Touch typing or not, I think you are missing an important point here with regard to programming - tactile feedback. Doubly so with anyone that uses mechanical keyboards like me.
For example, you may not know where the "f8" key is on your keyboard, but once you look down and locate it, you won't have trouble repeatedly pressing it, accurately, with velocity. A good example of where and why this pattern happens is debugging. A lot of IDEs and editors are setup by default to use f-keys for debug or other ancillary functions like build, specific menus, etc. I believe IntelliJ and Visual Studio in at least a few default setups and versions did this.
More specifically, I can't imagine pressing a touch button possibly dozens of times, sometimes rapidly to advance through a bunch of break points, set new break points, eval things, etc. It is true you could just map these to other keys, but that becomes an issue with anything that is using default key maps for functions as I describe. Additionally, touch buttons promote people to start using more and more keyboard chords as they start shuffling around things in their keymaps, which a lot of people dislike. I'm an Emacs and IntelliJ user primarily, so the former and my arthritis in my hands are well acquainted with regard to keyboard chords and complex mapping sequences.
I have not used this keyboard obviously, but it seems to me from my experiences using similar tech that this is only good for much lesser used macro-like or launch actions. Useful still, yes, but I don't think it is a 1:1 replacement for function keys. I said it in another article and I'll say it here, I don't think this keyboard setup is aimed at programmers, but for most consumers it is likely just fine as much as I hate it. As for value added, that's another discussion.
I do know that if I ever buy or am forced to use one of these, it will always be with my own keyboard. I don't mind the chiclets as much as some people, but at home or the office I use external monitors and mechanical keyboards whenever I can.
For example, you may not know where the "f8" key is on your keyboard, but once you look down and locate it, you won't have trouble repeatedly pressing it, accurately, with velocity. A good example of where and why this pattern happens is debugging. A lot of IDEs and editors are setup by default to use f-keys for debug or other ancillary functions like build, specific menus, etc. I believe IntelliJ and Visual Studio in at least a few default setups and versions did this.
More specifically, I can't imagine pressing a touch button possibly dozens of times, sometimes rapidly to advance through a bunch of break points, set new break points, eval things, etc. It is true you could just map these to other keys, but that becomes an issue with anything that is using default key maps for functions as I describe. Additionally, touch buttons promote people to start using more and more keyboard chords as they start shuffling around things in their keymaps, which a lot of people dislike. I'm an Emacs and IntelliJ user primarily, so the former and my arthritis in my hands are well acquainted with regard to keyboard chords and complex mapping sequences.
I have not used this keyboard obviously, but it seems to me from my experiences using similar tech that this is only good for much lesser used macro-like or launch actions. Useful still, yes, but I don't think it is a 1:1 replacement for function keys. I said it in another article and I'll say it here, I don't think this keyboard setup is aimed at programmers, but for most consumers it is likely just fine as much as I hate it. As for value added, that's another discussion.
I do know that if I ever buy or am forced to use one of these, it will always be with my own keyboard. I don't mind the chiclets as much as some people, but at home or the office I use external monitors and mechanical keyboards whenever I can.