Earlier quoted context omitted.
Mine is 1988. I've bought 3 of them in a computer cemetery. You'll take it from my cold dead hands.
You'll take it from my cold dead hands. ... And keep using them.
The hands?
The CODE Keyboard
271–280 of 335 posts
Re: The CODE Keyboard
#272Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone who has suffered from RSI, my advice is to not fix a problem you don't have. I've been there, and it just cost me money. In my case, I didn't need a curved keyboard or a split keyboard, those things ended up in the cupboard. I just had to get rid of the numpad to change my position from awkward to healthy. So, for me, this keyboard is actually interesting, the variant without the numpad that is.
Why does the numpad make your position awkward by its presence? Can't you just pretend it's not there? Every keyboard I've owned since the late 80s has had a numpad and I've hardly ever used it. Oh never mind, I see your reply to the top post below now. Because it moves the mouse too far away.
FWIW, when I used focus more on networking rather than development, I always used the numpad for typing in IP addresses. I found it was much faster to use it rather than moving horizontally across the number keys, but YMMV of course. Disclaimer: have a DAS Model S at work and home...can't really do without it (at least when the alternative is a terrible laptop keyboard)
Re: The CODE Keyboard
#273Earlier quoted context omitted.
I could threaten to beat you with one for disagreeing that it's the best thing ever, knowing full well I could continue writing scathing retorts online with it immediately after, but I won't... Because it's not the best ever /for everyone/. Uh, you speak as if the Apple aluminum Keyboard wouldn't hurt just as much or be almost as durable :-)
There's a pretty big mass different to account for
Warhammer versus sword, I'd like to see this happen.
Re: The CODE Keyboard
#274Earlier quoted context omitted.
I use a HHKB Pro 2 and I believe it's as close to keyboard perfection as humanly possible. It's evident from the pictures that it partially inspired this CODE keyboard.
I'm thinking of giving a try to mini-keyboards, but I also use the arrow keys/pgdown/pgup frequently. So I have 3 tenkeyless for now.
I'll add my voice to "the HHKB2 is the greatest keyboard imaginable."
Also, re: arrow and paging keys, I manage to avoid them as much as possible, but reaching for 'Fn' with the pinky and hitting the appropriate key with my index or middle finger became second nature rather quickly.
Also, rarely noted — and the thing that every single keyboard gets wrong, including Atwood's here — is that the HHKB has the Escape key in line with the number row, so that it can be reached easily without taking your fingers off the home row.
For us vim users, this is really excellent.
I am very happy with it.
Re: The CODE Keyboard
#275I really can't think of anything good to say about this keyboard. I've used keyboards like this, and I've damaged my body with them. You know what matters a lot more than a backlight? Ergonomic design. Get a Kinesis Advantage instead.
The perfect one for me would be a clicky/mechanical, buckling spring, backlit Microsoft Natural. If you are into straight keyboards, http://pckeyboard.com/page/PC122/UB40B5A
I am also using[1] microsoft natural keyboard, because it is the best (for me) combination of ergonomic split-hand slightly skewed keyborad that has normal querty layout. BUT.. the quality of the kyeboard is terrible. I with it the MS Natural would get Cherry MX Clear keys and better wireless tranciever.
Re: The CODE Keyboard
#276I don't understand what the obsession is with the old IBM Model M type keyboards. I am able to type faster and more accurately on my Apple flat aluminum keyboard that I have ever been able to type on a Model M. On top of that, switching to a flatter keyboard that sits closer to the desk has actually caused any and all pain I used to get while typing to go away. The other thing is I'd miss the extra function keys I ge…
> switching to a flatter keyboard that sits closer to the desk has actually caused any and all pain I used to get while typing to go away.
Then your desk was too high.
But hey, ISO 9241 made the same mistake, and drove the best keyswitches ever off the market for being over an inch high.
Re: The CODE Keyboard
#277Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've got two Model M keyboards at home. I could threaten to beat you with one for disagreeing that it's the best thing ever, knowing full well I could continue writing scathing retorts online with it immediately after, but I won't... Because it's not the best ever /for everyone/. I have an Apple keyboard at work. I don't love or hate it. I'm indifferent to it. But I can totally understand why it may be the right keyb…
I brought my Model M to work. The only problem with the Model M are open offices; thankfully my Chinese office mates are very tolerant to noise (and of noise in general, like cell phones ringing all the time). The year on mine is 1993, which is when I graduated from high school.
You can reduce the noise a lot by damping the echos. Even putting a towel under your keyboard will make it a lot quieter.
Re: The CODE Keyboard
#278Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, if it makes you feel better, the new code keyboard also uses Cherry switches, so they may hit the same issues. AFAIK cherry's the only mechanical switch key maker left.
ALPS still makes mechanical keyswitches and I think Filco makes their own, don't they? Also, Unicomp makes "buckling spring" keyswitches for their own use.
ALPS hasn't made their keyswitches for a long time, but Matias [1] has put a slight variant back into production.
(ALPS switches are probably best known from the Apple Extended and other Apple keyboards of that era.)
Re: The CODE Keyboard
#279Earlier quoted context omitted.
I used a Kinesis Advantage for many months as my only keyboard, but did not recover from RSI until I got rid of it. Now I use Logitech scissor-switch keyboards (the K750 and the K800). Oddly enough, even though it has the same basic scissor-switch design as the Logitech keyboards, I do very poorly with Apple keyboards (and I did use one exclusively for a few months). I guess there's no single solution to RSI that wor…
I went through two K800s before giving up and getting a mechanical. The K800 is buggy and broken. The first K800 I owned, the spacebar broke off within 2 hours of using it. I sent it back for a replacement. I was a lot easier, and cautious with the replacement, which ultimately hindered my typing ability. There was some kind of key ghosting going on that disallowed me to type "ID" too fast. The D would always miss. I…
I am glad you wrote because I used the K800 for only 2 weeks. (I bought and returned a K800 because of a consideration that is relevant to only a tiny fraction of users.)
I have owned three K750s though. The K750 is a lot more likely to break than a good mechanical keyboard is, and the (silicone membranes in the) keyswitches get mushy a lot faster than mechanical keyswitches do, with the result that even though the acquisition cost is a half or a third of a good mechanical keyboard, the total cost of ownership is not any lower than with a mechanical keyboard, but I prefer them because their durability is within reason, they're very thin (short in the vertical dimension) and they're more "convenient" (specifically, they're wireless, and I can pick one up with one hand).
The tactile experience is almost as good as with a mechanical board. 90 or 95% as good, in my experience.
Re: The CODE Keyboard
#280Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had the same experience. After hearing friends rave about mechanical keyboards I ordered a custom one from WASD. Great build quality though custom engravings are less sharp than I expected. It's a lot of fun to click clack away on, but within 2-3 weeks I developed serious wrist pains that I had never experienced before. My typing wasn't any faster, the noise was distracting (even with "quieter" Cherry Brown switche…
Did you use a "wrist rest" up front?
Unless you've tilted your keyboard down (away from you), you shouldn't wrest your wrists while you're typing. If the tips of your fingers are above your wrists, you'll get a lot of strain.