3 ms·

I recently bought and Ergodox-EZ, after previously getting my first mechanical keyboard (the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard, which I love). I'm not a huge fan of it

by edanm 6y ago

I recently bought and Ergodox-EZ, after previously getting my first mechanical keyboard (the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard, which I love). I'm not a huge fan of it. So far, it seems like it's been a lot of work relearning habits, for little gain. But oddly enough, my biggest gripe with the Ergodox isn't something I've heard people complain about - the lack of an extra column of keys on the right part. Basically, on a normal keyboard, to the right of the "l" key, you've got another 3 keys - a ;, a ', and the enter key. They're all pretty important. But on the Ergodox, you only have 2 more keys. Meaning you either have to move the return key to somewhere else, or move the "'" key somewhere else. Both of them break tons of muscle memory, and for no real benefit IMO. In addition, the lack of that extra column means that symbols like [], like -=, etc can't be in their regular locations. Obviously, as a programmer, these are all keys I use a lot. I don't know that much about mechanical keyboards, but I really don't get why this choice was made. It seems like a completely self-own here, making it so much harder to get used to this keyboard.

iheartblocks 6y ago
I also currently use (and love) the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard. How well does the thumb cluster work on the EZ?
- edanm 6y ago
  That's what most people complain about, and rightly so in my opinion - it has 1/2 useable keys, the others can be used but you have to reposition your hand.
victoriasun 6y ago
Those far keys are usually triggered by your weakest fingers -- return, for example, is triggered via your pinky and can often require you to stretch your pinky (and ulnar nerve) in unergonomic ways, leading to Cubital Tunnel Syndrome. I find that a good introductory layout to this kind of keyboard is the Kinesis Advantage 2 [1]. As you can see a bunch of common keypresses usually delegated to the pinkies have been set on the thumb clusters. On my Ergodox, I also have symbols layers that allow you to reach common symbols without moving my fingers significantly from the home row. It definitely takes an adjustment period but my RSI definitely thinks its worth it! [1] http://xahlee.info/kbd/kinesis_keyboard_howto.html http://xahlee.info/kbd/kinesis_keyboard_howto.html
- matttb 6y ago
  This is exactly why I love my Ergodox. My biggest hand issue was pinky pain, and with the ergodox I've moved basically all of the 'stretch' pinky keys to thumb/index finger. In particular moving backspace/enter/ctrl to the thumb cluster makes me feel like I can never use a keyboard without one again. It's completely eliminated pinky pain on both of my hands.
TacticalTable 6y ago
As somebody who really enjoys the enter key position, I've found I struggle to go back to standard layouts. Having a thumb cluster with more important keys makes far more sense than having thumbs that effectively only press spacebar or cmd/super. The keyboard wasn't designed with programmers in mind, or web browsers. Ergonomically, moving a few keys around makes sense, even at the expense of a bit of muscle memory. For what it's worth, you'll eventually have complete muscle memory and be able to switch back and forth without even thinking. It's liberating to try out different layouts and see what ends up making sense for you over time.

by edanm 6y ago

iheartblocks 6y ago

I also currently use (and love) the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard. How well does the thumb cluster work on the EZ?

edanm 6y ago
That's what most people complain about, and rightly so in my opinion - it has 1/2 useable keys, the others can be used but you have to reposition your hand.

victoriasun 6y ago

Those far keys are usually triggered by your weakest fingers -- return, for example, is triggered via your pinky and can often require you to stretch your pinky (and ulnar nerve) in unergonomic ways, leading to Cubital Tunnel Syndrome. I find that a good introductory layout to this kind of keyboard is the Kinesis Advantage 2 [1]. As you can see a bunch of common keypresses usually delegated to the pinkies have been set on the thumb clusters. On my Ergodox, I also have symbols layers that allow you to reach common symbols without moving my fingers significantly from the home row. It definitely takes an adjustment period but my RSI definitely thinks its worth it! [1] http://xahlee.info/kbd/kinesis_keyboard_howto.html http://xahlee.info/kbd/kinesis_keyboard_howto.html

matttb 6y ago
This is exactly why I love my Ergodox. My biggest hand issue was pinky pain, and with the ergodox I've moved basically all of the 'stretch' pinky keys to thumb/index finger. In particular moving backspace/enter/ctrl to the thumb cluster makes me feel like I can never use a keyboard without one again. It's completely eliminated pinky pain on both of my hands.

TacticalTable 6y ago

As somebody who really enjoys the enter key position, I've found I struggle to go back to standard layouts. Having a thumb cluster with more important keys makes far more sense than having thumbs that effectively only press spacebar or cmd/super. The keyboard wasn't designed with programmers in mind, or web browsers. Ergonomically, moving a few keys around makes sense, even at the expense of a bit of muscle memory. For what it's worth, you'll eventually have complete muscle memory and be able to switch back and forth without even thinking. It's liberating to try out different layouts and see what ends up making sense for you over time.