3 ms·

As opposed to laptops with ergo keyboards, such as ... ? I plug a Kinesis into my Mac laptop and it seems to work fine.

by jfb 14y ago

ajross 14y ago
There are degrees. ThinkPad keyboards are fantastic, the Air is a mess. I have a Vaio Z which a keyboard even worse. It's true, though, that for serious long term use you really don't want to be using a laptop at all. My Vaio goes on a stand at work and I use an external keyboard (Microsoft Arc, which I was surprised to like very much). Hunching over a laptop to type is just a terrible state to be in.
- veemjeem 14y ago
  The key sizes on the Air are identical to the Thinkpad, so I don't see how the ergonomics would be different. Your hand position on the Air would be identical to the Thinkpad. I don't think there are any laptops out there that would have an improved keyboard for the purposes of ergonomics.
  - ajross 14y ago
    You don't think the key action matters? Try typing on some different keyboards. The Air (and my Vaio) have very short-action compression strokes and very little tactile or aural feedback. You have to press harder to get them to register than for a longer-stroke keyboard, and yet your brain gets less feedback that you've succeeded. Basically, spend some long days typing on a bunch of different laptops. Obviously everyone is different and taste matters, but unless you're a 2-finger hunt-and-pecker, I all but guarantee that you'll find you like some keyboards much more than others.
    - philwelch 14y ago
      And I've found that the low-profile Apple keyboards are the very best. I simply cannot stand long-action keyboards. An Apple keyboard feels like I'm walking on water. Long-action keyboards feel like I'm wading through mud.
    - veemjeem 14y ago
      I don't think key action matters much to ergonomics. It doesn't change the positions of your hands or fingers. It's like comparing the health benefits of orange juice more pulp vs less pulp.
    - jfb 14y ago
      The (real) differences in key action are dwarfed for me by the layout of a laptop keyboard and the terrible ergonomics of the mouse-analog.
- Lio 14y ago
  I think this is pretty subjective and personally I disagree with it. I have a both a MacBook Pro for work and a personal 13" MacBook Air. I use both connected to external monitors but with the internal keyboard and track pads. The keyboards seem pretty similar to me. I touch type with a non-qwerty layout (so no point hunt-pecking) and I find I really like the short, punchy travel of the keyboard. For comparison I also have an IBM M keyboard that I no longer use. I guess if you want long travel keys they're not for you but it's, like, just your opinion, man.

As opposed to laptops with ergo keyboards, such as ... ? I plug a Kinesis into my Mac laptop and it seems to work fine.

by jfb 14y ago

As opposed to laptops with ergo keyboards, such as ... ? I plug a Kinesis into my Mac laptop and it seems to work fine.

There are degrees. ThinkPad keyboards are fantastic, the Air is a mess. I have a Vaio Z which a keyboard even worse. It's true, though, that for serious long term use you really don't want to be using a laptop at all. My Vaio goes on a stand at work and I use an external keyboard (Microsoft Arc, which I was surprised to like very much). Hunching over a laptop to type is just a terrible state to be in.

veemjeem 14y ago
The key sizes on the Air are identical to the Thinkpad, so I don't see how the ergonomics would be different. Your hand position on the Air would be identical to the Thinkpad. I don't think there are any laptops out there that would have an improved keyboard for the purposes of ergonomics.
- ajross 14y ago
  You don't think the key action matters? Try typing on some different keyboards. The Air (and my Vaio) have very short-action compression strokes and very little tactile or aural feedback. You have to press harder to get them to register than for a longer-stroke keyboard, and yet your brain gets less feedback that you've succeeded. Basically, spend some long days typing on a bunch of different laptops. Obviously everyone is different and taste matters, but unless you're a 2-finger hunt-and-pecker, I all but guarantee that you'll find you like some keyboards much more than others.
  - philwelch 14y ago
    And I've found that the low-profile Apple keyboards are the very best. I simply cannot stand long-action keyboards. An Apple keyboard feels like I'm walking on water. Long-action keyboards feel like I'm wading through mud.
  - veemjeem 14y ago
    I don't think key action matters much to ergonomics. It doesn't change the positions of your hands or fingers. It's like comparing the health benefits of orange juice more pulp vs less pulp.
  - jfb 14y ago
    The (real) differences in key action are dwarfed for me by the layout of a laptop keyboard and the terrible ergonomics of the mouse-analog.
Lio 14y ago
I think this is pretty subjective and personally I disagree with it. I have a both a MacBook Pro for work and a personal 13" MacBook Air. I use both connected to external monitors but with the internal keyboard and track pads. The keyboards seem pretty similar to me. I touch type with a non-qwerty layout (so no point hunt-pecking) and I find I really like the short, punchy travel of the keyboard. For comparison I also have an IBM M keyboard that I no longer use. I guess if you want long travel keys they're not for you but it's, like, just your opinion, man.