{"id":6349,"date":"2020-07-15T14:48:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T12:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/?p=6349"},"modified":"2020-07-15T14:45:32","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T12:45:32","slug":"how-a-mouse-and-keyboard-can-improve-your-life-as-a-coder-discount-inside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.codemotion.com\/magazine\/frontend\/design-ux\/how-a-mouse-and-keyboard-can-improve-your-life-as-a-coder-discount-inside\/","title":{"rendered":"How a mouse and keyboard can improve your life as a coder (discount inside)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t\t\t
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  1. Software development is not just coding<\/a>
  2. What can you do with \u2018just\u2019 a mouse?<\/a>
  3. A keyboard is more than a set of keys<\/a>
  4. Conclusion (and discount code)<\/a><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n

    Speed coding and design have new allies<\/h3><\/div>

    Codemotion and Logitech have teamed up to offer you an exclusive deal. For a limited time, you can grab the brand-new MX Master 3 wireless mouse and the Craft wireless keyboard at a discounted price.
    Read below how the right mouse and keyboard can truly make a difference when coding and designing a high level.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

    Get the deal<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Software<\/span> development is not just coding<\/strong>. There are many different jobs<\/span> out there, and most of them involve using<\/span> tools<\/span> that differ from those we\u2019d use for pure programming tasks. In this article we’ll look at how an HCI<\/span> researcher<\/span> (me) works within the software development world, acting as a designer and data analyst<\/span>, as well as a coder<\/span> (of course!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Moreover, we’ll learn how this rather varied job<\/span> can benefit from the use of specific hardware<\/span>. We will explore how to use and configure two great Logitech<\/strong> products – the MX Master 3 mouse<\/span><\/strong> and the Craft keyboard<\/span><\/strong> – to facilitate daily tasks using<\/span> web development tools<\/span> within IDE<\/span> and browsers<\/span>, as well as software<\/span> such as Photoshop<\/span> and Excel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Software development is not just coding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    To offer a brief introduction, I currently work as a researcher<\/span> in computer science<\/span>; my specific area of interest is known as Human-Computer<\/span> Interaction. My job<\/span> is quite unusual for a software engineer<\/span>, involving three very different areas of study: not just \u2018Computer<\/span>\u2019, but also \u2018Human\u2019 – which generally relates to psychology and social sciences<\/span> – and \u2018Interaction\u2019 – which is more about design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s an unusual combination of tasks, and you may think that this kind of job<\/span> is a long way from a typical developer<\/span> role. I agree with this point of view, but each of us will find ourselves doing something other than using an IDE<\/span> eventually. When your job<\/span> starts diverging from the standard routine, you should not just look to your screen – the hardware<\/span> that sits on your desk has the potential to improve your day-to-day working life<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I recently decided to explore some new hardware<\/span> for everyday use. I had the opportunity to test two great Logitech products – the MX Master 3 mouse<\/span>, and the Craft keyboard<\/span> – and folks, both of these devices are great!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What can you do with \u2018just\u2019 a mouse?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The most important thing any coder should check when buying a mouse<\/span> is its shape. Carpal tunnel syndrome<\/span><\/strong> is always just around the corner for developers, who might spend 8 hours a day with their hand on top of a mouse<\/span>. If you buy a mouse<\/span> that is not properly designed<\/span>, not fully ergonomic<\/span><\/strong>, there is a high risk that you\u2019re paying for pain.The Logitech MX Master 3 mouse<\/span><\/strong> has a unique design; the first thing you\u2019ll notice is its ergonomic<\/span> shape. I have used ergonomic<\/span> mice for years now, and found this mouse<\/span> particularly comfortable. It\u2019s not just about ergonomics<\/span>, though – this mouse<\/span> is very carefully designed<\/span>, and my hand remains in a resting position throughout any task. I\u2019m lucky to be right-handed<\/span>, as this mouse<\/span> is not currently available in a left-handed format – there is an open petition on change.org<\/a> to convince Logitech to produce an alternative MX Master mouse<\/span> for these users<\/span>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"The
    The Logitech MX Master 3 mouse, and its special ergonomic shape<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Besides the shape, this mouse<\/span> is wireless<\/span> and can be charged using a USB-C<\/span> cable. This may not seem particularly special, but users<\/span> benefit from the quick charge<\/strong> feature that means charging the mouse<\/span> for just 1 minute gives up to 3 hours of use<\/strong>. Needless to say, a full charge allows you to forget about the battery – according to the producer, a full charge can last 70 days!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How did this mouse help me in my daily tasks? Ergonomics<\/span> and battery life are undoubtedly important, but these are things that you will also find in other products. What I really love about this mouse is the impressive precision of both the wheels<\/strong>, courtesy of the MagSpeed magnetic scroll. This allows you to scroll both vertically and horizontally, and automatically switch from line-by-line scrolling to free scrolling when you speed up the rotation. I use the horizontal function quite often, especially when working on files with lots of columns in Excel<\/span>. The value of a good horizontal mouse wheel<\/span> is often underestimated, although it\u2019s very helpful even when coding<\/strong> – for dealing with log files, where lines are often far longer than your screen width, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s worth noting that the integration of the MX Master 3 mouse with my operating system<\/span> (Windows 10) is impressive. Everything works perfectly with the software<\/span> – I haven\u2019t had a single issue with Excel<\/span>, Visual Studio<\/span> Code,<\/strong> or even with the code inspector<\/strong> in Firefox<\/span> and Chrome<\/span> that I usually use for testing web applications. And by the way, the latter is just another example where the horizontal wheel is very helpful, especially if you want to inspect HTML code while working within just half of the window, while the second half is showing you the CSS<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can see most of these features in practice by checking out this video from Logitech<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    With this context, it\u2019s clear that I\u2019m not just a coder<\/span><\/strong>, although this is still one of the most important tasks in my job<\/span>. I\u2019m often required to implement<\/span> software prototypes<\/span>, but am also responsible for designing<\/strong> them, and making UI<\/span> sketches with software<\/span> such as Photoshop<\/span> <\/strong>or Canva<\/span><\/strong>. When the development phase is finished, it is time for user<\/span> testing<\/strong> (typically but not exclusively structured as A\/B testing<\/span><\/a>), collecting questionnaire<\/span> responses and measuring data<\/span> such as duration, errors and so on. Last comes the most important part: data<\/span> analysis<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n