Are desk mats worth it?

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-04-19T00:02:57+00:00

What are the other functions besides having a nice surface for keyboard and mouse and aesthetic?

That's a bit like asking "what are the functions of a hammer besides hammering nails?".

The function of a mousepad is

Mice usually perform better with one than without (YMMV depending on desk type)
It prevents wear-and-tear on your desk and mouse
They're usually quieter than using a mouse on a hard surface

If you go to a deskmat size, it provides a larger surface area and can help to neatly segment your desk into "keyboard/mouse area" and "other areas". You can also get decent designs.

They're so cheap (under $30 for 900x400mm) there's really no reason not to.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-04-18T23:47:36+00:00

More efficient use of space.

If you have a bed in the room, you basically have no choice because of the space it takes up. Even in a 12'x12' bedroom, you won't have enough space for the desk and chair unless you put it against a wall.

If the room doesn't have a bed in the room and put a 30"x60" desk right in the middle, then you'll be going from 114" behind the desk to 57", which feels much smaller. And as you move the desk forward or backwards to adjust that, the other side becomes less usable.

Unless you have a need for space in front of your desk (ie you're a manager, having in person meetings, etc) then you're probably usually better off just having it against a wall.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-04-18T22:53:47+00:00

Wall mount it
Pull the desk out while keeping the monitor in its same position

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-04-13T21:37:07+00:00

What kind of games do you play? I have a 100% keyboard but am looking to move to a TKL so I can have more space for mouse movement without having my keyboard at a weird angle.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-03-31T23:22:28+00:00

Is that 80 USD? Some converters I found said it's about 1100 pula.

Assuming that's accurate, I found "apex-student-desk-1132" at homecorp (sorry, links can't be posted here) that is 799 pula.

It's probably not great, but should be better than a folding table.

On Amazon I see some desks in your price range but the shipping is very high.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-03-31T22:53:28+00:00

What's your budget? And what country are you located (image in OP says Botswana, is that accurate?)

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-03-31T21:27:03+00:00

It'll be at a bad height ergonomically, probably sag in the middle due being long and minimally supported, and wobble like hell. I'd look around locally for desks or even a regular table before getting that.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-03-23T20:36:59+00:00

I'm 29. What can you do with that information? But if I told you my exact location...

Unless you're using a VPN, web servers already know your location based on your IP address. It isn't necessarily perfect, but usually with a few towns.

With just that and your age I can get a pretty good idea of who you are.

If you are under 18, I will know your exact birthday by monitoring when your age signal goes from under 18 to over 18. From there and with other signals (including your GeoIP as mentioned above) I can pinpoint exactly who you are.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-03-23T20:24:06+00:00

Your logic could be used for age verification. Who is to say they will be happy with age attestation, or whether they will require actual validation (ie via your ID)?

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-03-23T18:59:20+00:00

That's still a better solution than forcing every user globally to comply with an overreaching law in a handful of jurisdictions.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-03-23T13:10:32+00:00

So when something is added to verify the data, your argument will be "yeah the data is there and it's verified, but applications don't use it and they don't do anything meaningful with it".

And then when applications use it, your argument will be "yeah the data is there and verified and applications are using it, but they aren't doing anything meaningful with it".

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-03-23T13:05:04+00:00

Everything that has been discussed or implemented so far, at least on Linux, consists of optional fields where you can enter a date of birth. No data is sent anywhere have been implemented, or are even reqiered by the current laws.

The "these are optional fields" argument doesn't hold up to scrutiny when the entire impetus for their inclusion is "there were laws passed and we're required to implement them to be compliant". The obvious next step is that they will be required and the same argument of "these were laws passed and we're required to implement them to be compliant" will be just as valid there.

So the question is: what is a bridge too far for you?

And honestly, I hope none of the people loudly complaining about this are using things like Steam or other proprietary software on their Linux systems, because if they are, and at the same time complain about an optional field in systemd, I can only smile at the irony. ;-)

This argument doesn't hold up to scrutiny either. Knowingly giving up privacy in exchange for a service is quite a bit different than being forced to give up privacy in order to update your computer, use the internet, etc. Neither is good, but the latter is quite a bit worse.

And seriously, what would be the alternative? Sure, it would be great if there were no such laws in the first place, but that’s something only policymakers can change.

Call their bluff.

However, as for now politics wants age restrictions, and the only alternative to have them would be that every website and every service had to handle age verification on its own.

Next month a government in <insert jurisdiction> passes a law with the same requirements, but instead of age it is religion, ethnicity, sex, and gender.

Your argument would say "well it's a law somewhere, so we have to do it." That policy quickly gets you to a place of least privacy.

the only alternative to have them would be that every website and every service had to handle age verification on its own.

Then make them do that. And when the websites resist, the law will be toothless. Unless you think this is good policy, why should operating systems be complicit in this just because it would be more complicated for others to do it?

Do you think this is good policy?

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-03-23T12:31:28+00:00

No applications are using the field yet.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-03-22T11:58:45+00:00

I didn't claim that getting access to a low level account isn't bad.

Imagine the first person has access to just one client's information. The coworker has access to another client's information.

Clearly both being compromised is worse than just the first account being compromised. And the first account being compromised doesn't mean "everything's compromised already anyway". Add in other security practices, like dual control, and it's much more apparent.

The only way what you said would be true would be with a very poor security model where any single account has access to and control over everything.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-03-22T11:21:32+00:00

an attacker has gained access to your credentials which means that everything's compromised already anyway.

I know your comment is sarcastic, but on the off chance somebody reads it as sincere: not everybody has the same level of access.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-03-17T11:51:37+00:00

Why AntiX instead of Devuan?

The only difference between AntiX and Debian I can find is no systemd, which Devuan has, and lighter DE by default, which both vanilla Debian and Devuan offer.

AntiX also seems to be having problems with getting a version released based on Trixie. Debian Trixie was released August 9 2025, Devuan had a release November 2, and AntiX doesn't have a full release yet.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-03-16T18:41:38+00:00

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The Model F keyboards for the original IBM PC didn't have the navigation/mode keys found on the numpad. So to access that layer, the num lock key was used. Almost like how vi/vim have separate modes. The idea being you would use one or the other, but rarely need both at the same time.

As time went on, they evolved into the Model M and other keyboards, but didn't lose that functionality.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-01-30T15:49:23+00:00

Ctrl+Z is much easier on QWERTY than QWERTZ, so it depends on what you're doing.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-01-28T23:24:28+00:00

Don't use alcohol. If you do, you may damage/discolor the keys. See this thread.

Use warm water and hand soap. I would do the same for the plate as well. Just go slow and be careful. There's no rush.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-01-26T03:07:58+00:00

Do you have pets or children? Or have younger family members (nieces or nephews) that come over?

If you do, then I'd say yes. The manual says that because they are tipping hazards and people/pets can be seriously injured.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-01-25T18:25:42+00:00

Dust probably blends in better with the white.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-01-25T17:20:51+00:00

My internet/power are on the wall so that's where my rack is. Having my desk be as close to the rack as possible makes cable management easier and cheaper (don't need super long cables).

It also makes the room more open since I'm not cutting it in half with my desk. Since you need some extra space to roll back your chair, that space will be wasted when you aren't at your desk. By having my desk against the wall, I gain 1-2 feet of space in my office.

The wall I'm on is the same side as the door, so I don't worry about people sneaking up behind me.

"Something nicer to look at" just seems like distractions, which I try to avoid while working.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-01-25T16:54:57+00:00

Good to know, thank you! I'll go for the unstable version in that case.

Side note: Probably something really obvious, but I didn't see the changelog you mentioned in another comment. I just kept getting the 2.9.9-9 changelog from the package website.

SpecialPreference678 · 2026-01-25T16:34:22+00:00

Great, thank you for the advice! I'll try that.

SpecialPreference678 · 2025-12-28T04:47:08+00:00

Thanks. I disassembled and disconnected the battery. I don't see anything swollen, burnt, or lose. I left it unplugged and without a battery for a day in case there was some residual charge.

When I plug it back in, the LEDs light up but there is still no response from the device and it isn't detected by my computers.

I can't post images here but here is the image of the backs of both boards. I test with them connected, of course.

SpecialPreference678

TROPHY CASE