-Forcing two-handed operation of Fn layer combo keys should only be the last resort if one-handed possibilities are completely unavailable.
If I happen to be using the other hand, such as holding a drink, a snack, a reference image I'm working from (for art), or playing on a musical keyboard (in the middle of composing/recording), or anything else that requires my other hand, I want to be able to operate the Fn functions with my other hand, such as play/pause/skip music that is playing.
Play/pause/skip is far from the only thing someone might want to put on a function layer.
For example: I have on function layers: mouse and keyboard navigation (keyboard navigation ends up taking maybe 40-50 shortcuts if you want to be able to do everything, but I still need to work on figuring out the best organization), numbers, symbols of various sorts, alphabets in other languages, common blobs of text I find myself repeatedly typing, tab/window/application switching, quick access to various useful directories, text processing commands, commands for sending the current selection to various applications or dumping it to a file somewhere, commands for popping up the clipboard history and putting stuff onto / off of it, commands for searching the current window/field for the text typed, commands for taking various sorts of screenshots, various audio and media controls. Hopefully in the future I can get shortcuts up for macro recording and playback. Etc. etc.
If you tried to fit this all on one hand on a standard layout keyboard, it would be nearly impossible to keep it straight. By properly arranging things though, and taking advantage of extra thumb keys and two-handed chords, it’s possible to pack a huge amount of functionality into a pretty well organized and easy to remember hierarchy of shortcuts, and make routine computer use dramatically more efficient.
If all you need is play/pause/skip for some music while your other hand is holding a snack, then sure, put it on one hand. Or better, just dedicate some separate keys to just those functions.
Numpads are for accountants and data entry clerks. Anyone who isn’t an accountant or data entry clerk doesn’t really need a numpad at all.
I do content creation (audio/visual), and I use the numpad to into parameter numbers such as exposure, color, contrast, audio sample position, timeline position, synth programming parameters, etc.
Numbers (in a numpad arrangement or some other arrangement, but probably not just all in a row) definitely belong on a function layer. Reaching up to the top row or over to a discrete numpad is a huge slowdown when typing on a standard keyboard. A numpad on the left is just as obnoxious a slowdown as one on the right, in addition to being the wrong shape to be easily used by the left hand.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with using a standard-layout numpad for whatever arbitrary purpose. It just happens to have mostly been designed for data entry in fields such as accounting, and is therefore a pretty awful layout for almost every other purpose. It’s better than the standard number row for typing numbers, but now that we have fully programmable firmware and the capacity to make keyboards with arbitrary layouts, we can do much much better.
Better input devices for “audio/visual content creation” would have keys in a hand-friendly arrangement for both hands, with a layout optimized to manage adjusting whatever relevant parameters you need with the same hand you use for other keyboard commands. They would additionally include multiple analog inputs (knobs, sliders, trackballs, touchscreens) to allow you to adjust those parameters in an analog way with real-time feedback instead of only typing numbers. A numpad is only a useful tool for this kind of purpose because the other easily available tools are even less effective, not because it’s inherently well suited to the task.
-Being able to touch-type is not a good enough reason to not want legends on keycaps. There are plenty of situations when not touch-typing that will be much more convenient to have legends, [...] That extra split-second it takes you to think when looking at a set of blank keys only slows you down and interrupts your workflow over and over.
More convenient for you maybe.[...]
If my driving analogy didn't convince you, then you won't be convinced, and that's fine.
Your driving analogy was about exactly the opposite thing (touch typing advocacy). I’m here objecting to the claim that legends are necessary to avoid constant workflow interruption. I’m pretty much entirely indifferent to the presence or absence of legends on keys, and I can’t think of a time when my workflow was interrupted by lack of legends. I suspect most people with blank keyboards feel the same, or they wouldn’t use them.
Basically, you’re projecting your own need for legends / lack of experience with blanks onto other people.
There are plenty of headphone designs by headphone companies that place audio quality above all else, yet still have beautiful designs that are tasteful and functional, and not at all catered teenagers blindly following trends (look at the headphones around $1,000 or more).
For $1000 or more you can get a very attractive (all metal, very fancy plastic, carbon fiber, or wood, painted whatever kind of color you want, with nice keycaps in any arbitrary color, and your favorite keyswitches with several choices of layout) keyboard. So presumably that’s not what you were talking about before.
But beyond that, any headphones that cost $1000 are absolutely fashion devices / status symbols first and headphones second, in the same way that luxury watches or handbags are.
Sure, people buy expensive cars, handbags, suits, shoes, watches, etc. because they like high quality things, but that’s not the primary reason any of those products exist or are priced so high. The primary purpose is to signal wealth/status/identity/values to other people: that’s a large part of what your word “tasteful” means (see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste_(sociology)#Imitation_and_distinction).
Since for most people, keyboards are not on social display and therefore not a positional good (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positional_good), the market for very fancy keyboards is a small niche compared to watches, headphones, etc.