Comparing the Glove80 and Maltron Keyboards

I wish manufacturers of ergonomic keyboards would pay more attention to pointing devices. After all, with modern UIs we have to use the pointer. Having a hand jump to a mouse all the time is, at least, distracting.

Another factor is skeletal symmetry. Reaching for a mouse changes the natural balance of posture. I'm not a doctor, but it cannot be healthy over decades. That's why after many years I'm now using the pointing device with my non-dominant hand most of the time. My dominant hand only takes the mouse when I have to do precise or graphic work. This approach makes my back, neck and shoulders feel better.

And the last major gripe I have with most of ergonomic keyboards is how they misunderstand tactile feedback. They try to make all keys feel the same. Glove80 takes it to the limit with its uniform and flat key shapes and identical switches. I don't think this is helpful. Notice how F and J on most keyboards have bumps. Every key should have a bump, a unique shape, a unique surface texture. I want to subconsciously know I hit the right key.

The article is interesting. I like the heatmap approach and trying to measure the physical differences between both keyboards. This is putting data behind a feeling and it helps looking for improvement. However for other parts of our body (like when going to the gym), I've been told to stretch as much as to exercise. I find odd the focus on reducing stretching in the article. I understand the issue for previously injured people and it is good that ergonomic keyboards and other hardware exist. While hitting the keys, our finger muscles get stronger in a specific movement, but like other muscles, they get shorter. Some stretching helps to keep a balance between strength and motion range. Would it be better to stretch our fingers after a long typing session, or even better, stretch while typing ;-) using some odd placed keys for their gym effect?

I have had an advantage, advantage pro, advantage 2, and an advantage 360 pro.

The 360 comes close but it’s a miss for me. I really don’t like the omission of the function keys, and the switches feel muddied compared to the ones on the previous advantage keyboards.

If they fixed those two things and added another 1-2 keys to the thumb cluster, I think that would be the ultimate keyboard for me.

For me, what has solved definitively the pointing device problem, after experimenting for many years with various mice, trackballs, trackpoints or touchpads, is switching to the use of a stylus on a small Wacom tablet as the pointing device (under Linux).

I use the tablet configured in the "Relative" mode, where it behaves identically to a mouse. The tablet has about the same size or somewhat smaller than a traditional mouse pad.

In comparison with a mouse, holding and moving the very light stylus requires much less force than with a mouse, the hand position is much more comfortable and the speed and accuracy of the movements are much higher.

Because the stylus is extremely light, I can keep it between the fingers while touch-typing with all fingers on the keyboard. Therefore when I alternate between typing and pointing the transitions are faster and more comfortable than with a mouse, because I do not have to grasp the mouse every time.

When I type longer texts, I drop the stylus on the tablet. I configure the stylus so that touching the tablet causes left mouse click and the 2 buttons that are on the stylus cause respectively right mouse click and double left click.

Regarding your complaint about key shapes, many decades ago I had used a high-quality keyboard, with Hall sensors for the keys, and where each key had a different shape and height.

Unfortunately, after assembling my first IBM PC/AT compatible computer, I had to abandon that keyboard, because it was incompatible (it came from some kind of DEC-compatible video terminal). Otherwise, I have no doubt that this keyboard would have still worked finely even today, as it did not have any parts sensitive to wear, unlike modern keyboards.

I've heard various online stories, over the years, about how nobody nails the ergonomics quite like Maltron does. Which is amazing given how long they've been about.

I have an old Maltron that I got cheap (many years ago and it was old then!) and it's remarkable how unlike a modern consumer product it was. Thin, vacuum formed plastic, point-to-point soldered wire keyboard matrix. But that classic shape, keys with full sized key caps and travel, etc are all present.

The Kinesis I also have is much more mainstream - it feels more solid and looks more like a consumer product. But I understand it's just not quite as good, ergonomically.