, double-check and triple-check everything

before I put a payment in the mail. Lord knows how

I'd screw up online banking!

 

Fortunately, I rarely have to write more than one check

a month. For me, auto-pay and direct deposit compete

with sliced bread as the best thing ever invented.

[allheart55 Cindy E]

I pay almost everything online.

If I write two checks a year, that's a lot.

[Plastic Nev]

Just goes to show how some things are slightly or so much different here in the UK.

We call it a direct debit system, this is where an agreement is made with a company where you make a regular payment to them every week, month, or year. For example the regular charge paid to my internet supplier, that charge is then deducted from my current account each month.

I assume that is what you mean by "Auto Pay" and "Direct Deposit".

As for paying for anything by cheque (Note different spelling for UK) It is actively being discouraged over here, some companies actually refusing to accept payment by a cheque. The result is that I haven't written one for maybe three or four years as there is in most cases the means set up to pay by credit or debit card. Surprisingly there isn't yet anyone refusing cash, though that may mean a trip to a post office, bank, or even some normal shops who have "Paypoint" or "Payzone" facilities. That is a service where any company who has an account set up with that service you can then pay your bills for that company, for example the gas or electricity suppliers. The payment is then handled by the Paypoint or Payzone companies whose terminals are installed in the shop.

I may seem a bit paranoid, but I try to avoid paying for anything on line, you never know when that information stealing trojan has sneaked in through some backdoor just prior to doing the deal or even after you have swept the entire system by the regular Malware detecting and removing scans. It doesn't mean I don't buy anything on line, I am just very careful, and if I can buy something locally I will.

 

Nev.

[Mommalina]

.

As for paying for anything by cheque (Note different spelling for UK) It is actively being discouraged over here, some companies actually refusing to accept payment by a cheque. The result is that I haven't written one for maybe three or four years as there is in most cases the means set up to pay by credit or debit card.

 

Nev, I'm confused. :confused:

How would you pay off a credit card if not by check?

 

.

I may seem a bit paranoid, but I try to avoid paying for anything on line, you never know when that information stealing trojan has sneaked in through some backdoor just prior to doing the deal or even after you have swept the entire system by the regular Malware detecting and removing scans. It doesn't mean I don't buy anything on line, I am just very careful, and if I can buy something locally I will.

 

I don't buy much on line and have never had a problem.

I always use a credit card. Credit cards usually are

safer than debit cards because if you have a valid

dispute with the vendor, the credit-card company may

come to the rescue. Also, some credit cards will extend

any manufacturer warranty by a year.

 

Online banking scares the hell out of me! :eek:

[allheart55 Cindy E]

I don't know about Nev but I pay my credit card balances off through my banking web site.

 

Almost all of my purchasing is done online. (Except for groceries.)

[Mommalina]

Back to my wonderful new backlit keyboard:

 

Question (for future reference):

 

Are extensions available for cords with USB

plugins?

 

The cord would not reach the computer tower which

is way overhead on my computer table. No other place

is feasible for the tower. Placing it below on the

enclosed shelf close to the floor puts it in a position

where it would be difficult plugging anything into it --

and risk damaging both cords and plugins.

 

My neighbor plugged the keyboard into a separate

USB port on the computer table (mouse is plugged

in there also). Little possibility of damage because

the cord threads through the back of the USB port

and then plugs into it. I will just have to remember to

turn off the keyboard backlights when I turn off the

computer.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Mommalina

[allheart55 Cindy E]

They do make USB extensions, Lina.

 

I have this one for my printer because it's located four feet above my desktop.

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-USB-Extension-Cable-10-Feet/dp/B00001ZWXA

It will work for your keyboard.

 

Although I would never order anything else made by Belkin,

I've found that their cables are very sturdy and the price is right.