3 ms·

The wildly more hand-friendly Kinesis model 100 was earlier, ~1992 (from https://kinesis-ergo.com/company/about-kinesis/ https://kinesis-ergo.com/company/about-

The wildly more hand-friendly Kinesis model 100 was earlier, ~1992 (from https://kinesis-ergo.com/company/about-kinesis/ https://kinesis-ergo.com/company/about-kinesis/ ), and the ergonomic Matron was pre-1980, I think. The Natural has always been a watered-down, cheap feeling keyboard by comparison to thm, with - it would seem - much more attention being paid to not looking too weird than to actually being ergonomic, such as not straightening out the key columns, going convex, putting control keys where the thumbs can reach them, etc. It's pathetic. The only truly positive attribute specific to the Natural when compared to other ergonomics keyboards is that it was cheap, < $100. Although it also felt cheap, wore out relatively quickly making it more expensive per year of potential use, and had a terrible key mechanism that may have negated a good part of any ergonomic benefit - especially after some wear. I'm biased, of course, I've typed on the "Naturals" and have several Kinesis Ergos. The latter keyboard style is the only thing that's made typing comfortable, and in the office I work in, I'm no alone in preferring them.

AlchemistCamp 7y ago
One I want to try is the Ergodox EZ. It's basically a mashup of my two favorite Kinesis (Advantage 2 and Edge). Have you tried it yet?
- IronBacon 7y ago
  Not the OP but I have one that's collecting dust. I've chosen single profile keycaps for it (the keycaps have the same "shape" for every rows) because I wanted to use the Colemak layout, but I was never able to get used to it. To be honest didn't tried too much. I also have an old Kinesis Advantage model, the one with the rubber function keys (I hate them, the Advantage2 has new function keys but they still look cheap membrane buttons) anyway I'm quite satisfied with a TECK 209, it's not perfect but it's more portable than the Advantage if I'm on the go. I suppose the next one to try would be a Maltron.
- jakecopp 7y ago
  When upgrading from a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic 4000 I was debating between the Kinesis Advantage 2 and the Ergodox EZ. The Ergo 4000 was my first ergonomic keyboard (and amazing for the cost) but I grew frustrated by the layout and rubber domes. One of the blokes at work had an Ergodox and he was kind enough to give me a go. It was great fun - from memory the thumb clusters were closer than the Kinesis which would be great if you have smaller hands (for those who haven't tried the Kinesis Advantage - the thumb clusters are a little far away, using the 2 smallest keys closest to the bottom-centre isn't comfortable for me) I thought the standout feature was mouse control at the hardware level - think hjkl but moving the mouse instead of your cursor. I have yet to find a way to do that with the Kinesis in software - if somebody can do this please let me know! The reason I chose the Kinesis is the key wells felt great. It felt more natural for the keys to be the same distance from my fingers as they moved forwards and back in an arc. The Ergodox was a lot more portable, though I thought I would be frustrated having to set up each half at the perfect distance and tenting each time. You also have a greater switch selection than the Kinesis Advantage if you want something clicky.

AlchemistCamp 7y ago

One I want to try is the Ergodox EZ. It's basically a mashup of my two favorite Kinesis (Advantage 2 and Edge). Have you tried it yet?

IronBacon 7y ago
Not the OP but I have one that's collecting dust. I've chosen single profile keycaps for it (the keycaps have the same "shape" for every rows) because I wanted to use the Colemak layout, but I was never able to get used to it. To be honest didn't tried too much. I also have an old Kinesis Advantage model, the one with the rubber function keys (I hate them, the Advantage2 has new function keys but they still look cheap membrane buttons) anyway I'm quite satisfied with a TECK 209, it's not perfect but it's more portable than the Advantage if I'm on the go. I suppose the next one to try would be a Maltron.
jakecopp 7y ago
When upgrading from a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic 4000 I was debating between the Kinesis Advantage 2 and the Ergodox EZ. The Ergo 4000 was my first ergonomic keyboard (and amazing for the cost) but I grew frustrated by the layout and rubber domes. One of the blokes at work had an Ergodox and he was kind enough to give me a go. It was great fun - from memory the thumb clusters were closer than the Kinesis which would be great if you have smaller hands (for those who haven't tried the Kinesis Advantage - the thumb clusters are a little far away, using the 2 smallest keys closest to the bottom-centre isn't comfortable for me) I thought the standout feature was mouse control at the hardware level - think hjkl but moving the mouse instead of your cursor. I have yet to find a way to do that with the Kinesis in software - if somebody can do this please let me know! The reason I chose the Kinesis is the key wells felt great. It felt more natural for the keys to be the same distance from my fingers as they moved forwards and back in an arc. The Ergodox was a lot more portable, though I thought I would be frustrated having to set up each half at the perfect distance and tenting each time. You also have a greater switch selection than the Kinesis Advantage if you want something clicky.