5 ms·

Kudos for the author for raising this. I'd add one more thing to consider. No Touch Typing. Despite my many decades in IT I never learned to "properly" touch

Kudos for the author for raising this. I'd add one more thing to consider. No Touch Typing. Despite my many decades in IT I never learned to "properly" touch type. I type at the typical 40 wpm looking at the keyboard and moving my forearms and hands very frequently. However, recently I tried to learn touch typing. I set my chair/monitor/keyboard as recommended and I commenced some typing exercises with my fingers planted on the home row. After an hour of this I felt my wrists are definitely going to give up if I carry on (mainly due to hands being held in this cramped position for a long time instead of random movements). Classic keyboards force you into a very unnatural angle where forearms point towards the centre and wrists are bent outwards to make both hands parallel. A split keyboard can probably resolve this. But entering into the realm of non standard keyboards has certain disadvantages (lack of portability). Then there is a slippery slope of.. If I'm contemplating a split keyboard why not go further into curved keyboards, key rows that are not offset and so on... It all becomes a long and expensive process of buying/building lots of "weird" keyboards. All of it could be avoided, just by giving up on touch typing. Unless anyone has a better idea?

yoyohello13 3y ago
A wrist rest is essential for me. I notice without one my wrists and shoulders start to ache. A good wrist rest with lots of padding elevates your wrists to a good typing position without pinching the tendons.
esperent 3y ago
I recently switched to a fancy split ergo keyboard. One with actual separate halves. Normal 65% layout, no messing around with control keys and layers except for the function keys. It took a couple of days to get used to. But an interesting side effect after using it for six months - I can now touch type. I didn't try to learn to touch type and I can't do it if I switch back to a normal keyboard (which feels very cramped now). I also am sure I don't do "correct" touch typing, especially with my right hand. I don't know if this helps my coding. But in a way, using the keyboard feels more like playing an instrument now. I think that is useful, although it's impossible to quantify how useful, of course. Edit: this is the one I got: https://keeb.io/collections/pre-built-keyboards/products/quefrency-keyboard-pre-built https://keeb.io/collections/pre-built-keyboards/products/que... Initially feels like a crazy amount to spend on a keyboard but it's fully repairable and I expect it to last for many years. Just wish it was wireless.
- Roark66 3y ago
  I got a nice mechanical keyboard I really like a year ago. I wish I considered getting a split one at the time as buying another keyboard a year later seems wasteful. But I'm seriously considering getting one. What's stopping me is that maybe in 6 months I decide I should've bought something with thumb keys? Or a kinesis shaped one? I guess I just have to get used to the idea I'll be buying a new keyboard per year for next few years if I go down this path. I'm a fan of keychron keyboards. They recently created Q11 QMK which I'm interested in, but it lacks thumb keys.
  - esperent 3y ago
    I previously had a Logitech G613 which I kind of regretted as it was huge and several keys got sticky after around 18 months. Tried stripping it down and cleaned everything with alcohol but it didn't fix them. Next I got a Keychron K2 which is a lovely keyboard. I gifted it to my girlfriend when I upgraded to the Quefrency. So, that sounds like I'm on the slippery slope of mechanical keyboard buying. But actually, no. I just had to try a few until I found the right one. I don't see any reason to change again, if I need a new keyboard I'd probably just get another Quefrency or a very similar model.
- sixstringtheory 3y ago
  I think keyboard, monitor and chair are worthy of the highest price tags you can afford. These are the things we are in contact with continuously for a large majority of our waking hours. Get the best ones money can buy. I had a Kinesis freestyle for years and upgraded to the 360. No regrets.

yoyohello13 3y ago

A wrist rest is essential for me. I notice without one my wrists and shoulders start to ache. A good wrist rest with lots of padding elevates your wrists to a good typing position without pinching the tendons.

esperent 3y ago

I recently switched to a fancy split ergo keyboard. One with actual separate halves. Normal 65% layout, no messing around with control keys and layers except for the function keys. It took a couple of days to get used to. But an interesting side effect after using it for six months - I can now touch type. I didn't try to learn to touch type and I can't do it if I switch back to a normal keyboard (which feels very cramped now). I also am sure I don't do "correct" touch typing, especially with my right hand. I don't know if this helps my coding. But in a way, using the keyboard feels more like playing an instrument now. I think that is useful, although it's impossible to quantify how useful, of course. Edit: this is the one I got: https://keeb.io/collections/pre-built-keyboards/products/quefrency-keyboard-pre-built https://keeb.io/collections/pre-built-keyboards/products/que... Initially feels like a crazy amount to spend on a keyboard but it's fully repairable and I expect it to last for many years. Just wish it was wireless.

Roark66 3y ago
I got a nice mechanical keyboard I really like a year ago. I wish I considered getting a split one at the time as buying another keyboard a year later seems wasteful. But I'm seriously considering getting one. What's stopping me is that maybe in 6 months I decide I should've bought something with thumb keys? Or a kinesis shaped one? I guess I just have to get used to the idea I'll be buying a new keyboard per year for next few years if I go down this path. I'm a fan of keychron keyboards. They recently created Q11 QMK which I'm interested in, but it lacks thumb keys.
- esperent 3y ago
  I previously had a Logitech G613 which I kind of regretted as it was huge and several keys got sticky after around 18 months. Tried stripping it down and cleaned everything with alcohol but it didn't fix them. Next I got a Keychron K2 which is a lovely keyboard. I gifted it to my girlfriend when I upgraded to the Quefrency. So, that sounds like I'm on the slippery slope of mechanical keyboard buying. But actually, no. I just had to try a few until I found the right one. I don't see any reason to change again, if I need a new keyboard I'd probably just get another Quefrency or a very similar model.
sixstringtheory 3y ago
I think keyboard, monitor and chair are worthy of the highest price tags you can afford. These are the things we are in contact with continuously for a large majority of our waking hours. Get the best ones money can buy. I had a Kinesis freestyle for years and upgraded to the 360. No regrets.