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Is there support is OS X for changing normal letter keys into properly functioning modifier keys?

CMD with my thumbs, and Shift, are the only modifiers I can comfortably type. RSI pain in my pinkies really limits Option and Ctrl.

It would be interesting to have a chording setup with keys on the home row. Hold "D" + type a key with your Right hand, and vice versa for "K" and the Left hand.

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"Simultaneous VI Mode" in Karabiner (RIP) is apparently one such example of normal keys as modifiers.

https://github.com/tekezo/Karabiner-Elements/issues/153

I actually got really excited about doing that, but it turns out that apple keyboards are only reliable for a total of 2 simultaneous.

Is that due to the physical Apple keyboards? Or OS X?

Yes, if you hold down J and Semicolon and then hit the a button on a macbook pro you will notice it isn't picked up. It is a hardware limitation on most keyboards. See "n key rollover" in google for more details.

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