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My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

jackevansevo.github.io

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Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#111

Post by tom_ »

rgoulter wrote: post #77
gorbachev wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Get an off-the-shelf Arisu layout keyboard from a reputable manufacturer. You don't have to worry about the billion options. The Arisu layout keyboards are the closest mechanical keyboards you can get to a MS Natural keyboard layout, IMHO. Keychron has several models of different sizes that give you good options on size vs. function vs. price: V8/V10, Q8/Q10, K15 Pro, etc. They sell on Amazon, their own site and some…

I find it bizarre to say "Arisu layout" and "ergonomic" in the same sentence. The layout looks cool. The only two ergonomic things about it are that the letters are slightly split apart, and slightly at an angle. (The thumb gets to press more keys than on a standard keyboard, but not as many as on better keyboards). The layouts tend to have weird features, stuff like: the digit for 6 is placed on the left-hand side;…

6 on the left is the same as the the split MS keyboards - for good or for ill. (But at least it's the same!)

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#112

Post by grumblingdev »

FYI: You can put a low-profile mechanical keyboard on top of your MacBook built-in keyboard and it works great.

I use the Keychron K1 Pro with Brown Gateron switches. It's an 80% (ten-key-less / TKL). I needed this one because I use the right shift key a lot and it has a full-size one whereas the 75% is shortened.

You get used to the slightly different layout very quickly. You might swap back and forth a bit but when you go to bed you will start dreaming about typing on it. You will even enjoy doing typing races just to press the keys.

Another new one just released is the NuPhy Air75V2.

It's a real addiction!

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#114

Post by ubermonkey »

That seems like an entirely healthy progression!

I used a Kinesis Advantage -- the goofy one, with the inverts wells for each hand -- for like 12 or 15 years. It's GREAT ... but it's big.

A couple years ago I got a Keychron to use with my iPad, and because it was shiny, though, and it's comfy enough that I've been using it as my daily driver since soon after. I intended to change things up periodically, but it's so nice and compact, and the switches feel so nice, that I haven't gone back to the Kinesis.

However, the Keychron is LOUD, so I also have a compact Apple keyboard I swap in for notetaking on conference calls. :)

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#115

Post by pr0zac »

frameset wrote: post #16

I really don't understand the numpad-less trend of fashionable keyboards. Doing any kind of number entry beyond one or two digits is very annoying without one. They also don't take up that much space really. If your keyboard is a portable one you pack with you on trips, I get it. If it lives on a desk, why not splash out the small amount extra to make number entry much easier.

Do you not know how to touch type without looking at the keyboard at all or have you just not learned where the numbers are? Shouldn't you take the time to learn to type correctly instead of relying on moving your entire hand just to type a number?

I truly do not mean to be insulting or anything, but I read comments like this a lot and they really confuse me. I don't need a numpad because I know how to touch type and don't have trouble putting in numbers with the number row without looking, I never used the numpad even when I had a keyboard that had one.

For why I got a board without it, ergonomics. My mouse is where the numpad would've been. Having a shorter keyboard reduces the distance between my hands at the points where I need to use a mouse to about shoulder width, keeping my arms aligned with my shoulders and greatly reduces shoulder impinging issues I was having.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#116

Post by jasoneckert »

I've also had - and collect - an insane amount of keyboards, much like my musician friends collect instruments. I have 46 keyboards currently - mostly TKL mechanical (Cherry/Topre/Kailh/Gateron), a Moonlander, and some Apple, Microsoft and Logitech.

But the only keyboard I actually use for my work is a Lenovo TrackPoint II Bluetooth keyboard (best keyboard ever made IMO).

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#117

Post by jseliger »

EtienneK wrote: post #56

I was expecting to see 10s of keyboards as you'd see from most in r/MechanicalKeyboards and was disappointed to only find 5. Not an unhealthy relationship at all!

I eventually wound up with Kinesis ergo keyboards and stopped being much "into" keyboards; they are a means to an end: https://jakeseliger.com/2011/07/17/further-thoughts-on-the-k....

Now I have an Advantage 3 with Box White switches, after admittedly talking to an Upgrade Keyboards key switch sommelier, which I admit somewhat undercuts my first sentence in this comment.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#118

Post by jseliger »

frameset wrote: post #16

I really don't understand the numpad-less trend of fashionable keyboards. Doing any kind of number entry beyond one or two digits is very annoying without one. They also don't take up that much space really. If your keyboard is a portable one you pack with you on trips, I get it. If it lives on a desk, why not splash out the small amount extra to make number entry much easier.

I don't know about his keyboards, but many now have meta switches to turn the ~jkl; block area into a num pad. Then you don't have to move your right hand to input numbers. Left hand holds the meta key; right hand inputs numbers. On my Kinesis Advantage 3, I think the number 1 or 2 meta key on the left side of the board is set up this way.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#119

Post by hnreport »

coreyh14444 wrote: post #67
coreyh14444 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was going to do the Crocodile Dundee "That's not a knife, this is a knife" routine on this one. Taeha Types, Glarses, Hipyo Tech, Switch and Click, et al, would like to have a word.

And I'm typing this on a fully custom, hand soldered, hand lubed, modded Maja V2 from KBDFans and MT3 keycaps from Drop. Easily costs more than all those boards in that post combined. And let's just say this is not my only keyboard.

[flagged]

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#120

Post by semi-extrinsic »

infecto wrote: post #19
frameset wrote: post #16

I really don't understand the numpad-less trend of fashionable keyboards. Doing any kind of number entry beyond one or two digits is very annoying without one. They also don't take up that much space really. If your keyboard is a portable one you pack with you on trips, I get it. If it lives on a desk, why not splash out the small amount extra to make number entry much easier.

Depends on what you are doing of course. Cannot speak to the fashion side of it but my original motivator to move to a keypad less was to reduce the distance of the mouse to my typing space. I do not do any type of data entry and rarely type numbers with enough frequency to require it.

I've used a couple different "1800 compact"-ish keyboards for more than a decade now, where you use NumLock to toggle the right-hand side keys between a numpad and arrow keys + Del/Ins/Home/etc. It gives you most of the keypadless benefit.

First one I had was a CoolerMaster Storm Quickfire TK, now I'm on a Keychron K4V2. I actually liked the TK better, but it's completely worn out and I couldn't seem to find a similar layout on a new keyboard.

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