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My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

jackevansevo.github.io

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Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#261

Post by rcarr »

I went down the split keyboard rabbit hole for a bit, starting with a ZSA moonlander followed by a corne and then a ferris sweep but ultimately came to the conclusion that it's just too much hassle. The former was way too bulky to take out and about and I couldn't find a layout on the latter two where I could navigate quickly - be that around my mac using stuff like "cmd+tab", "cmd+`" or around my editor using the cmd+arrow keys. The lack of keys meant you had to start using layers and everything was just slower. The latter two also moved about on the table a lot which was annoying.

The only thing I'd consider trying in the future would be something like a Felix because you hardly have to sacrifice any keys. I'd only get one with low profile chocs or ideally Kaihl scissor switches, but these don't seem to have really made their way into the custom keyboard scene. Chocs plus the case still sits significantly higher than the Magic Keyboard which is bad for the wrists unless you've got some kind of wrist pad to make up the distance from the table.

I've settled on using a Protoarc full-size folding keyboard which I'm seriously impressed with. Typing experience is almost identical to the full size Magic Keyboard but it costs a quarter of the price and is way more portable. I'm surprised that I always see the Arteck keyboard being used in videos and photos because I tried another folding keyboard with a similar layout and having to use the function button to hit escape and other keys was super annoying.

Protoarc link for anyone interested: https://amzn.eu/d/iEGRsCC

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#263

Post by Jackevansevo »

ftxbro wrote: post #96

> I likely write a follow up post about my criteria and reserach and perhaps a follow up review if I end up pulling the trigger. I feel like people who use the phrase 'pulling the trigger' in this way have an unhealthy relationship with shopping. They are shopping for dopamine and they are like the ones who have a hundred of the same hat and when they need more dopamine they buy that hat again.

You're thus far the only hacker news commenter to agree (somewhat) with the 'unhealthy' premise of the article.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#264

Post by bloopernova »

tqwhite wrote: post #218
pashariger wrote: post #91

Pro tip: I use a mix of Mac and Windows with Apple's magic keyboard. The way I fixed the key layout issue was to swap the mapping of the CMD and CTRL keys on the Windows machine. (used a utility called SharpKeys, but Windows may now have a built in way to do this) It feels pretty much seamless. I'm also using the magic trackpad on Windows - the ability to pinch zoom, pan and scroll is just as functional and awesome a…

PS, I have never been able to understand the Windows control key placement. You have to use it all the time but it's off to the far side. It has to be pressed with the tiniest, weakest finger. I'm mostly a Mac guy but have spent lots of time using Windows and I still have to pause to place my finger on the control key. For the same thing, I press the command key on my Mac with my thumb. I can't miss it, my fingers na…

Remap caps lock to control. Should make your life a little bit easier.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#265

Post by h2odragon »

eimrine wrote: post #3
h2odragon wrote: post #2

I got to start with Victor keyboards, which was a little bit of a "silver spoon". The only thing that was ever better than a model M. Sometime around '97 I got a bunch of real Model M's from a school; spent a while refurbishing up a bunch of them, and then used that stack for like 20 years. They lived an average of 3yr under my hands. Since then i use unicomp "new model M". This one has been going stong for 2+yr now,…

> They lived an average of 3yr under my hands. How can you destroy a Model M?

psoriasis on my hands, associated clawlike fingernails. i bleed and shed a lot of skin.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#266

Post by wussboy »

MayeulC wrote: post #123
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.

Ortholinear or orthocolumnar layouts are much easier to touchtype with IME, this is also the layout of a numpad (straight rows, not a "typewriter" layout with staggered rows). I'm not sure why those are not popular, even among "keyboard enthusiasts". Heck, even among gamers: I can play from my home row comfortably, and have plenty of keys on both sides of my hand. Anyway, I'm currently using an Ergodox EZ and it's ve…

As a committed number pad user for years, the solution you've used (and that I have used) has done away with my need for a discreet number pad altogether. I have one layer that turns the right side into a number pad, and another layer that turns it into a VIM cursor control pad. After all these years of typing on an Ergodox in this way and dreaming of a separate number pad, it turns out I had what I wanted all along and can't leave it now.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#267

Post by hilbert42 »

HighNunChicken wrote: post #190
hilbert42 wrote: post #161

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 s…

I bought into NuPhy with their original release, the NUTYPE F1, and had a terrible experience with them—both the product and customer service was defective. The keyboard I received had many quality issues, and others online reported the same. When contacting support, they required many back and forth emails, asking for more photos and videos each time. After weeks of this, I got this from support, “Sorry for the inco…

Thanks. Very useful knowledge. Seems a risky proposition at this stage (and I'd prefer to buy from a local retailer who had them in stock so there'd be no mucking about if I had to return it).

All that glitters is not gold! :-(

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#268

Post by dstudzinski »

I will share my experience with keyboards. Maybe someone of you will find it useful.

I was thinking about ergodox when I wanted to 'open' my rib cage/chest but I was afraid of uncomfortable position of thumb section so I chosen Redox wireless. I was not able to think about using standard keyboard again (but I had to used to it for some time - it's like juggling at the beginning - you have to 'split' your hands). Not split keyboard started to be strange to use because of strange position of hands but Redox was still quite big to carry around with laptop (but QMK and layers are great).

Then I found Ferris Sweep which I created by myself (I had to learn how to solder after 20 years of not touching soldering iron but I was able to create working keyboard in 4h doing it first time). It's another huge jump for me. Now when I switch to build in keyboard I feel how much I have to move my fingers.

ZMK is also good. My ferris is connected with bluetooth so I can easily use it with multiple devices (and phones) in the same time (like two laptops because switching is very quick).

When I travel I can put my split keyboard on the sides of the macbook and use touchpad in the middle. It's similar how I use it at home but I use magic trackpad in the middle. I use Kailh Low Profile Choc Pink Pro Switches instead of Cherry MX Brown which I had in Redox and I just bottom them on writing (instead of using tactile effect). Keyboard is really small.

The next step some day will be probably something like that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKfeJrRIcxw&t=1s where you can adjust keys to your palm. I can image that it can be helpful for people with some disabilities or rheumatoid arthritis.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#269

Post by LeifCarrotson »

phero_cnstrcts wrote: post #121
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 have bought at least twice as many keyboards as this dude - build 15 from scratch plus designed my own low profile hand wired dactyls - and I don’t have a problem.

Perhaps that's normal in the enthusiast communities you frequent, and perhaps it should be normal for members in a society as dependent on typing as modern humans, but you're definitely quite a few standard deviations away from the mean.

Heck, in my engineering office (a bubble if there ever was one) there are only two other people who own more than one keyboard at home or know what a "mechanical" keyboard is, and most of us only have a couple 'special' keyboards. Most of my family and non-work friends have either one or zero, if you don't count on-screen keyboards on phones and tablets or integrated keyboards on laptops (which I don't think should count).

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#270

Post by koromak »

japhyr wrote: post #170
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?

Mode Envoy, all copper internals. Not 400$, but with extra switches and keycaps its around there. I love the look and feel. The sound is a little thin, and I find the "lattice block" mounting system to be basically irrelevant marketing material, at least with a heavy plate.

Still highly recommend though.

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