Ergonomic Mechanical-Switch Keyboard?

dotancohen writes "As wear and tear on my hands builds up, I find that I need an ergonomic (split) keyboard. It seems the vast majority of available ergonomic models are either crippled with dome-switches or have unusual designs, which place many critical keys under the thumbs (I cannot use my right thumb). The one normal-appearing contender, the Northgate Ergonomic Evolution, seems to be noisier than even the Model M — in fact, it echoes! Programmers and hobbyists geeky enough to be here today: what do you type on?"

Re:Speech to text?

[Anonymous Coward]

speech-to-text is good, but even if you do get it good enough so that it understands your speech as quickly as you can type, there is no way that anyone could program decently that way.
You'd end up with code like

for (eye=0;eye<5;eye++) {
see out << eye;
}

Re:Great Forum for Input Devices

[Fluffeh]

While you're at it -- upgrade your mouse too! I found all my wrist problems went away when I moved to a Logitech Cordless Trackman

I can't agree with this part of the post more. I generally find that in my work, I spend a great deal more time thinking and reading other documents rather than just typing - and while I am doing those things, I find that almost all of my interaction with the PC is done via mouse, with the occasional ALT-TAB etc. As a result, I use a Logitech MX Revolution [wikipedia.org] which is very comfortable, accurate and supports my hand nicely.

Unless you do actually type non-stop, I would say a good mouse is just as important as a good keyboard.

Microsoft 4000

[Gohtar]

I like the Microsoft 4000 keyboard. I use it at home and work. I do get a lot of pinky finger cramps from a lot of copying and pasting. My only real gripe with it is that the 1-5 buttons across the top are not fully programmable. You can pick from a list of actions on what you want them to do.

Re:Microsoft 4000

[ZipprHead]

Mod up, this is my favorite keyboard as well.

And that's a good thing?

[Snodgrass]

It's even louder than a Model M? Uh...neato?

Man, anyone with a Model M that works in an office environment deserves a swift kick in the nuts. It's incredibly inconsiderate to the rest of your coworkers.

Go ahead and make all your 'but teh ergonomics of clicking', 'but my RSI'...at the end of the day you're a loud, distracting jerk that only considers yourself.

Like to use a Model M at home? Sweet...rock on.

Kinesis Advantage

[Chaostrophy]

http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/contoured.htm [kinesis-ergo.com]

Granted, by default they have stuff done with your right thumb, but I believe the keyboard is fully remapable, so you can fix that. They don't say what kind of switches they use, but they are very clicky, with a nice feel. I have used them for years, and really like them.

Re:And that's a good thing?

[Anonymous Coward]

If they have you packed in that tightly that its an issue - it isn't your coworkers that are disrespecting you - its your job.

Re:Ergonomic Model M

[Low Ranked Craig]

I have a Unicomp Model M, and while it's not "ergonomic" it is most definitely easier on the wrists and the hands. I type faster, more accurately (though it doesn't help with spelling), and more comfortably than with most other keyboards, and at $80 I found it to be quite a bargain, since they seem to last for about 20 years or so...

Life is too short to use a crappy keyboard, sit in a crappy chair or sleep on a crappy mattress. having items of high quality that work well will materially improve your life. If you sit all day at a computer, having a good keyboard and a good chair that is properly sized mean that at the end of the day you just feel better. Also having a good monitor that is sharp and clear will leave your eyes less strained. Sleeping on a good mattress means you will sleep deeper and will have better days. Life is also too shore to drink shitty coffee or eat crappy ice cream, but that's another post.

Ditch the shitty keyboard that came with your Dell or your Mac and get something that works well. You won't be sorry, and besides, you'd just waste that $80 on strippers or something anyway...

Re:Great Forum for Input Devices

[compro01]

I agree. I love that mouse. Shame they stopped making them and the replacement for them just doesn't really match up.

Re:Kinesis Advantage

[dlgeek]

I love the Kinesis boards, but I wouldn't recommend one for the OP if he can't use his thumb. Yes, you can remap all the keys, but Kinesis boards already are on the short side of keys, and there's really nowhere to map them to. There are only 3 duplicated keys on the entire board: alt, ctrl and shift. Removing the right thumb pad would remove space, enter, one of each ctrl and alt, page up and page down. You could probably get away with mapping right shift to enter, but you'd have no where to put space, enter or page up/down.

Re:Text To Speech

[poor_boi]

You mean "speech to text," not "text to speech." There's a difference.

Re:Bad technique

[damien_kane]

(which is kinda what happens when you hit a dog at 65MPH+ and take a header and decide it is better to damage your hands than your face)

s/dog/curb/
s/65mph/50mph/i
I chose face
My face still looks fine (didn't even need reconstructive surgery), and my fingers work fine.
A few minor psychoses, but who these days really is truly sane?

Let that be a lesson to future generations; next time choose face, scars (if you get them) are sexy, battle-wounds that you can use to start interesting stories.
Loss of dexterity has a significantly higher negative impact to your ability to function (as you've found out).