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I've tried many mechanical and on-mechanical keyboards, but always come back to Apple's magic keyboard, simply because it's the thinnest of all. It's virtually

I've tried many mechanical and on-mechanical keyboards, but always come back to Apple's magic keyboard, simply because it's the thinnest of all. It's virtually flush with the desk, and I can't for the love of god get used to anything else. Mechanical keyboards are often quite thick. Palm pads don't help, I'd still feel my hands are uncomfortably elevated.

busyant 7y ago
> can't for the love of god get used to anything else. Mechanical keyboards are often quite thick. Palm pads don't help, I'd still feel my hands are uncomfortably elevated. I've had a similar problem (although I'm using Windows). I bought a surface keyboard for its thinness, but my wrists were still at a semi-painful angle when typing. I looked at many wrist pads, but they're all "mushy" and not "wide" enough to support my forearms. So, to deal with the wrist issue, I "built" this (https://imgur.com/a/cYBksBO https://imgur.com/a/cYBksBO) from my kids' Legos. YMMV, but it has worked tremendously well for my wrists and forearms.
MaconBacon 7y ago
I love the full sized apple magic keyboard. Seems especially silly then how terrible their newfangled MacBook keyboards are.
PascLeRasc 7y ago
The wired older Mac keyboard and the Magic Keyboard 2 are really good, it's my favorite non-mech keyboard by far and the only keyboard (mechs included) where I can really type and manipulate stuff without thinking at all. I really wish Apple would put their PBT keycaps on Macbook keyboards, they feel so much nicer.
jacobolus 7y ago
> feel my hands are uncomfortably elevated If you are bending your wrists to type, then you need to reposition or re-orient the keyboard, and/or change your posture or arm position, or you are setting yourself up for RSI. For most comfortable typing, neither arms, wrists, nor palms should rest on any surface. But the palms should definitely not be resting directly on the table, even with a low-profile keyboard. Generally it’s a good idea to have the keyboard close to the edge of the table, and oriented so that its surface is parallel to your forearms while typing. With the keyboard relatively close, the upper arms can remain close to the body with the shoulders relaxed, and the torso and head upright. Most office workers use a desk which is uncomfortably high for typing when sitting on their chair. So the most obvious first thing to try is lowering the desk, installing an under-desk keyboard tray, raising the chair, adding a booster seat above the existing chair, switching to a standing desk, or similar. If the furniture can’t be changed, then the keyboard must be tilted up at the back so that when the upper arms are kept close to the body, the keyboard surface sits parallel to the forearms. For many office furniture setups this tilt must be very aggressive (think mid-20th-century typewriter). Office workers often instead compensate for the high desk by pushing their keyboard far in on the desk, with their elbows either extending out to the side or far in front of the body, and either slouching or hunching their backs, and uncomfortably bending their necks. To take strain off their shoulders they rest elbows, forearms, or palms on the table or an armrest or palmrest. All of these workarounds are causing static muscle load and non-neutral joint positions for the back, neck, shoulders, etc. That’s fine for very short bursts for someone who frequently changes position (and better than having bent wrists), but pretty bad for long stretches for someone who sits in more or less the same position throughout the workday.

busyant 7y ago

> can't for the love of god get used to anything else. Mechanical keyboards are often quite thick. Palm pads don't help, I'd still feel my hands are uncomfortably elevated. I've had a similar problem (although I'm using Windows). I bought a surface keyboard for its thinness, but my wrists were still at a semi-painful angle when typing. I looked at many wrist pads, but they're all "mushy" and not "wide" enough to support my forearms. So, to deal with the wrist issue, I "built" this (https://imgur.com/a/cYBksBO https://imgur.com/a/cYBksBO) from my kids' Legos. YMMV, but it has worked tremendously well for my wrists and forearms.

MaconBacon 7y ago

I love the full sized apple magic keyboard. Seems especially silly then how terrible their newfangled MacBook keyboards are.

PascLeRasc 7y ago

The wired older Mac keyboard and the Magic Keyboard 2 are really good, it's my favorite non-mech keyboard by far and the only keyboard (mechs included) where I can really type and manipulate stuff without thinking at all. I really wish Apple would put their PBT keycaps on Macbook keyboards, they feel so much nicer.

jacobolus 7y ago

> feel my hands are uncomfortably elevated If you are bending your wrists to type, then you need to reposition or re-orient the keyboard, and/or change your posture or arm position, or you are setting yourself up for RSI. For most comfortable typing, neither arms, wrists, nor palms should rest on any surface. But the palms should definitely not be resting directly on the table, even with a low-profile keyboard. Generally it’s a good idea to have the keyboard close to the edge of the table, and oriented so that its surface is parallel to your forearms while typing. With the keyboard relatively close, the upper arms can remain close to the body with the shoulders relaxed, and the torso and head upright. Most office workers use a desk which is uncomfortably high for typing when sitting on their chair. So the most obvious first thing to try is lowering the desk, installing an under-desk keyboard tray, raising the chair, adding a booster seat above the existing chair, switching to a standing desk, or similar. If the furniture can’t be changed, then the keyboard must be tilted up at the back so that when the upper arms are kept close to the body, the keyboard surface sits parallel to the forearms. For many office furniture setups this tilt must be very aggressive (think mid-20th-century typewriter). Office workers often instead compensate for the high desk by pushing their keyboard far in on the desk, with their elbows either extending out to the side or far in front of the body, and either slouching or hunching their backs, and uncomfortably bending their necks. To take strain off their shoulders they rest elbows, forearms, or palms on the table or an armrest or palmrest. All of these workarounds are causing static muscle load and non-neutral joint positions for the back, neck, shoulders, etc. That’s fine for very short bursts for someone who frequently changes position (and better than having bent wrists), but pretty bad for long stretches for someone who sits in more or less the same position throughout the workday.