Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

jackevansevo.github.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 389 posts

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#141

Post by heresie-dabord »

To my mind, an unhealthy relationship with a keyboard comes down to an unhealthy keyboard design.

My criteria for a healthy keyboard, ordered by importance DESC:

* ergonomic with split ( e.g. Goldtouch , MSFT Natural series , Adesso)

* backlit

* silent but with durable switches (there is enough noise in the world)

* Bluetooth or unified receiver for both mouse and keyboard ( e.g. Logitech )

* if there is a trackball or touchpad, there must also be buttons to maintain full drag-drop and copy-paste functionality

Rather than fuss about the switches, I recommend that coders assemble a reliable set of ergonomic components (portable LCD, keyboard) that connect to $somebox via a docking station.

$someboxen will come and go, but aim to preserve comfort and safety.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#142

Post by javier_e06 »

me_me_me wrote: post #47
javier_e06 wrote: post #43

I never understood the Mac keyboards. For me a are a sensory deprivation chamber. I am wielding a ROG Falchion Green Cherry MX Gaming Keyboard. Is a backlit keyboard with good feedback and sound. But there is a hollow sound to the keys that is not ideal. My favorite keyboard I cannot use because is not backlit. The CoolerMaster Storm QuickFire Rapid - Tenkeyless. The keys are so smooth to the touch and there is a sli…

> My favorite keyboard I cannot use because is not backlit Out of curiosity, why not?

Because they are all compact keyboards so some of keys have multiple functions and not in the usual places so at night I don't want to turn of the lights.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#143

Post by heresie-dabord »

namrog84 wrote: post #134

Hey keyboard and computer enthusiast! I need your help! Any other keyboard I've ever tried hurts my wrists, arm, and back, and causes me pain except the "Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000". However they were discontinued years ago. :( I've been buying up used ones and learning how to disassemble and repair the ones I have the best I can, but my skills are limited. If anyone has any (unopened) ones or knows of…

> Most alternatives don't really have the wrist/angle support which is the #1.

Hear hear!

Adesso makes an ergonomic keyboard similar to the discontinued MSFT series.

I also have found that the Goldtouch V2 keyboard can be adjusted for a variety of human geometries using the split and the ball joint. https://shop.goldtouch.com/products/goldtouch-v2-adjustable-...

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#144

Post by chrisco255 »

namrog84 wrote: post #140
chrisco255 wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what I personally use: https://www.zsa.io/moonlander/ . The angle and pitch are totally customizable. Fantastic highly modifiable keyboard.

That's definitely an interesting one I hadn't seen before. I game a lot, so some of the features like the offset ASD(though this might be better?) and lack of bigger caps/tabs/shift/ctrl are definitely concerns for me here. I'll definitely keep it on my shirt list of keyboards to maybe try out one day.

I game a lot too. You can remap everything on that keyboard from a simple UI tool, and even toggle between "layers" for things like custom profiles for each game you might play (and any macros you want to assign to specific keys). It did take me a couple of days to get used to the layout before I started to surpass my previous wpm, but it was worth the investment.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#145

Post by otikik »

Jackevansevo wrote: post #57
otikik wrote: post #4

This person might enjoy the Keychron K1. I have used mine for many years. It's a bit less "low profile" than a mac keyboard, but the difference is not enough to require different finger movement - I get used to the different height in minutes. https://www.keychron.com/collections/all-keyboards/products/...

Thanks for the recommendation, the keychron K1 is definitely something I've been looking at closely. I've heard some complaints about the bluetooth connectivity not being great. They recently announced a budget friendly version the C3 Pro that's wired (USB-C) only that looks like it might actually satisfy my requirements.

The K1 has a "cable mode" in addition to "bluetooth", I have been using it with a wire since the beginning

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#146

Post by someplaceguy »

My unhealthy relationship with keyboards came to an end as soon as I bought my first Keychron keyboard with a knob (Q-series).

After using this keyboard, I can't imagine ever buying another keyboard without a knob. It's really great to control your audio volume with an appropriate hardware control rather than pressing the same key 15 times in a row like an idiot or fiddling around with the mouse.

You can configure the knob (or any key) to do different things with different key combinations, at the hardware level even (with the Via tool), so you don't have to configure multiple OSes one-by-one to do the same thing. I've configured Alt+Knob rotation to control my screen brightness, which I adjust multiple times per day. You can also configure it to control the zoom, or move the mouse, etc.

The knob also functions as an additional key if you press it downwards. I think by default it is configured to mute (which makes sense, since by default a knob rotation without any other key combination controls the audio volume).

When you go look for keyboards with a knob you won't find many, and the Keychron keyboards (Q-series and Q Pro-series, the latter being both wired and wireless), are really the best there is AFAIK (unless you create your own, perhaps).

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#147

Post by fadedsignal »

grumblingdev wrote: post #112

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…

Nuphy Air75v2 is the best. Looking forward to receive mine in few days!

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#148

Post by w0m »

J_Shelby_J wrote: post #103
coreyh14444 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It’s a neat hobby! Honestly, all you really need is to lube the switches. That’s biggest benefit. A lubed mechanical switch, even the cheapest generic red, out performs anything off the shelf.

Gasket mount was the biggest difference to me outside of the initial mechanical switch.

Now I have a number of mechanicals (i love, or did..) that I side-eye as they don't have that hearty damp at the end. :/

(i consistently work at 3 desks, only have gasket on one)

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#149

Post by wiredfool »

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 moved the mouse to the left.

Went through a lot, trackballs, 2 mice, narrow keyboards, but the left hand mouse was the one that fixed the biomechanical issues, and they haven't returned in 20+ years.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#150

Post by wiredfool »

superhuzza wrote: post #54
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'm a designer and primarily use my mouse + keyboard shortcuts. Keyboards with numpads push my mouse position further out right, which is actually quite awkward on the shoulder (it has to be twisted outwards). With a tenkeyless board, my shoulders and forearms are straight. I would consider a separate numpad so it can be moved around if needed, but that need never really comes up for me.

Mice can go on the left.
Post reply on HN