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The 40% Keyboard

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Re: The 40% Keyboard

#91

Post by gbuk2013 »

terandle wrote: post #20
dangus wrote: post #7

Call me cynical, but I think a lot of the small style keyboards I see around the office are more of a fashion trend than anything. I remember when the insistence was on number pads, and how dare they be removed from our laptops and desktop keyboards. Fast forward a few years and I was made fun of at a programming job for preferring a full keyboard with a number pads. I guess programmers are too cool to enter in dolla…

No numpad is an ergonomic benefit. Your mouse is closer so you don't have to move your hand as far. The best way to have a numpad if you really need one, I have found, is to have a separate one like how the Microsoft Sculpt keyboard does it.

Another advantage is that I can fit my 10-keyless mechanical keyboard in my backpack when I travel, which would not be possible with a full-size one.

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#92

Post by throwaway744678 »

tony wrote: post #27
dangus wrote: post #7

Call me cynical, but I think a lot of the small style keyboards I see around the office are more of a fashion trend than anything. I remember when the insistence was on number pads, and how dare they be removed from our laptops and desktop keyboards. Fast forward a few years and I was made fun of at a programming job for preferring a full keyboard with a number pads. I guess programmers are too cool to enter in dolla…

> Small style keyboards I'm optimistic about them (depending on what "small style keyboards" mean to you). I consider ergodox in this category, due to how it does ctrl/z, function keys and layers. Ergodox-EZ is quite beautiful. The build quality on it is solid. It's heavy, for a keyboard. This is not a logitech or microsoft keyboard where they cynically use cheap materials. But, there are these "small" hacks: It join…

How do you Ctrl+Z, then?

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#93

Post by KaiserPro »

I really can't see how having to hold down two keys at the same time is going to help RSI. (because to get to the special keys you have to hold down a modifier key)

When you have your fingers contorted and under stress trying to hold two keys down, thats when RSI really kicks in.

I would go out on a limb and say that these keyboard are going to make one's RSI even worse.

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#94

Post by ginko »

Oreb wrote: post #69
Tarks wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bought a Corsair K95 a year or so ago and it's fantastic for me, even bought a second for the office. Pricey but it's worth it.

I have no personal experience whatsoever with these, but the Corsair keyboards have a very bad reputation among mechanical keyboard enthusiasts. Allegedly the keycaps are made of low quality ABS plastic, and because some of the keys are non-standard size, you can’t easily find replacement keycaps. Among mainstream brands, Ducky and CoolerMaster are supposed to be much better (I have no experience with these either).

Just bought a Ducky One 2 on my trip to Taiwan and it's a joy to use. All the keycaps are PBT double-shot.

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#95

Post by b0rsuk »

Where is a hexagonal keyboard when you need it? Hexes are sweet for strategy and puzzle games, but could also be sweet for roguelikes if input devices were better. A smaller keyboard barely solves any problem, especially if you have palms as large as mine. But a hex keyboard would. Not even Kickstarter has something for hexagonal input device.

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#96

Post by halvdan »

I own a HHKB[1] and while very pleasant to type with the fact that the function keys are on another layer can be cumbersome in some IDEs. In IntelliJ IDEs you have Ctrl + F9 to build (or something like that) which means pressing Ctrl + Fn + 9. Maybe the experience can be improved with better placement of the Fn-key (which on the HHKB is in the lower right corner).

Reading the comments about experiences with split and/or ergonomic keyboards makes me want to try some other variants.

[1] https://www.hhkeyboard.com/

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#97

Post by tapland »

taneq wrote: post #75
tapland wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which means you don't have a good position when typing? I bought a 40% split keyboard and had my mouse inbetween the halves and it relieved my joint pains. Now, I work on old mainframes and need up to function key F24, but otherwise the 40% works wonders with thumbs on modifier keys.

If you define "a good position" as "a comfortable position" then my typing position is fine for the work I do. I've tried various options, from the curvy Microsoft Natural keyboards to laptop keyboards to mini keyboards and I always come back to a standard mechanical 101-key keyboard with a G502 mouse. I think a split keyboard with the mouse in between the halves would do my head in.

Yeah. I wanted to get an ergodox for work since I ruined my shoulder and some joints being a croupier/dealer for a few years, but they were so expensive I decided to build a cheaper 40% one. If I hadn't had an issue with a normal keyboard I wouldn't have tried it but for software development I wouldn't go back after the switch.

At home I want a split big regular keyboard so that I can use all keys as normal for games, or probably a 60% split with a separate keypad since I can't type without hands starting to hurt.

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#98

Post by Yizahi »

People like to talk a lot about KB ergonomics, reducing carpal syndrome and there is a reason for it, but I don't understand why almost nobody does the one thing that contributes the most for improvement - inverted KB stand. This thing on the bottom - https://imgur.com/a/yne4lPR . People fiddle with layouts, key travel, key shape, switches etc. but that doesn't really matter if your wrists are crooked. If your wrists aren't straight you will injure them over time, that's a fact. And I see almost none KBs which allow changing KB level in a good way (in a bad way almost all of them - with stupid stands in back of KB).

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#99

Post by joosters »

halotrope wrote: post #85

Most people would benefit much more from practicing proper (touch-) typing than upgrading/innovating devices.

Would programmers actually benefit? Realistically, how often are you limited by your typing speed when coding?

I can type fast but there’s no way I could ever keep writing code at my typing speed, I’m always pausing to think about what I’m writing. If you type slower, you are still thinking about the code as you type. Is typing really the limiting factor, or is it actually the thinking?

Re: The 40% Keyboard

#100

Post by ianai »

Is anybody trying to combine the mouse input with the keys themselves? Ie embedding a nib? I’m thinking like a light touch on a home row key being interpreted as a mouse click. Have the nib input only register if the key is either depressed or not, depending on implementation.
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