5 ms·

Split keyboards is my recommendation

by irjustin 3y ago

grog454 3y ago
Split keyboards can help with wrist positioning but not finger travel, both of which can contribute to wrist problems.
- lawn 3y ago
  That's why you should also choose a small keyboard, like one with 34 keys or similar.
  - rgoulter 3y ago
    For typing alphabetical characters, I'd expect a more significant impact from "adopt Dvorak instead of QWERTY" over "adopt a smaller keyboard". For reducing strain to access keys like shift/backspace/escape/tab, I think that's where "use keyboard with multiple thumbkeys" would have a benefit, yeah.
  - GoldenRacer 3y ago
    What type of layout do you use for 34 keys? I've got a 42 key split board so I'm not a total noob to minimalist keyboard but struggle to see how 34 keys can be used effectively.
    - lawn 3y ago
      This is my layout: https://www.jonashietala.se/blog/2022/09/06/the_current_t-34_keyboard_layout/ https://www.jonashietala.se/blog/2022/09/06/the_current_t-34... In reality it would be easy to go down to a single thumb key, making it 32 keys. In short I have layers for numbers and symbols, I make heavy use of combos (pressing multiple keys at once) where I have modifiers, big keys like escape and enter and also the numbers and symbols (for typing singletons). I also have different functions for long press and I use capsword and numword (caps lock / layer that turns off intelligently).
      - Rediscover 3y ago
        I spend the majority of my time in the shell (usually bash) or emacs. Learning the key-maps, especially for zsh and bash, was one of the best things I ever did. Wow, that cut my keypresses down immensely. So did remapping lynx(1) keybindings.
klodolph 3y ago
My experience is that Dvorak solved my RSI problems, and split keyboards do not. The amount of time it takes to retrain into Dvorak is irrelevant to me, because the alternative is something more extreme, like quitting my job, using speech-to-text, or living in pain.
wmedrano 3y ago
Split keyboards solved my hand problems 6years ago. I started learning Dvorak this week to reduce my left index finger strain.

Split keyboards is my recommendation

grog454 3y ago

Split keyboards can help with wrist positioning but not finger travel, both of which can contribute to wrist problems.

lawn 3y ago
That's why you should also choose a small keyboard, like one with 34 keys or similar.
- rgoulter 3y ago
  For typing alphabetical characters, I'd expect a more significant impact from "adopt Dvorak instead of QWERTY" over "adopt a smaller keyboard". For reducing strain to access keys like shift/backspace/escape/tab, I think that's where "use keyboard with multiple thumbkeys" would have a benefit, yeah.
- GoldenRacer 3y ago
  What type of layout do you use for 34 keys? I've got a 42 key split board so I'm not a total noob to minimalist keyboard but struggle to see how 34 keys can be used effectively.
  - lawn 3y ago
    This is my layout: https://www.jonashietala.se/blog/2022/09/06/the_current_t-34_keyboard_layout/ https://www.jonashietala.se/blog/2022/09/06/the_current_t-34... In reality it would be easy to go down to a single thumb key, making it 32 keys. In short I have layers for numbers and symbols, I make heavy use of combos (pressing multiple keys at once) where I have modifiers, big keys like escape and enter and also the numbers and symbols (for typing singletons). I also have different functions for long press and I use capsword and numword (caps lock / layer that turns off intelligently).
    - Rediscover 3y ago
      I spend the majority of my time in the shell (usually bash) or emacs. Learning the key-maps, especially for zsh and bash, was one of the best things I ever did. Wow, that cut my keypresses down immensely. So did remapping lynx(1) keybindings.

klodolph 3y ago

My experience is that Dvorak solved my RSI problems, and split keyboards do not. The amount of time it takes to retrain into Dvorak is irrelevant to me, because the alternative is something more extreme, like quitting my job, using speech-to-text, or living in pain.

wmedrano 3y ago

Split keyboards solved my hand problems 6years ago. I started learning Dvorak this week to reduce my left index finger strain.