As some of you know, I'm toying with a custom physical layout that is mostly the same as the one the Model M imposed as standard, BUT where the entire nav cluster is to the left of the alphanum cluster (and the multipad, but I won't be talking about it here); see workshop-f7/a-layout-based-off-the-mode ... 17306.html for the details on that.
I still have trouble believing I'm the first git to think of this, so I've been looking at older keyboards, from before the Model M, to see if I could find anything like it, but have failed so far. And when I saw JP!'s post at photos-f62/hp-2644a-terminal-keyboard-t17368.html about the HP 2644A terminal keyboard, sporting THIS layout:
... my head exploded. That layout practically screams to get the nav cluster to the left of the alphanum cluster and then benefit of its symmetry. But... nope, not done at all.
WHY? Was this idea considered anywhere at some point, but discarded? Or am I truly the first git to think of it? What am I missing(*)?
Oh, and just in case someone asks: I'm not even a leftie!
(*) Besides peace of mind, that is.