4 ms·

This weird keyboard may be the biggest thing since your standing desk

26 points by petercooper 13y ago

izzydata 13y ago
As a touch typist (120-140wpm) that types entirely with muscle memory I notice that sometimes I use my left hand to type a key on the right and my right hand to type a key on the left. It really just depends on what finger is closest compared to the last key that I hit with that finger. Unfortunately this keyboard would mess me up in that regard when I try to click r,t,g,f,v,b with my left index finger or y,h,n,m,j,u with my right index finger. Just curious, but is muscle tension always a bad thing? Wouldn't that just exercise your muscles and make them more durable to do the same actions again? I'm sure after 20 years of typing these muscles are probably resistant to this kind of activity.
- sopooneo 13y ago
  Could that be fixed by having certain keys from the middle of a standard keyboard appear on the inner side of both haves of a split one? Or actually... Could we just use two keyboards?
- ToastyMallows 13y ago
  > Just curious, but is muscle tension always a bad thing? I was asking myself the same question. According to this article, sitting on a yoga ball at work all day would be bad right? Because you're constantly tensing up your muscles in your lower back and abs?
wmeredith 13y ago
Lose your belly fat with this one weird trick... Seriously? How is this on the front page. Keyboards like this have been around for ages.
- tfigueroa 13y ago
  But Did You Know It's Cutting Off Your Circulation by 80%? This explains why some people type with only two fingers: no blood in the other eight.
- ToastyMallows 13y ago
  I know I'm only speaking for myself here but sometimes I upvote articles or links just so that people see it and comment on it. Sometimes I'm more interested in what people have to say about something rather than the content itself.
mafuyu 13y ago
Are there any split keyboards like this that have mechanical keys?
- k2enemy 13y ago
  http://ergodox.org/ http://ergodox.org/
  - mafuyu 13y ago
    Open-source hardware and DIY, too! Thanks.
    - zackboe 13y ago
      There's a lot of love for the ergodox on http://reddit.com/r/mechanicalkeyboards http://reddit.com/r/mechanicalkeyboards Some look really nice.
  - lsaferite 13y ago
    I keep missing the massdrop buys for these and it makes me sad every time. There are a few people working on split mechanical keyboards on geekhack as well.
    - Adrock 13y ago
      I just did a build and sourced all the parts myself. It actually doesn't end up being much more than the Massdrop kit.
      - lsaferite 13y ago
        Care to share your component sources? I actually did pick up a pair of the boards in a drop a while back, I just keep missing the full kit drops. I just need a good price on MX clears, the case, and the rest of the electronics.
- jseliger 13y ago
GotAnyMegadeth 13y ago
It would be good if the 5tgb and 6yhn keys were repeated either side for us psuedo-touchtypers. (Hasn't Apple got a software patent for a similar thing?) EDIT: also F5
VLM 13y ago
Can't you just plug in two USB keyboards, preferably identical, one for each hand? I think its been around a decade since I last tried this stunt. At least you could see if you like it, or not. Going back further there were PS/2 era combiners to connect two keyboards. I could almost swear I've seen this done at server racks, so you can plug in both a remote (expensive) KVM and/or a local keyboard right in front of the machine. And a similar splitter for video out (this was definitely analog VGA to give an idea how long ago)
lotsofmangos 13y ago
And if you found that impressive, there's some folk down the road with a big round thing, they say it'll be the biggest thing since fire.
nobodysfool 13y ago
This is written like those 'one weird trick to lose weight' things, and contains just as much information.
markbao 13y ago
It seems like David thinks that the keyboard itself is pretty lame ("By most objective measures, this keyboard sucks") but the fact that it is split makes it worth it. Are there any keyboards that are 1) split, 2) good keyboards, and c) aren't ridiculously loud and can be used in public? (I usually do my work in university libraries, and if the reactions to me using my Model M mechanical keyboard in an office told me anything, it's that a quiet keyboard is probably best.)
- thelambentonion 13y ago
  The Ergodox [1] might be what you're looking for, although there's a significant amount of assembly required. It's been sold on Massdrop [2] before to reduce the cost of the PCBs (~$200 with the maximum number of people participating). While I don't own one, I've only ever heard good things about them. [1] http://ergodox.org/ http://ergodox.org/ [2] http://massdrop.com/ http://massdrop.com/
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
markmassie 13y ago
The Half Keyboard allows you to type with one hand OR use it as a second keyboard in addition to your main, full-sized keyboard. http://matias.ca/halfkeyboard/ http://matias.ca/halfkeyboard/

26 points by petercooper 13y ago

As a touch typist (120-140wpm) that types entirely with muscle memory I notice that sometimes I use my left hand to type a key on the right and my right hand to type a key on the left. It really just depends on what finger is closest compared to the last key that I hit with that finger. Unfortunately this keyboard would mess me up in that regard when I try to click r,t,g,f,v,b with my left index finger or y,h,n,m,j,u with my right index finger. Just curious, but is muscle tension always a bad thing? Wouldn't that just exercise your muscles and make them more durable to do the same actions again? I'm sure after 20 years of typing these muscles are probably resistant to this kind of activity.

sopooneo 13y ago
Could that be fixed by having certain keys from the middle of a standard keyboard appear on the inner side of both haves of a split one? Or actually... Could we just use two keyboards?
ToastyMallows 13y ago
> Just curious, but is muscle tension always a bad thing? I was asking myself the same question. According to this article, sitting on a yoga ball at work all day would be bad right? Because you're constantly tensing up your muscles in your lower back and abs?

wmeredith 13y ago

Lose your belly fat with this one weird trick... Seriously? How is this on the front page. Keyboards like this have been around for ages.

tfigueroa 13y ago
But Did You Know It's Cutting Off Your Circulation by 80%? This explains why some people type with only two fingers: no blood in the other eight.
ToastyMallows 13y ago
I know I'm only speaking for myself here but sometimes I upvote articles or links just so that people see it and comment on it. Sometimes I'm more interested in what people have to say about something rather than the content itself.

mafuyu 13y ago

Are there any split keyboards like this that have mechanical keys?

k2enemy 13y ago
http://ergodox.org/ http://ergodox.org/
- mafuyu 13y ago
  Open-source hardware and DIY, too! Thanks.
  - zackboe 13y ago
    There's a lot of love for the ergodox on http://reddit.com/r/mechanicalkeyboards http://reddit.com/r/mechanicalkeyboards Some look really nice.
- lsaferite 13y ago
  I keep missing the massdrop buys for these and it makes me sad every time. There are a few people working on split mechanical keyboards on geekhack as well.
  - Adrock 13y ago
    I just did a build and sourced all the parts myself. It actually doesn't end up being much more than the Massdrop kit.
    - lsaferite 13y ago
      Care to share your component sources? I actually did pick up a pair of the boards in a drop a while back, I just keep missing the full kit drops. I just need a good price on MX clears, the case, and the rest of the electronics.
jseliger 13y ago

GotAnyMegadeth 13y ago

It would be good if the 5tgb and 6yhn keys were repeated either side for us psuedo-touchtypers. (Hasn't Apple got a software patent for a similar thing?) EDIT: also F5

VLM 13y ago

Can't you just plug in two USB keyboards, preferably identical, one for each hand? I think its been around a decade since I last tried this stunt. At least you could see if you like it, or not. Going back further there were PS/2 era combiners to connect two keyboards. I could almost swear I've seen this done at server racks, so you can plug in both a remote (expensive) KVM and/or a local keyboard right in front of the machine. And a similar splitter for video out (this was definitely analog VGA to give an idea how long ago)

lotsofmangos 13y ago

And if you found that impressive, there's some folk down the road with a big round thing, they say it'll be the biggest thing since fire.

nobodysfool 13y ago

This is written like those 'one weird trick to lose weight' things, and contains just as much information.

markbao 13y ago

It seems like David thinks that the keyboard itself is pretty lame ("By most objective measures, this keyboard sucks") but the fact that it is split makes it worth it. Are there any keyboards that are 1) split, 2) good keyboards, and c) aren't ridiculously loud and can be used in public? (I usually do my work in university libraries, and if the reactions to me using my Model M mechanical keyboard in an office told me anything, it's that a quiet keyboard is probably best.)

thelambentonion 13y ago
The Ergodox [1] might be what you're looking for, although there's a significant amount of assembly required. It's been sold on Massdrop [2] before to reduce the cost of the PCBs (~$200 with the maximum number of people participating). While I don't own one, I've only ever heard good things about them. [1] http://ergodox.org/ http://ergodox.org/ [2] http://massdrop.com/ http://massdrop.com/

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

markmassie 13y ago

The Half Keyboard allows you to type with one hand OR use it as a second keyboard in addition to your main, full-sized keyboard. http://matias.ca/halfkeyboard/ http://matias.ca/halfkeyboard/