I never really committed to hjkl until getting a pok3r. I love 60% keyboards now though I still get a bit mixed up every now and then when I accidentally hit the combo for "insert" or find myself in the wrong mode.
The 40% Keyboard
241–250 of 334 posts
Re: The 40% Keyboard
#242I never have any problems with wrist fatigue, and I've sometimes wondered if it's because I type "wrong". Holding your fingers at home row and stretching always felt weird to me, and I learned to type naturally. I primarily use three digits on each hand plus thumbs (no pinkies), and I move my hands back and forth as needed - no stretching or reaching. I can type ~60 WPM if I'm really trying, but I never really have o…
Same. By hovering, my wrists are never at a bad angle. In fact, looking at my hands right now, I can see them naturally sitting at roughly the same angles as those fancy ergonomic keyboards, despite the keyboard being a cheap flat one.
Re: The 40% Keyboard
#24340% keyboards are cool. I was initially skeptical when I moved to a 40% keyboard from a full sized split keyboard. After couple of months, I observed no drop in productivity or had strains.
Re: The 40% Keyboard
#244Earlier quoted context omitted.
But the best mouses are tailored for one hand, like the MX Master. I used to switch mouses when I used generic mice, but I'm never going back to those.
The G903 is perfectly ambidextrous, but even something like an old G9X works great as well in my left hand. I have a Kensington Slimblade as well at home, works great to mix things up.
It also depends on grip style. People who "palm" the mouse are probably more sensitive to the shape of the mouse.
Re: The 40% Keyboard
#245Call 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…
> I guess programmers are too cool to enter in dollar amounts into Excel. I use a 40% board and one of my layers brings up a numpad. I really just prefer typing on one of these boards much more than a traditional keyboard. It's more comfortable, more fun (because I can flash my own layout with QMK) and it served as a nice introduction to electronics and embedded programming. What's wrong with that?
Stop liking things I don't like!
Re: The 40% Keyboard
#246Call 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…
> 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 believe it part of the human ability to experiment, to optimize, to research, trying out something different, or perhaps more negatively to be discontent with current options you know and going for the mentioned solution. It is a matter of optimization, and using the freedom you have…
> I like having Bluetooth on a device like a keyboard
How secure is that, really? I can easily imagine that it is very easy to sniff e.g. passwords from the Bluetooth connexion. But maybe they actually put in the hard work of getting encryption right.
Re: The 40% Keyboard
#247I have an ortholinear 40% that sits in my closet collecting dust. I used it for a little while, but just didn't like it that much. Despite the claims of it being more ergonomic, I found that I was contorting my pinky into some strange positions to hit some of the keys, and was getting some strain. Plus, with 40 keys, you probably need 2 additional layers to get in all of the functionality.
I also have an ErgoDox (68-key split ortholinear). I used it for a while but I just never liked ortholinear.
I have used a 60% keyboard for most of the past 4 years that seems to me about as functional as a full-sized keyboard. Basically all that I lose are the arrow and function keys (and ESC), all of which can be easily emulated with a second layer (I don't even think about it any more). I mapped caps lock to ESC.
I know that some people need a numpad, but I don't, and I like the form factor of a 60% (plus I built it up with switches and keycaps from an old Apple Extended Keyboard, which were much better than the modern Apple stuff).
Re: The 40% Keyboard
#248I use the Diverge 3 + Khaili box whites as my daily driver. It has more layers than I personally could ever effectively utilize. Absolutely love this setup. I picked it up over the Ergodox. After having used my co-worker's erogdox repeatedly, I did not like how far the thumb cluster was and this simply brought it closer which is what the author is explaining with the minimal amount of movement. I don't like 40% keybo…
I've found the small keys on the thumb clusters on the Ergodox to be a good location for select function keys. I don't have to hit them often, but much of the time I do, it must be in combination with some modifier keys for certain IDE shortcuts. I have seen layouts online where people assign nothing to them. As for the big keys on the thumb clusters, I don't find them to be an issue. I do think it would be better if they were moved in just a hair though.
Re: The 40% Keyboard
#249Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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 believe it part of the human ability to experiment, to optimize, to research, trying out something different, or perhaps more negatively to be discontent with current options you know and going for the mentioned solution. It is a matter of optimization, and using the freedom you have…
> I like having Bluetooth on a device like a keyboard How secure is that, really? I can easily imagine that it is very easy to sniff e.g. passwords from the Bluetooth connexion. But maybe they actually put in the hard work of getting encryption right.
Well, it isn't BLE, so it still is spaghetti known as Bluetooth but at least not known vulnerable.
The point you raised is one of the reasons why I try to not use it much. I don't trust it.
Re: The 40% Keyboard
#250I never have any problems with wrist fatigue, and I've sometimes wondered if it's because I type "wrong". Holding your fingers at home row and stretching always felt weird to me, and I learned to type naturally. I primarily use three digits on each hand plus thumbs (no pinkies), and I move my hands back and forth as needed - no stretching or reaching. I can type ~60 WPM if I'm really trying, but I never really have o…
This sounds a bit like my wife's typing. Super weird to watch, but she can go fast and never complains of pain despite doing 100% of her typing on a laptop. My computer-related pain started maybe 3 years into my career, and mostly manifested in my fingers and hand, less in my wrist. I switched at that point to a Logitech Wingman trackball and a Microsoft Natural 4000 split, negative-tilt keyboard, and the pain went a…
Interesting. I've never had trouble with the bog-standard MS keyboards that happen to come with most office workstations. I do like the feel of hybrid mechanical-rubber keys though, the click is nice.
My wife says my typing looks really weird too, but it works for me. Hours and hours of AIM chat when I was in junior high and high school paid off I guess.