I have shoulder issues and use a Kinesis Freestyle 2. It lets me keep my shoulders square while I am typing. I would love to get a keyboard with a trackball, though. Moving from the keyboard to the mouse and back starts to irritate my right shoulder after a while (have had rotator cuff surgery on that one).
A beginner's guide to split keyboards
181–190 of 260 posts
Re: A beginner's guide to split keyboards
#182I recommend protoarc split keyboards is you like split and FLAT. They’re so easy to travel with and charges via usbc. The best one I’ve had and I’ve had a number of split keyboards!
Re: A beginner's guide to split keyboards
#183I used a Kinesis Advantage for YEARS AND YEARS until I let it go ahead of a x-country move last year. It needed a bunch of repairs at that point, and I had drifted into using a different keyboard, so it seemed rational.
Since settling in our new home, though, I've been kinda pining for another one. The disadvantage of the KA though is that it's huge on the desk. The 360 seems like it might be a BIT more space efficient, but I haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet.
Re: A beginner's guide to split keyboards
#184Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah the thumb clusters are my favorite part of using my Kinesis Adv 360, and one of the only few things I miss when typing on a regular keyboard. Yeah the ergonomics are better but I can hit 150+ on both regular and split keyboards and never really had pain/issues with my wrists. Although I prefer the split layout more.
I’ve been using split boards since the original Microsoft Natural Keyboard, the one with the awful number pad. Then a Kinesis Advantage, then the 360. The DIY boards like a Lily58, Corne and a similar custom are mostly for travel. Switching to split or ortholinear takes time. Doing both together is a significant and slightly annoying adjustment and takes a few weeks to feel normal. The payoff is when you lean into it…
I bought an mWave a few weeks ago, thinking of wading back into Kinesis, and for me it's not a fit. The key feel is garbage compared to my Keychron or my old Advantage, and the flow of the shape isn't comfy enough.
But mileage varies.
Re: A beginner's guide to split keyboards
#185I am not a split keyboard person.
But I have one big question -- why aren't the "middle" keys replicated on both sides of the keyboard? That is, for example, why not have two 'g' and 'h' keys? There are always times when you have to adapt; when you're holding down a tricky combination of alt-ctrl-shift keys or something where on a flat keyboard one would just reach with the "wrong" hand to hit a middle key; why not just replicate them?
Re: A beginner's guide to split keyboards
#186I am not a split keyboard person. But I have one big question -- why aren't the "middle" keys replicated on both sides of the keyboard? That is, for example, why not have two 'g' and 'h' keys? There are always times when you have to adapt; when you're holding down a tricky combination of alt-ctrl-shift keys or something where on a flat keyboard one would just reach with the "wrong" hand to hit a middle key; why not j…
Then you would add more modifiers, not duplicate letters. Modifiers on holding homerow keys down (either side) are pretty common.
Re: A beginner's guide to split keyboards
#187The reality is that you need to ask yourself wether you want a hobbyist' tool or a more common one for the same result. Logitech's ergo k860 is affordable, has a palm rest (most mechanical keebs don't), and has an excellent ergonomical shape. And works right out of the box, with Bluetooth enabled. The keys are membrane-based, which some may dislike because they are not mechanical - but it's actually more ergonomic, a…
Membrane is not inherently more ergonomic, the "much less pressure" seems untrue since apparently it takes 50g of force to activate, while you can easily find switches that activate at less than 30g (I used a 37g switch myself). About travel distance, this is also something you can adjust, with the low profile switches having less than 3mm travel distance. Heck, even HE keyboards can set their actuation down to 0.1mm…
Yeah you could probably customize a bespoke keyboard to match it. That said, the result would be pretty similar, for a lot more money, and time.
As I said, it's a hobby - I built one myself, it's nice, but the whole "ergo" aspect seems more a consumerist justification than a real concern honestly.
Re: A beginner's guide to split keyboards
#188Underdiscussed: The biggest difference these keyboards make: adding additional keys for the thumbs (replacing the unnecessarily large spacebar of traditional keyboards). This allows the hands to do more with the keyboard while resting the hands on home row. -- For users comfortable adding a bit of complexity for the benefit of increased expressiveness (e.g. vim users), having extra thumb keys allows bringing the full…
Thumbs: true, but I think some take it way too far - up to seven keys per thumb! The thumb is articulated at the wrong angle to move very far, so I find that two or perhaps three keys per thumb in a single arc is about as much as I can use fast.
Re: A beginner's guide to split keyboards
#189I am not a split keyboard person. But I have one big question -- why aren't the "middle" keys replicated on both sides of the keyboard? That is, for example, why not have two 'g' and 'h' keys? There are always times when you have to adapt; when you're holding down a tricky combination of alt-ctrl-shift keys or something where on a flat keyboard one would just reach with the "wrong" hand to hit a middle key; why not j…
If you want to do that, you can set many keyboards up to do exactly that. They just need to run the standard software - QMK, ZMK or Vial. You'll need to pick a keyboard with enough keys, of course, but there is plenty of choice. However there are other ways of solving the problem, e.g. a single key that is mapped to produce that combination. It's a matter of taste and experiment, and there is no reason for you to do it the same way as anyone else.
Re: A beginner's guide to split keyboards
#190I switched to a split keyboard about four months ago and decided to change layouts at the same time. Adapting to the split itself wasn’t particularly difficult, but switching layouts definitely takes some getting used to. After all this time I’m still only at around 30–40 WPM, so it’s not something I’d recommend to everyone. That said, I do believe the change will add a few more good years to my career, so I’m commit…
If you don't already know about it, I recommend https://www.keybr.com/ for learning new keyboard layouts. It introduces letters one at a time and waits until you hit a threshold speed before introducing the next one. If you commit to doing 15-30 minutes a day consistently, you can get to an acceptable speed more quickly than if you try to learn in an ad hoc way.
I'm in the same boat as OP. I've used keybr and https://monkeytype.com/, and while doing the exercises, I get pretty close to the speed and accuracy I had using a standard keyboard and qwerty, but I get much worse on both fronts when typing in the real world.