My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards • Hacker News Board

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#161

Post by hilbert42 » Wed, Sep 27, 2023, 3:18 PM UTC

FYI, there's a somewhat related topic at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37630804 concerning the difficulties of editing text on a mobile under the heading Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem.

As is my usual wont, I had a long rave about such matters but one of the points I raised that may interest those here was the lack of Bluetooth keyboards, especially the more portable types with good mechanical switches.

After posting, I thought I'd better do a updated search to see if the market had improved and I've just discovered a complete range of keyboards of which I was unaware, namely NuPhy https://nuphy.com/ (perhaps I'm a member of the mushroom club and the last to know). Anyway, it seems the market has improved significantly in the last year or so since I last looked.

There's good range of KBs with combo Bluetooth 5.0 + wireless + USB-C cable + hot-swappable keys/key types. Some reviews seem favorable but I'd be interested to hear experiences from others who've actually used them.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#162

Post by poszlem » Wed, Sep 27, 2023, 3:19 PM UTC

chrisco255 wrote: post #135

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…

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

On the other hand, I've tried many keyboards, including the ErgoDox and Kinesis Advantage, with the latter being the most comfortable for me. While the Moonlander boasts impressive customizability, I found its untypical angle of the thumb cluster to be a drawback for my personal typing experience.

Given its premium price point and the extended delivery time from Taiwan (mine took almost a month to come to the UK), I'd strongly recommend trying it out before making a purchase to ensure it meets your ergonomic needs and avoids potential disappointment.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#163

Post by Clamchop » Wed, Sep 27, 2023, 3:19 PM UTC

pr0zac wrote: post #115

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…

Effective tenkey entry _is_ a touch typing skill and it's much faster for number entry than the number row.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#164

Post by chrisco255 » Wed, Sep 27, 2023, 3:24 PM UTC

poszlem wrote: post #162

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.

On the other hand, I've tried many keyboards, including the ErgoDox and Kinesis Advantage, with the latter being the most comfortable for me. While the Moonlander boasts impressive customizability, I found its untypical angle of the thumb cluster to be a drawback for my personal typing experience. Given its premium price point and the extended delivery time from Taiwan (mine took almost a month to come to the UK), I'…

It arrived in less than one week for me, and I purchased relatively recently.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#165

Post by z500 » Wed, Sep 27, 2023, 3:24 PM UTC

pr0zac wrote: post #115

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…

Maybe it's because I learned to type in chat rooms and never bothered with the home row thing, but I guess I just don't type enough numbers to have muscle memory for the number row. But the numpad is stupid easy to develop muscle memory for.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#166

Post by japhyr » Wed, Sep 27, 2023, 3:28 PM UTC

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 keyboards are not backlit, and I was frustrated to have to put them aside after sunset. I ended up getting a small battery powered light and attaching it to the bottom of my desk. It shines on my lap, and lets me use non-backlit keyboards without any other lights on.

Is that an option for you?

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#167

Post by peepee1982 » Wed, Sep 27, 2023, 3:29 PM UTC

someplaceguy wrote: post #146

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 th…

Can you configure the knob to hold down the left mouse button when you turn it and move either up/right or down/left diagonally?

If yes, it would be great for adjusting parameters in Audio Workstations. If not, well ... I guess I'm out, sadly.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#168

Post by Justsignedup » Wed, Sep 27, 2023, 3:31 PM UTC

I recently bought https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBWJ9SKX ($35 USD) which I was skeptical about since cheap mechanical keyboards tend to be shitty (I tried quite a few). But this one has been absolutely amazing, so much so, that I prefer it to many $100 keyboards, and has been absolutely amazing for work (the nice brown feel, with a very muted sound). I wish for $10-15 more they had a full version, but this one is great as well.

In any case, thought I'd share.

Also when he said "after uni... covid lockdown" really made me feel old :P

For those reading, cherry brown or equivalent switches are your friend. I used to use blues with the clicky sound (browns are like blues without the sound) and I can tell you the blues got my keyboard kicked out of work AND my fiance threatened to beat me with it. Those blue sounds are bad bad bad for others, all jokes aside.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#169

Post by peepee1982 » Wed, Sep 27, 2023, 3:32 PM UTC

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.

They do take up a lot of space between the right hand and the mouse.

I sometimes try to go back to full size keyboard but I just can't take it for more than a few hours. It's just too uncomfortable. I'd love to have a keyboard with the numpad on the left side.

If I were a lefty with regards to mousing I'd use a full size keyboard and be happy.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#170

Post by japhyr » Wed, Sep 27, 2023, 3:32 PM UTC

koromak wrote: post #92

I splurged and bought a 400$ keyboard. Its so stupid and I love it so much. It feels like a piece of heavy machinery. I'd say the mechanicalkeyboard crowd is a little more unhealthy. People in that world drop thousands a year on keyboards they'll use twice.

Which one did you get?