All good man, appreciate the reply. I’m tempted to give it a go now and see if I can set up my own hybrid control mapping using the touchscreen as a mouse and attach a keyboard to see what kind of experience that offers, I feel like it could either be decent or horrendous but worth a try xD

It was excellent, it was the dream and I miss it every fucking day xD

You had short press and long press of any letter so you pretty much had 52 user bindable shortcuts to open any app as well as perform system functions etc.

Hell fucking yeh! I’d take slide out or keytwo form factor. Keytwo is the greatest modern phone I have owned!

That is why I mentioned blackberry specifically, phones can have a keyboard and it not be better for sure, I have also used some crap ones. Blackberry however made amazing keyboards on their devices and the best phone I have owned was a keytwo which I used up until around 2 years ago when it died a death.

I dont see why you have to have some email centric job or need a specific “use case” to want a better, more tactile typing experience. I work running industrial machines, I dont touch a computer or send any emails as part of my work but that doesnt mean that I dont want a phone with a decent keyboard. I still have to type messages on my phone, like I am doing right now and for me personally I think touchscreen is by far the inferior option when put next to a half decent keyboard. I dont need to be sending emails or working on documents or programming or what ever else to appreciate a better typing experience.

I type every day on this shitty touch screen without those additional work needs or whatever.

I realise that not everyone wants this and that is fine but the suggestion that because I dont work on my phone in that was so therefore dont need a physical keyboard is ludacris. I am in a niché of people who want this, I know that but that doesnt make my opinion any less valid in terms of my desire just to have the option of not typing on these hateful touch screens :)

I haven’t found a touchscreen / keyboard combination that really works as well as physical keys, it never can. I could write multiple paragraphs on my blackberry accurately without ever looking down at the screen.

Combine that with keyboard shortcuts to open whatever app or use whatever function I liked made using a phone so much more streamlined, no opening the screen to see what apps are active and scrolling to the one you want or having to go to your list of apps and find what you need, just press the system button plus the assigned letter and I’m in the app I want.

Oh really? I imagined it just to be the “elite” type players left.

Not my sweet France!! XD

I’m gonna have to check this out and see what’s up with it at some point. Thanks for the info

Exactly. The blackberry keytwo was the best phone I ever owned and I miss that thing so damn much! I just want one competent keyboard based phone!

As is your prerogative to do so but as someone replying to you says just one competent keyboard option would be nice for those of use that hate typing on a touchscreen.

Now if only that were the case for phones. Blackberry keyboards were better than any shitty touch screen.

I fucking love GraphicAudio. I’ve listened to so many books they have produced and will always look to see if they have a version of something before getting a normal audio book version. My introduction to them was with the Mistborn books and since then I’ve found many series I love just because they had made a version and so I gave it a try.

Can’t recommend enough!

edit it was Darkstalkers that was my first thinking about it, either way I’m glad I stumbled across it.

Not currently listening but thinking about going back for a third time around soon to Mike Bennett’s Underwood and Finch books.

They are a modern day vampire tale that now has a prequel book covering origins back in the 1800’s of the main character as well as a couple of sequels that continue the story on. When I first got into it there was only the first book and then my second listen through I followed it with a prequel then a sequel so this time I’d like to do it a bit more in order chronologically.

It is basically about a guy whose family have always been this vampires guardian / helpers but he was never aware, his brother dies who was the person that should be taking over the position upon the vampire awaking from a 50 year sleep and so he inherits the position and is dragged into this world he knew nothing about.

It is really well written and read by the author himself, I dont think it is very well known but if you like the whole nosferatu schtick I can highly recommend it!

Have fun! The cosmere is chefs kiss. I have listened to most of them now apart from a few standalones I need to visit and they are always outstanding!

I’ve listened to 11-22-63 three or four times now, such a great book! I like most of Kings work though.

Yeh I didn’t imagine it was be that enjoyable but then I could have been wrong.

I was aware of cncnet but didn’t realise they had made a balance patch. To be fair it has been a long time, maybe i should revisit, although online I’d get absolutely stomped these days I’m sure.

It is bliss in comparison to all other options!

My city has a mix of every possible configuration, from no cycle lane, randomly abruptly ended ones, shared paths and the properly separated ones and I would take a properly separated bike lane over all else any day of the week. It is safer for literally everyone involved!

I use a Sony NWZ A15 which is an older player so can probably be had for not much money. Headphone jack and micro SD card.

If your car is newer with one of those integrated head units then you can get a 3.5mm Bluetooth sender for hardly any money.

Yes there are, I listen to the Graphic Audio version which is the “dramatised” version that is fully voice acted for each character. There was one section of what I’ve listened to so far that it substituted the normal version where the uploaded must have been missing a file and it was jarring and not enjoyable comparatively.

I love Graphic Audio adaptations for anything where I can get them, I’ve listened to a lot of Sanderson books in this format as well as a few other things like that Gideon Sable book and I always prefer it to just one person reading.

And no worries, let us know how you get on with them :D

Not really, cycle lanes should be part of a road and not a pedestrianised area. All cycle lanes that go along side footpaths with no clear division other than lines just end up being full of idiots obliviously walking unaware of their surroundings.

This is both frustrating as a cyclist and dangerous as bikes move at much higher speeds, especially with the advent of electric bikes allowing unfit people who are not used to controlling a bike and being aware of their surroundings to ride at much higher speeds.

Pedestrianised areas should be for foot traffic only, bike lanes should have their own place alongside roads. The best ones I have used have a curb either side so the footpath is higher than the cycle lane on the left and the road is lower than it on the right making a clear division of traffic.

The fucking worst ones are shared paths and ones with just a line to denote a cycle lane next to busy pedestrianised areas. It is safer to ride on a road with no cycle lane than to try and contend with idiot foot traffic paying no attention, looking at their phones etc.

Couldn’t agree more, bikes belong on the road not on pedestrian pavements!

These delivery drivers are a fucking scourge as well. I have had a few run ins this year with them driving their mopeds through pedestrian areas.

I hope the council do clamp down on this bullshit behaviour but also invest in cycling infrastructure too. I’m lucky where I live has a pretty good network of cycle paths but it is still lacking.

(Y)