The nice thing about a streaming deck setup is that I can group things together — I can put the apps I commonly use at the same time on one "page," so everything is right there when I want to use it. I can also program a series of tasks to one button, so I can have multiple applications open at once if I always use them together.
This might be more of a "Tom's Hardware peripherals editor" thing, but I constantly find myself switching between various devices — audio devices, webcams, etc.
There admittedly aren't a ton of text strings I use so frequently that I find typing them inefficient, but there are some — for example, hashtags on social media (on the rare occasion I use social media), or 'site:tomshardware.com ' for when I need to find an article on our site.
If I'm using a keyboard that doesn't have a function row or doesn't have enough of a function row, I often just use my macro pad as the function row. This is useful in apps and games that already have function row shortcuts built in, or that have single-key programmable shortcuts .
I have four monitors, so it's easy to lose things all over my desktop. I can use plugins to automatically snap windows to certain positions or automatically organize all windows on one screen into a predetermined layout.
I do some photo and video editing, as well as some 3D modeling, but not enough that I can really justify setting up a macro pad just for that. But I'm sure everyone reading this uses at least several basic shortcuts that could definitely be programmed to a macro pad — and that doing so will make more of a difference than you think.
Sarah Jacobsson Purewal is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware covering peripherals, software, and custom builds. You can find more of her work in PCWorld, Macworld, TechHive, CNET, Gizmodo, Tom's Guide, PC Gamer, Men's Health, Men's Fitness, SHAPE, Cosmopolitan, and just about everywhere else. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-25/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Sarah Jacobsson Purewal Social Links Navigation Senior Editor, Peripherals Sarah Jacobsson Purewal is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware covering peripherals, software, and custom builds. You can find more of her work in PCWorld, Macworld, TechHive, CNET, Gizmodo, Tom's Guide, PC Gamer, Men's Health, Men's Fitness, SHAPE, Cosmopolitan, and just about everywhere else.
RoLleRKoaSTeR Hmm, still have my Razor Tartarus pad. Razor has no updates for it. And it is now "legacy" – not even five years old. Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/peripherals/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/peripherals/why-you-need-a-macro-pad-even-if-you-have-a-mouse-with-19-buttons-from-usd10-mechanical-numpads-to-multi-screen-window-management#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/membership
- Qualcomm-powered robot collapses spectacularly on stage during company's keynote — prepared stagehands rush to cloak and then carry off stricken humanoid (updat
- Bristol Myers Squibb Building Life Science Industry’s Most Advanced AI Factory on NVIDIA Vera Rubin
- Sony doubles down on axing physical game discs — CFO reiterates 'we’re going to cautiously move this forward'
- Valve funding port of Linux RADV Radeon Vulkan driver to Windows — cross-platform effort already runs 'Counter-Strike 2'
- Examining the best options for PCIe SSDs during the RAMpocalypse — capacity trumps raw speed for most tasks
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.