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Kinesis Advantage 360

kinesis-ergo.com

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Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#61

Post by dsr_ »

Sholmesy wrote: post #40
dsr_ wrote: post #26

I don't understand the surrounding decisions. Differentiating by wired/wireless makes sense. Using two different programming systems? No. ZMK instead of adding BT support to QMK? Why? RGB underglow but not individually programmable key backlights? For the money they are charging, all of these things should have been extremely easy decisions. Anyone have insight?

The go to for the ErgoMechKeyboards realm seems to be to use ZMK for these sorts of things. Power consumption and customization of certain things is better supported. Individually programmable key backlights is nice, but imo a gimmick. That being said I never use backlights on a laptop keyboard, or mech keyboard, so I don't know what the use case for wanting ur Q to light up in a colour different to your W key would…

Underglow of any kind is a gimmick, but backlights, programmable or not, are useful in low-light situations, to let you see where that key that you rarely use actually is.

You generally don't want Q to light up different from W, but you might want to have a low-level green glow by default and slightly brighter colors to distinguish keys around the periphery.

Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#62

Post by simonsaysso »

db65edfc7996 wrote: post #30

Sadly, no dedicated F-row. I would even settle for a subset of keys that aligned with the columns. I do not consider layers an adequate replacement. Happy to see they are moving away from their own software configuration. Not a fan of the software interface on the Freestyle Pro. More than once I have gotten myself into a loop where I am unsure which function mode is activated and how to switch back to what I want. I…

I would imagine you can add an F key layer pretty easily so this shouldn't be a big deal. I found it impossible to touch-type the F-row on my Advantage 2, and it's awesome to be able to move keys closer to your fingers.

That being said, I don't see a reason to upgrade. I've ordered replacement key wells so I can install my own switches, and since the Advantage is my desk keyboard I'm not worried about portability.

Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#63

Post by [deleted] »

qq4 wrote: post #39

I was getting hand fatigue from my laptop keyboard and decided to look into split keyboards. I tried a variety of Kinesis keyboards but I didn't like the build quality or inconsistency in features between models. I ended up settling with the Mistel MD770 which is a compact split keyboard in a traditional QWERTY layout. I found that was all that was really needed. I still use my laptop a ton, but I switch it up just e…

[deleted]

Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#64

Post by jtth »

dave_sid wrote: post #23

Kinesis Advantage keyboards saved my career. I had bad carpal tunnel syndrome. I tried evening out there. This is the only thing that remotely worked.

Same. I would not be able to do the last 8 years of my life if it weren't for these keyboards.

Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#65

Post by fulafel »

gbrown_ wrote: post #43

It's a shame they couldn't get hot-swapable switches to work [1]. I have an ErgoDox with MX Browns which hasn't seen the light of day for a while. If I were to make a large outlay again on a keyboard I'd want to buy with the switches I now know I want or no switches and fit them myself. TBH I could take a soldering iron to my ErgoDox I just haven't had the motivation. As an aside I've always wondered why the Katana60…

Hot swap switches would be a killer RAS feature for a KB. Throw in redundant power and multipath USB with chipkill ECC in the MCU and it can be the longest uptime device in your data center...

Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#67

Post by thebean11 »

simonsaysso wrote: post #55
gbrown_ wrote: post #43

It's a shame they couldn't get hot-swapable switches to work [1]. I have an ErgoDox with MX Browns which hasn't seen the light of day for a while. If I were to make a large outlay again on a keyboard I'd want to buy with the switches I now know I want or no switches and fit them myself. TBH I could take a soldering iron to my ErgoDox I just haven't had the motivation. As an aside I've always wondered why the Katana60…

If you're looking for something small but more ergonomic than a Plank, take a look at the Atreus (either as a DIY or in a kit from Keyboario[1]). I also had issues with the Plank but the slight angle of the keys on the Atreus has been extremely comfortable for me. [1] https://shop.keyboard.io/products/keyboardio-atreus

Love the small size, but the layout is too different from a "regular" keyboard for me to consider it; the switching costs between it and my laptop would be too high. Placement of shift, super (I use caps lock as super), and tab being the biggest issues.

Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#68

Post by nahtnam »

linsomniac wrote: post #38
inquist wrote: post #27

FWIW I've been quite happy with the ZSA Moonlander https://www.zsa.io/moonlander

I was pretty hot on getting the Moonlander when it first came out, but I really wanted unlabeled keys. They now offer that, but I'm having a hard time committing to spending the money when I'm so happy with my ErgoDox Ez. Anyone made that switch that can compare/contrast?

I've had both. I find that the moonlander is a LOT smaller, and feels a bit better because the wrist-rests are integrated (that was probably my biggest annoyance with the EZ). I was able to sell my EZ for about 250, so the moonlander realistically cost me about 150. The moonlander is about 25% better than the EZ (note: there are a few keys missing) and overall I'm happy with my upgrade

Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#69

Post by rangersanger »

I picked up a Kinesis a few month ago and it's been a life changer. I've struggled with shoulder pain since as far back as I can remember. I'd done PT, dry needling, massage, etc etc. I'd even sprung for a personal ergonomic assessment. I'm a cyclist and and keyboard jockey, so most of my waking life is spent in positions that seemed to make it worse. At times it prevented me from sleeping, doing things I enjoyed, etc. I wear a 42 jacket, so I'm not crazy wide or anything.

I'd never seen anything that suggested that split keyboards were a good solve for the shoulder pain but I'd reached that point of just throwing shit at a wall because it was that, or find a new career and hobbies. Moving my keyboard so my forearms can sit slightly wider than perpendicular to my chest has almost completely resolved the shoulder pain and the impact was almost immediate.

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