

Show HN: DeadMouse – Surf the web with just your keyboard. - chetan51
http://chetan51.github.com/deadmouse/

======
pka
FF users may wanna check out Pentadactyl [1]. Press f/F, type in number or
link text, done.

[1] <http://5digits.org/pentadactyl>

------
positr0n
I use vimium [1] which has this feature (search for links to open them) and
much more. It doesn't have the cool effect though :)

[1] <http://vimium.github.com/>

------
SkyMarshal
Fwiw, Vim plugins:

Chrome/ium: <http://vimium.github.com/>

Firefox: <https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/pentadactyl/>

Opera: <https://addons.opera.com/en/extensions/details/vimoperate/>

Anyone know any for Safari or IE?

~~~
stevengg
Emacs: Conkeror <http://www.conkeror.org/>

------
dbz
A major improvement would be that once you type something (for example GIT),
and then pause for a few seconds, you can begin typing something else (such as
XKCD).

~~~
chetan51
Good idea! I've added it as a feature request to the issues page.

------
sravfeyn
I started using it. I liked it. But, I use Space button to scroll down. You
are eating that away. Felt very irritating. Your 'shortcuts' should not mingle
with the existing ones, at least, the most used shortcuts like SPACE button.

~~~
chetan51
You're very right. It'll be fixed and updated soon (check the GitHub issues
page).

------
fieldforceapp
was I the only one confused by the name... <http://www.deadmau5.com>

------
branola
I prefer Mousetool (on Windows at least):

<http://code.google.com/p/windows-dwell-clicker/>

------
TheCowboy
If I try to type to 'wiggle' a link in Google search results, it always just
continues typing in the search input box.

While using the escape key to 'escape' a 'wiggle' makes sense, setting it to
backspace makes it easier to access and also makes sense, or allowing users to
configure which key to exit a 'wiggle'.

Thanks, I like this.

~~~
chetan51
Good idea! I'll make backspace do the same thing as escape.

------
YellinBen
The wiggling is cute at first, but I think a more straightforward method of
highlighting would make it easier to find the active link.

~~~
lukifer
I suspect one reason for the wiggle is that it's unlikely to collide with the
site's native styling.

I actually think a better effect would be oscillating between growing and
shrinking. Might not look right with links embedded in a paragraph, though.

~~~
chetan51
Exactly, wiggling works well even for links that look like buttons, among
other styles of links.

I played with growing and shrinking, but it looks bad because the text loses
resolution as it becomes bigger (at least using CSS3 transforms).

------
richo
So it's like vimium but you have to type more?

~~~
chetan51
It's a tradeoff, actually. I used to use Vimium for following links, but I
made this because I feel it's a little more natural than hitting 'f' and then
typing an arbitrary code next to the link you're looking at. Instead, you can
just type exactly what you see immediately. It's really just a personal
preference, I feel.

Plus, DeadMouse usually finds the link within the first two characters, so
it's not any more typing than Vimium.

~~~
richo
I think vimium supports that behaviour out of the box. Either it or
pentadactyl (I always forget which is which when it comes to features).

And yeah, that totally makes sense. It seems snappier than vimium in a totally
unscientific test as well.

------
lightyrs
Thanks!

~~~
chetan51
No problem!

------
bluespice
That's pretty clever, I think this should be implemented natively in browsers.
It's nice that it's bound only to the visible part of the page too.

But let's face it, if web devs were conscious about keyboard usability we'd at
least see tabindex html property used sometimes, and it's been around for a
while.

~~~
hallz
It is native in FF. press '/' to search, type in link name and then press
enter.

~~~
vinodkd
exactly. if only google didnt think they needed to capture the / for their
search (in the main site, gmail etc), this extension wouldnt be required.

