But let's assume you really do need a numpad for your work or whatever. Wouldn't you rather have one that was... full sized? And wouldn't you rather the keyboard be centered on the laptop, so you can actually use it on a lap?
> Wouldn't you rather have one that was... full sized?
Yes, I would. But having a numpad is absolutely better than not having a numpad.
> wouldn't you rather the keyboard be centered on the laptop, so you can actually use it on a lap?
I can use my laptop on my lap when the keyboard is not centered. Do you have a disability (there's nothing wrong with having one) which prevents you from doing so?
No, I wouldn't rather suffer the loss of a numpad just to have the keyboard centered. Having the keyboard centered does not improve my usability in any way whatsoever. Removing the touchpad would, however. Disabling the touchpad is the first thing I do; I use keyboard navigation around things instead. It's faster and far less clumsy.
I have to do a lot of calculation on the fly. When I'm on a business call and someone gives me up-to-date metrics I frequently have to translate that into numbers that make sense for my business. (e.g. If I'm on the phone with a vendor and someone tells me their unit price is $1.44, I need to add that to my COGS, subtract the current unit price, and multiply by monthly or annual capacity to figure out how that's going to affect costs.) I can do this by touch while I'm talking in 2 - 3 seconds if I have a numpad. If I don't, I need both hands and roughly twice the time per calculation and I need to double-check I typed things right because the numbers aren't aligned quite the same way on each keyboard I use. It becomes a noticeable drag on productivity when I'm performing more complex ad hoc calculations for reports or presentations. I used a macbook for years and won't do it anymore. Linux on a computer with a numpad is the only way for me to go now.
IP addresses and IDs. Very satisfying to quickly bang out multiple numeric strings without error. I don't do this at work as much as I used to, so sometimes I switch to a TLK keyboard for more desk space.
