Split keyboards and how to build them

Post by secure » Wed, Jan 27, 2021, 12:46 PM UTC

dsissitka wrote: post #188

ashkankiani wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you switch to the moonlander from the Kinesis? The curved design of the kinesis is way better for reducing strain than the flat style of the moonlander/ergodox. If the only factor is programmability, then I think that factor may be overexaggerated in how important it is. Know that anyone who wants to riposte that last point should realize that I'm not a novice to making my own keyboards or programming them.…

> Why would you switch to the moonlander from the Kinesis? QMK. I think QMK is a bit like Excel in that everybody has that subset of functionality they use. I like layers and the leader key. Open source firmware. I have a last gen Advantage I can't use because there's a bug in the firmware that causes modifier keys to stick and there's nobody left at Kinesis that remembers how to work on it. That will never happen wi…

Post by cutthegrass2 » Wed, Jan 27, 2021, 12:52 PM UTC

dehrmann wrote: post #90

__mharrison__ wrote: post #50

I get that these are expensive... But they might be a career saver. Listen to your body. If your fingers and wrists are telling you something, take action. It doesn't have to be an expensive split. (I have an ergodox with the Norman keyboard layout with other firmware goodies as well as running AutoHotKeys to give me emacs bindings all over the place.)

> But they might be a career saver. Seriously. I'll also plug vertical mice. They look goofy, but it's a better wrist position.

Post by Timpy » Wed, Jan 27, 2021, 12:56 PM UTC

soenkeliebau wrote: post #141

matsemann wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's a huge improvement ergonomically But what if you need to use a mouse? Then what I've found best ergonomically is to use a "rollermouse". But I don't feel that works well with a split keyboard, and then I prioritize the mouse. (For me my elbow is the biggest issue)

Personally I think a mouse is not replaceable by anything else that even gives remotely the same productivity. What can be improved is how often you have to reach for your mouse and how much your hands have to move on the keyboard. I have personally switched to a tiling window manager that allows me to do much with the keyboard, added the surfingkeys plugin to chrome to allow the same when browsing and switched to us…

Post by benhurmarcel » Wed, Jan 27, 2021, 1:04 PM UTC

pabloarteel wrote: post #14

nbzso wrote: post #3

Speaking of real ergonomic and health in my humble opinion, the designs with Concave keywell (Kinesis/Dactyl) are the way to go. I have jumped on to Kinesis Advantage 2 and all my wrist pain is no more.

Around that topic of ergonomic tools, I've been wanting to try a vertical mouse. As a designer, my right hand is over the mouse a lot of the time. I have a chronic pain on my right wirst, although, I not certain of the cause. Anyone her has experience with this?

Post by soenkeliebau » Wed, Jan 27, 2021, 1:11 PM UTC

Symbiote wrote: post #194

soenkeliebau wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've looked at a few Moonlander setups for the keyboard layout that I use on their site [1][2][3] and to my mind the right half is simply missing one column of keys to get a proper cursor key block. Even the lying-L option ─┘ would mean missing the right shift key (which of course should probably be on the thumb block) and getting used to something different. I'm not saying it wouldn't work, but for me being from Ger…

Those layouts have a lot of layers; I didn't have the patience to learn something that complicated. This is my ErgoDash layout. I have one less bottom-row key than the Moonlander, so I have combined PgDn/LeftAlt and ←/RightAlt onto single keys. I would uncombine these if I had the extra key, as I occasionally press Alt when I intend to press ←, but am too slow. I also have Enter/Ctrl as a single key, but it's very ra…