6 ms·

I would really like it if these fancypants keyboards came in a layout other than the crunch-all-your-fingers-together-in-the-middle-for-extra-RSI design that th

I would really like it if these fancypants keyboards came in a layout other than the crunch-all-your-fingers-together-in-the-middle-for-extra-RSI design that the keyboard nerds seem to adore

pnathan 4y ago
the 3 modern higher end keyboard companies that attend to ergonomic concerns are, afaik, - keyboard.io - kinesis - ergodox and then there's maltron keyboards, a bit older-school. I have a kinesis edge and a keyboard.io, I like the kinesis edge rgb variant. the keyboard.io is very hard for me.
- pdntspa 4y ago
  keyboard.io keyboards look really uncomfortable for long-term use, what with that hard wood looking enclosure. Ergodox and kinesis both do that weird split keyboard thing. All put other buttons below the thumb which I am not sure about. Can someone just please make a high-quality MS Natural Ergonomic 4000? Mine is getting worn out. edit- holy shit it looks like MS reintroduced it! https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/microsoft-ergonomic-keyboard/93841ngdwr1h?activetab=pivot:overviewtab https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/microsoft-ergonomic-keyboa...
  - pnathan 4y ago
    The hardwood enclosure hasn't bothered me too much. The thumb cluster and layers bother me more. I also miss the MS Natural 4K. There's a cheap knockoff on Amazon, but I didn't bother with it.
  - pnathan 4y ago
    re the edit: > Nevertheless, if there were a world where amazing products suddenly snapped out of existence and were replaced with husks of their former selves, it would be this keyboard. Oh, right. That is this world. Amazon review of the latest gen ergo keyboard. If ms does a MS Natural 4001 or whatever, a genuine successor, I'll probably buy 3. It was _really_ nice.
    - pdntspa 4y ago
      It's cheap enough that I'm willing to give it a shot. The MS Sculpt wireless keyboard was pretty and unexpectedly comfortable for me once I got used to the chiclet keys
- theYipster 4y ago
  Also Dygma Raise, which I love. Best of all worlds -- Ergodox thumb cluster with traditional staggered keys. Upgraded from a Kinesis Freestyle RGB and I will tell you, the Dygma is worth every penny!
doix 4y ago
I feel like you're out of the loop when it comes to keyboard nerds. Check out the dactyl-manuform [0]. The days of tiny 40/60 keyboards are gone, they aren't cool anymore (joking of course, use what you want). [0] https://github.com/abstracthat/dactyl-manuform https://github.com/abstracthat/dactyl-manuform
tomtheelder 4y ago
I mean the layout is more or less a standard qwerty one. It's not any more condensed than any other keyboard, as far as I can tell. You can imagine why an ergonomic layout would make this particular product more difficult, as you'd either need multiple displays for a split board, or a much larger display to accommodate the larger keyboard surface of a more traditional ergonomic layout. Also fwiw I don't think there's any real evidence to suggest that ergonomic keyboard layouts help with RSIs.
- pdntspa 4y ago
  It puts less tension on my hands, I can feel that. 12+ hours a day in front of a keyboard, for weeks at a time sometimes for me. I don't have to bunch my elbows into my stomach to use the standard home row posture. I think those are all ergonomic wins.
- johncalvinyoung 4y ago
  Switching to a tented split keyboard (UHK v1) effectively saved my productivity from a really bad case of forearm tendonitis a couple of years ago. Was still typing with coldpacks on my wrists, but it was doable in a way continuing on the laptop keyboard every day all day was not.
robinsonb5 4y ago
To be honest I'd settle for an ISO option!

I would really like it if these fancypants keyboards came in a layout other than the crunch-all-your-fingers-together-in-the-middle-for-extra-RSI design that the keyboard nerds seem to adore

pnathan 4y ago

the 3 modern higher end keyboard companies that attend to ergonomic concerns are, afaik, - keyboard.io - kinesis - ergodox and then there's maltron keyboards, a bit older-school. I have a kinesis edge and a keyboard.io, I like the kinesis edge rgb variant. the keyboard.io is very hard for me.

pdntspa 4y ago
keyboard.io keyboards look really uncomfortable for long-term use, what with that hard wood looking enclosure. Ergodox and kinesis both do that weird split keyboard thing. All put other buttons below the thumb which I am not sure about. Can someone just please make a high-quality MS Natural Ergonomic 4000? Mine is getting worn out. edit- holy shit it looks like MS reintroduced it! https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/microsoft-ergonomic-keyboard/93841ngdwr1h?activetab=pivot:overviewtab https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/microsoft-ergonomic-keyboa...
- pnathan 4y ago
  The hardwood enclosure hasn't bothered me too much. The thumb cluster and layers bother me more. I also miss the MS Natural 4K. There's a cheap knockoff on Amazon, but I didn't bother with it.
- pnathan 4y ago
  re the edit: > Nevertheless, if there were a world where amazing products suddenly snapped out of existence and were replaced with husks of their former selves, it would be this keyboard. Oh, right. That is this world. Amazon review of the latest gen ergo keyboard. If ms does a MS Natural 4001 or whatever, a genuine successor, I'll probably buy 3. It was _really_ nice.
  - pdntspa 4y ago
    It's cheap enough that I'm willing to give it a shot. The MS Sculpt wireless keyboard was pretty and unexpectedly comfortable for me once I got used to the chiclet keys
theYipster 4y ago
Also Dygma Raise, which I love. Best of all worlds -- Ergodox thumb cluster with traditional staggered keys. Upgraded from a Kinesis Freestyle RGB and I will tell you, the Dygma is worth every penny!

doix 4y ago

I feel like you're out of the loop when it comes to keyboard nerds. Check out the dactyl-manuform [0]. The days of tiny 40/60 keyboards are gone, they aren't cool anymore (joking of course, use what you want). [0] https://github.com/abstracthat/dactyl-manuform https://github.com/abstracthat/dactyl-manuform

tomtheelder 4y ago

I mean the layout is more or less a standard qwerty one. It's not any more condensed than any other keyboard, as far as I can tell. You can imagine why an ergonomic layout would make this particular product more difficult, as you'd either need multiple displays for a split board, or a much larger display to accommodate the larger keyboard surface of a more traditional ergonomic layout. Also fwiw I don't think there's any real evidence to suggest that ergonomic keyboard layouts help with RSIs.

pdntspa 4y ago
It puts less tension on my hands, I can feel that. 12+ hours a day in front of a keyboard, for weeks at a time sometimes for me. I don't have to bunch my elbows into my stomach to use the standard home row posture. I think those are all ergonomic wins.
johncalvinyoung 4y ago
Switching to a tented split keyboard (UHK v1) effectively saved my productivity from a really bad case of forearm tendonitis a couple of years ago. Was still typing with coldpacks on my wrists, but it was doable in a way continuing on the laptop keyboard every day all day was not.

robinsonb5 4y ago

To be honest I'd settle for an ISO option!