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Down the ergonomic keyboard rabbit hole

blog.scottlogic.com

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Re: Down the ergonomic keyboard rabbit hole

#81

Post by samatman »

SimonPStevens wrote: post #60

I have a ergodox, and while I love it for writing prose in English, I struggle with it a bit for coding. It feels like it needs an extra column or two on the right hand side to have enough space for the symbols and special keys (arrows, home/end/pgup/pgdown, etc). I've tried all kinds of different placements or multi layer layouts to try and make everything comfortable to reach but whatever I try I can't quite get it…

I stopped using the configuration tool awhile back, so I can't share a convenient graphic, but here's my layout:

https://github.com/mnemnion/ergodox/blob/master/readme.md

The keymap is at least laid out visually in a way that corresponds to where the keys are.

Much of this would be useless if you don't use a Mac, but perhaps the layout of glyph keys and navigation keys will prove useful to you.

Re: Down the ergonomic keyboard rabbit hole

#82

Post by samatman »

bsimpson wrote: post #63

It's amazing that we constantly use tools with dozens of buttons permanently fixed to them, but rarely think about how we might yield those buttons to our own purposes. We just accept the defaults without considering other possibilities. Also gets into the idea of personalized UI more generally. You can imagine something like Photoshop ought to adapt what tools it shows based on how someone uses it. Then again, that…

Big fan of the first, I make small tweaks to my keyboard layout in QMK and they've really added up to a fluid experience.

Strong disagree on the second: Photoshop should absolutely not move controls around on some kind of magic guesswork basis. That would destroy visual/muscle memory and undermine the users sense of control and mastery. Bad news.

It would be pretty great if programs with tool palettes came with a configurator so that the user could deliberately move things around, remove and add tools, and otherwise customize. As long as it was saved in a plain-text config that they could move around, this would be a win, just like it is in text editors.

Re: Down the ergonomic keyboard rabbit hole

#83

Post by tharne »

polote wrote: post #47
dkersten wrote: post #11

I use a slightly configured Kinesis Advantage 2 and colemak as my keyboard layout (I used to make the Kinesis do the colemak, but now its just qwerty and the OS handles colemak). I find typing on it extremely comfortable. I've also found these beneficial: https://www.mycarpaltunnel.com/ I like Ergodox, especially because of their super flexible configuration, but I dislike the flatness of the keyboard compared to the…

There are keyboards for people who want a truly ergonomic input system and there are keyboards for fanboys Kinesis advantage 2 is for the first kind and ergodox is for the fanboys The most efficient tools are usually the most ugly and boring ones

This is very unhelpful comment. They're both excellent keyboards in their own right and offer different features depending on what you're looking for.

Re: Down the ergonomic keyboard rabbit hole

#84

Post by ZeroGravitas »

dkersten wrote: post #57
ZeroGravitas wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The makers of the Ergodox EZ (it's open source so you can get Ergodoxes from various sources as well as build your own) also make the Moonlander, which is a step closer to the Kinesis in shape. I looked into it as a potentially more mobile alternative to the Kinesis but decided to stick with the Kinesis. I'm hoping if my current keyboard ever dies Kinesis will have a new QMK-based version that comes in two halves, or…

> the Moonlander, which is a step closer to the Kinesis in shape Just took a look, doesn't really look much difference. I mean the 3d curvature of the keys, your hand is kinda in a semi circular channel. I just find it comfortable, especially to reach the furthest rows of keys from the home row. Its not a huge deal, just something I like about the Kinesis. I also use the Kinesis foot pedals -- does something similar…

The Moonlander lets you angle the thumb cluster seprately, where the ergodox ez is a single flat plane.

For the bowl shape, you'd need to look at something like the Dactyl Manuform I mentioned.

Many split keyboards transfer keypresses from one side to the other via simple audio cables, I believe footpedals could be spliced in there too, but that's just speculation.

Re: Down the ergonomic keyboard rabbit hole

#85

Post by jerezzprime »

Why is there not an ergonomic keyboard with trackball or some other cursor device built in, so I can use the cursor and mouse buttons without moving my hands out of place? I currently use (and love) am Advantage 2, but I would happily drop another $400 on an ergonomic keyboard with mouse.

Re: Down the ergonomic keyboard rabbit hole

#86

Post by polote »

verisimilidude wrote: post #62
polote wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are keyboards for people who want a truly ergonomic input system and there are keyboards for fanboys Kinesis advantage 2 is for the first kind and ergodox is for the fanboys The most efficient tools are usually the most ugly and boring ones

That’s not an educated take. Just to take my own example, I’m unable to use the Kinesis Advantage because the bones in my right wrist are curved following an old injury. I’m physically incompatible with that keyboard. But split keyboards work great for me! I can rotate one side to accommodate my arm’s curve. Kinesis Freestyle is great for this. Ergodox also works. By your logic, I guess this makes me a fanboy? My poi…

I'm going to be downvoted again, but what I'm trying to say is that Ergodox is to ergonomic keyboard what GraphQL is to REST.

There are some specific use case in which Ergodox is better but most of the time the best choice is to go with Kinesis.

Re: Down the ergonomic keyboard rabbit hole

#87

Post by HeadsUpHigh »

jerezzprime wrote: post #85

Why is there not an ergonomic keyboard with trackball or some other cursor device built in, so I can use the cursor and mouse buttons without moving my hands out of place? I currently use (and love) am Advantage 2, but I would happily drop another $400 on an ergonomic keyboard with mouse.

Check the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard. It has a trackball module.

Re: Down the ergonomic keyboard rabbit hole

#88

Post by michaf »

mrlala wrote: post #14
sdenton4 wrote: post #8

...And you will never be able to use a random keyboard it in the world again...

I've been using kinesis advantage 2 for about 8 years.. I can still use random keyboards just fine!

The advantage 2 was only released in 2016. I myself have the advantage (1) since about 8 years. Sorry for being pedantic here, but that's why that statement tripped me up.

Re: Down the ergonomic keyboard rabbit hole

#89

Post by StevenWaterman »

vbernat wrote: post #72
StevenWaterman wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm really glad you enjoyed it! I've never done that before, but it just felt like the perfect opportunity.

I have also enjoyed it. This is really good for accessibility. I suppose you use the "timeupdate" event and "scrollIntoView()" to sync text and audio but I would be interested to read more on how you have achieved this.

Yep, you're exactly right. The SL blog uses Jekyll, so I'm limited to just using a markdown document with some ugly hacks.

Essentially, there's a div before each paragraph specifying the timestamp in its id - all done manually. I use `querySelectorAll` to get a list of those divs, extract the timestamps from the IDs, and store them in an array.

In the audio's `timeUpdate`, I check which paragraph we're on, and if it has changed then scroll to the next sibling of the timestamp div.

No magic bullet sadly!

Re: Down the ergonomic keyboard rabbit hole

#90

Post by spicybright »

StevenWaterman wrote: post #52
bsimpson wrote: post #51

The author's narration is delightful. Really nice to hear the voice of the author, the meta commentary on his own writing, and the proud glee he takes in captioning his doodles.

I'm really glad you enjoyed it! I've never done that before, but it just felt like the perfect opportunity.

I very much enjoyed it, keep doing this style!
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