How I started my Emacs adventure

This is how I started out using Emacs 22 years ago and how I recommend you begin your Emacs adventure, if you want to walk the same road. In this video, I show how you out with a clean Emacs configuration and build your Emacs setup from the ground up, how you can learn what you need by asking Emacs and what packages I recommend installing to boost your productivity and comfort in Emacs from day one. - Slides 🎞️: https://talks.skybert.net/r/2022-emacs-adventure-start/ - Config 📑: https://gitlab.com/skybert/my-little-friends/-/tree/master/emacs

I love Emacs, but I wouldn't describe tinkering with it as adventurous. Where's the peril?

I'd say not delivering on your project because you're tinkering too much. Or getting RSI. And not to forget, it is like Hotel California.

1. Good emphasis on teaching to ask Emacs (tutorial, help commands). 2. The link to "slides" just takes me to a single HTML page that doesn't seem to have any links. Tried a couple browsers.

Good analogy. **Hotel Emacs**. Has anyone ever returned from there? And yes, it's an adventure. It's like the original "Adventure" computer game, except *perpetually* changing itself. World without end, Amen (and good luck!).

Sorry to hear you cannot load the slides. I've `rsynced` them again now, hope it works now. I've checked: - Firefox - Firedragon - Google Chrome - Brave

Thanks. But just FYI, I see the same thing in Chrome and Firefox - just the title page, which looks the same as the start of your video. HTH.

Try pressing right arrow or spacebar.

What’s RSI?

* Install Evil

> (setq package-archives '(("melpa" . "http://melpa.org/packages/") ("gnu" . "http://elpa.gnu.org/packages/")) gnutls-algorithm-priority "NORMAL:-VERS-TLS1.3") I disagree, as this will remove NonGNU Elpa in Emacs 28. Instead of `setq`, use `add-to-list`.

Repetitive stress injury. In this context it means chronic injury to your hands. Look up Emacs pinky. Here’s the cure for RSI: 1. Switch to Colemak 2. buy a Kinesis Advantage II 3. ??? 4. Profit

Ah. Thx.

Emacs is like Colossal Cave, or the hidden countryside that Shigeru Miyamoto explored that formed the basis for _Zelda_. There's always something new around each corner, beckoning you to keep moving on and exploring.

hogwash

Thanks for the tip.

Thanks for the explanation. Using evil Doom, which frees up the pinky to clean the nose.

> What’s RSI? Sorry to say, but I know what this is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repetitive_strain_injury My first piece of advice, and this should've been in the video, is re-map your `CAPS lock` key and `Ctrl`. It's both faster to hit and will reduce the risk of RSI in the left pinky, aka Emacs pinky: https://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/CapsKey Some notes I'd like to share: # Linux - If you're on Linux, I use this `alias` for switching keyboard layout and swapping Caps lock and Ctrl in the same go: `alias us='setxkbmap -option ctrl:nocaps us'` (here for American layout). I have the same for `de` and `no` as I switch between the 3 all the time. I've also bound these to shortcuts in `i3`. - Another way I've used, is to modify the X keyboard map, see: https://gitlab.com/skybert/my-little-friends/-/blob/master/x/.xmodmaprc#L14= # Windows If you're on Windows, using AuthoHotKey is an option worth considering, although I found it very slow (max/unmax window): https://gitlab.com/skybert/my-little-friends/-/blob/master/autohotkey/my.ahk#L2 # If all else fails, no admin access ++ At one assignment, I was stuck on a Windows machine to which I was not allowed admin access. There's was thus no way to get caps/ctrl swapped, so I invested in a keyboard that had this wired already. I chose HHKB and have been very happy with it. # Other notes - Using vi shortcuts reduces the strain on your fingers (provided by evil mode). - if you've got really bad RSI (taking a break from computers for a month doesn't cure it), try out keyboards like Kinesis.

> My first piece of advice, and this should've been in the video, is re-map your CAPS lock key and Ctrl Another alternative is to learn to use the palm underneath the pinky for control, as well as utilizing control on both sides of the keyboard.

Or bricking your config. This is why you put your dotfiles in version control

You're welcome, thanks for the tip about (condition-case nil (require 'use-package) (file-error ...) This will remove the need of `(require 'package)` for `(unless (package-installed-p 'use-package) ... )` in my configuration.

Do you loop over package tuples to \`add-to-list\`? Or is there a better way?

I used to use a `dolist`-loop, but since Emacs 28 I only use a single additional package repository, therefore just a single `add-to-list` call.