201–210 of 283 posts
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If only this had the F key row. Why is "fewer keys" the first decision that every fancy keyboard designer starts with :/
Because the fancy keyboards all support layers, and one key ergonomic principle is to avoid unnecessary finger travel ;) Default layers on the Dygma Raise 2: https://dygma.com/pages/first-time-using-the-dygma-raise-2
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My parents sent me to years of piano lessons before I ever touched a computer keyboard, and my typing reflects it. I don't move my wrist. I move my entire hand. This drove my high school typing teacher nuts, but I was the fastest in class by a wide margin so he didn't push back too hard. I've tried traditional home-row typing but I just can't do it. And after all these years, my wrists still don't hurt at all. I can'…
Pianists are very (like 60%) susceptible to RSI, especially if they have small hands [1] (= lots of stretching motions). I think it's a tradeoff — moving your forearm around spares your wrists, but puts more strain on your elbows. I wouldn't be surprised if it's better overall, though, just because it involves a wider variety of movements. [1]: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12611474/ Anecdotally, I have large hands…
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As an FYI, I had a similar issue and tried a whole lot of things, including different mechanical keyboards, with which I had a variety of successes and failures. But ultimately what REALLY helped was going to physiotherapy and identifying muscle groups in my back that were weak, causing me to sit weird and support my arms with muscles in my shoulders that weren't designed for that. And because all of this is connecte…
Unfortunately I was probably what most people would think is a model person in terms of activity. I used a standing desk or sitting with no backrest to maintain upright posture - I exercised all the time, did yoga with my wife, competed in powerlifting, did plenty of walking/cardio, rucking etc. I played guitar regularly and had since I was like 12 and had bouldering as a hobby so finger strength didn't seem to be an…
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Thumbs are one of your stronger fingers. In contrast the pinky is by far the weakest but we have dedicated it to almost every modifier and outlying key. I currently use an Elora from SplitKB so I can't speak to the Moonlanders thumb cluster, but if you find one you like it's a massive difference in how much usage you can get out of your thumbs while typing.
Thumbs can get overuse injuries: https://getreuer.info/posts/keyboards/thumb-ergo/index.html I have used ergo keyboards with thumb clusters for several years now. After a while, even though switching to a split ergo keyboard alleviated wrist pains, I developed thumb discomfort. In the end I solved it by only frequently using the resting key of each thumb (space and backspace). And using the other thumb keys for infre…
I have homerow mods configured but still need to work on using them more. Unfortunately a lot of what's best for typing conflicts with what's best for gaming. Almost every example split layout puts space on the right half and I move it to the left. Still need shift and control on pinky holds. And the Elora has an exaggerated pinky stagger but swapped to WQSD makes an almost perfect diamond, but at the expense of the old Q now being A is below instead of above and Z is really far away.
It seems to be the usb plug failing that does it.
All I want is a quality split mechanical keyboard with Function keys. I use an IDE all day, I don't want to pull quadruple buckies every time I debug. The Matias Ergo Pro is almost perfect, but I had two of them and they both failed within one year. I had one of each switch type (low force and regular) - both were missing some button presses and repeating other button presses.
I have a Moonlander and I genuinely don’t understand why so many split keyboards do this. “Here’s a really nice split keyboard. But we’ve removed everything except the alphanumerics” Whhhyyyy. “Oh but it’s programmable. And you can have layers. And you can have macros” Cool. I actually didn’t want any of that. I just wanted a single row of function keys. My Moonlander can somehow make space for a “meh” key, a “caps w…
I love my moonlander so much, I bought a second one for work. Both were secondhand, so the sticker shock wasn't quite so bad. Though, I did end up spending some of that savings on custom, coiled cables. A coworker, after seeing my setup, also ended buying two. I agree with the author. It's a tool, and if your job requires a lot of computer use, it is worth it to invest in a tool that can not only help prevent RSI, bu…
I don’t have a moonlander but I did get one of their ergodox keyboards after noticing an increase in pain myself. I tried using it in querty and my experience was unless you type with proper hand position and finger movements (and possibly not even then) querty on an orthinear was even more painful than on a regular keyboard. I tried colemak for a while but something about the layout didn’t feel comfortable still. I…
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These look great and I don’t doubt it’s worth the investment, but holy hell $500 is a tough price tag to accept.
I just got a corne split keyboard from China for a fraction of the cost. The guy who runs the webshop seemed like a legit enthusiast. $40
I do like the idea of thumb keys, but would probably need them as duplicates to the more traditional positions. I got a Keyboardio 100 which is absolutely beautiful, but 60% with layers for those above important keys just was too freaking hard.