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Kinesis Advantage 360

kinesis-ergo.com

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Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#201

Post by hitchhiker-nz »

rangersanger wrote: post #69

I picked up a Kinesis a few month ago and it's been a life changer. I've struggled with shoulder pain since as far back as I can remember. I'd done PT, dry needling, massage, etc etc. I'd even sprung for a personal ergonomic assessment. I'm a cyclist and and keyboard jockey, so most of my waking life is spent in positions that seemed to make it worse. At times it prevented me from sleeping, doing things I enjoyed, et…

Split keyboard is good for shoulder pain for a number of reasons.

For a start, it stops the need for hunching shoulders as the halves can be placed to fit shoulder width.

This is for another split contoured keyboard, but it would help explain https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/rc2pxj/t...

Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#202

Post by hitchhiker-nz »

thanhhaimai wrote: post #53
db65edfc7996 wrote: post #30

Sadly, no dedicated F-row. I would even settle for a subset of keys that aligned with the columns. I do not consider layers an adequate replacement. Happy to see they are moving away from their own software configuration. Not a fan of the software interface on the Freestyle Pro. More than once I have gotten myself into a loop where I am unsure which function mode is activated and how to switch back to what I want. I…

I've been using the Kinesis Advantage (modded QMK) for 6+ years, and I was so excited to see the headline. Then I realized there is no Fn row. :( It seems like I should go stock some of the old version in case they decide to discontinue it and only offer non-Fn version later.

Perhaps you can check out this one with F keys and ZMK. https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/rc2pxj/t...

Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#203

Post by Groxx »

MrPowers wrote: post #15

Kinesis Advantage 2 is great, but it's massive and hard to travel with. Looks like the 360 might be a bit easier to travel with. The Kinesis Advantage 2 fits a Magic Trackpad perfectly right in the middle of the keyboard. This lets you perform mouse actions with you right and left hands. Emacs keybindings never made sense to me till I tried them with the Kinesis. I feel like Emacs sucks on a standard Mac keyboard and…

I just did this Magic Trackpad thing on mine, I really like it. It's in the perfect location.

Split hands though? Bluetooth? This is an instant-buy for me.

Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#204

Post by hitchhiker-nz »

bllguo wrote: post #116

This looks cool, I'm glad split contoured boards are becoming more accessible. Shame about the switch options though. Also, plug for the yet unreleased Glove80 https://www.moergo.com/ , as someone who prefers low-profile switches.

There is a detailed Reddit post on the improved ergonomic design too https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/rc2pxj/t...

Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#205

Post by aseipp »

astuyvenberg wrote: post #59
inquist wrote: post #27

FWIW I've been quite happy with the ZSA Moonlander https://www.zsa.io/moonlander

+1 I really do like my new Moonlander, which I purchased in November. However, as a former Kinesis Advantage user, I miss the contoured shape, I think it helped a lot with carpal pain. That said, I'm not sure I can justify another keyboard.

Yeah, the bowl shape is absolutely the missing piece on my Moonlander. It is otherwise perfect in nearly every other way, and the flexibility from QMK is unmatched. But I don't know how you can reconcile it with its low profile; the Moonlander looks a lot nicer to throw in my bag than the 360 when you pull the wings in...

I agree; I can't justify yet another keyboard. But there's the continuous itch to go ham and design my own split contour keyboard with QMK...

(For anyone reading this, you literally can't go wrong with either of these keyboards and they'll last 10+ years, so get one if you can.)

Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#206

Post by jasone »

convolvatron wrote: post #111
jasone wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thumb shift keys are definitely an (incremental) improvement over the traditional placement, but they require a yet bigger commitment to retraining from the standard keyboard layout. I've been using Kinesis keyboards for 25 years, and finally this year committed to moving the shifts to the thumbs. This was worthwhile for me, but I hesitate to recommend the, ahem, shift to others.

why not both? despite having it mapped there for 20+ years I still don't use the thumb-shift. but for some chords its really a lot nicer.

The shift keys take up precious thumb cluster space, and their standard location is also useful. IMO the "best of both worlds" option is just worse.

Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#207

Post by jakub_g »

toyg wrote: post #180
jakub_g wrote: post #126

Semi-related: I've had a basic ergo keyboard (MS sculpt ergonomic) for a while and it's much much better than regular keyboards; However I think all ergo keyboard companies are missing the point those days: "Just-a-keyboard" doesn't cut it anymore in the world of laptops. I want an ergonomic keyboard with a built-in Macbook-class touchpad, or ThinkPad-class trackpoint + three buttons . (I know it's tricky, especially…

The touchpad is an ergo-killer. It's just bad for your wrists to use it for any significant amount of time. It would be silly to include it in an ergo keyboard. The trackpoint is likely to be still covered by some IBM patents, and nobody uses it anyway. If you really want a trackpad, get an Apple one and drop it in the middle of your split keyboard. It will still be bad for your wrists though.

I do have external Apple touchpad but dropping it in front of the keyboard sucks hard. It is on lower level than keyboard and ergonomy is much worse than using it with Macbook laptop (I mostly use it for two/three finger swiping). Ideal touchpad would be non-flat and nicely integrated with the curve of ergo keyboard (I know, sounds difficult with split keyboard).

Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#208

Post by sulam »

db65edfc7996 wrote: post #152
sulam wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you haven’t, you really should check out the Moonlander that’s referred to elsewhere in this thread. I switched to it from a Kinesis Advantage 2 and couldn’t be happier.

The Moonlander is also missing F-keys? People can swear up and down how intuitive and natural layers are, but I do not care. If there is ever a decision to be made between more and fewer keys, I always want to default to more.

You can solve this without layers on the Moonlander, or any keyboard that allows you to load your own firmware.

For instance, you could configure your number keys to have a "press and hold" generate the corresponding F key. The 'hold' doesn't have to be very long to still easily distinguish it from "normal" typing.

You could also make it a key combo very easily. Anyone who doesn't like key combos should take up a war against !@#$%^&*()+_?:{} and their friends.

Re: Kinesis Advantage 360

#209

Post by Sholmesy »

swinglock wrote: post #79
Sholmesy wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, should just be an option in the cart. The PBT vs ABS conflict is the keyboard equivilant of Vim vs Emacs

No one that knows of PBT prefers ABS.

GMK sets are all ABS.

They have a different sound & feel, and the colorways achievable are more vibrant.

There are reasons for ABS

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