Split Keyboard for Professionals
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Split Keyboard for Professionals
1–10 of 331 posts
Re: Split Keyboard for Professionals
#2I am puzzled why there aren't more split keyboards on the market, they are such a good idea.
Re: Split Keyboard for Professionals
#3I use a Kinesis Advantage and it's great (not quite split, but close). I'll look into getting an actual split keyboard that's more portable. The Kinesis is massive and terrible for travel.
You can easily switch between Kinesis key placement and regular keyboards. It's like training your brain to be multilingual.
Try Emacs keybindings on a keyboard that has modifier keys easily accessible for your right and left thumbs. Emacs keybindings didn't make any sense to me till I tried them on a split keyboard.
Re: Split Keyboard for Professionals
#4I am puzzled why there aren't more split keyboards on the market, they are such a good idea.
Most are horrible.
One of the reasons is overlap. Your hands do occasionally hit keys on the other side. You want a pair of 2/3 keyboards, rather than 1/2 keyboards. You /especially/ want a lot of the "special" keys on both sides.
Another is key action. You want proper mechanical keys.
A third is mounting. That's a problem which hasn't really been figured out. The middle hinge or fixed setup is definitely sub-ideal. Two pieces are a bit clunky. Armchair mounts are $$$.
For me, I also like having a trackpoint. I'm not saying that's common, but a lot of people want /some/ oddball feature like that. For one person, it might be lighted keys. For another, swapped capslock. Etc.
And then there's the mass of people who don't care about keyboard and buy the cheapest possible model. Split keyboards are $$$.
On the whole, the concept is good in abstract, but all models I've used have had one fatal flaw or another.
Re: Split Keyboard for Professionals
#5Re: Split Keyboard for Professionals
#6I am puzzled why there aren't more split keyboards on the market, they are such a good idea.
Most are horrible. One of the reasons is overlap. Your hands do occasionally hit keys on the other side. You want a pair of 2/3 keyboards, rather than 1/2 keyboards. You /especially/ want a lot of the "special" keys on both sides. Another is key action. You want proper mechanical keys. A third is mounting. That's a problem which hasn't really been figured out. The middle hinge or fixed setup is definitely sub-ideal.…
I was told by one friend that they made it really hard to use a normal keyboard effectively after a few years. Did you find that?
Re: Split Keyboard for Professionals
#7I am puzzled why there aren't more split keyboards on the market, they are such a good idea.
Maybe because for most use cases the classic keyboard is enough, and the fact that it's the norm.
With that said, I cannot go back to a non-split keyboard. When I use them I feel so cramped. Split design for life!
Re: Split Keyboard for Professionals
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
Most are horrible. One of the reasons is overlap. Your hands do occasionally hit keys on the other side. You want a pair of 2/3 keyboards, rather than 1/2 keyboards. You /especially/ want a lot of the "special" keys on both sides. Another is key action. You want proper mechanical keys. A third is mounting. That's a problem which hasn't really been figured out. The middle hinge or fixed setup is definitely sub-ideal.…
I was told by one friend that they made it really hard to use a normal keyboard effectively after a few years. Did you find that?
not really. I use the kinesis freestyle at my desk 90% of the time, but have no issues with my personal computer at the kitchen table or couch.
Re: Split Keyboard for Professionals
#9I am puzzled why there aren't more split keyboards on the market, they are such a good idea.
More expensive to build, very niche market and from what i can tell a lot of gamers don't like them.
Re: Split Keyboard for Professionals
#10I am puzzled why there aren't more split keyboards on the market, they are such a good idea.
Maybe because for most use cases the classic keyboard is enough, and the fact that it's the norm. With that said, I cannot go back to a non-split keyboard. When I use them I feel so cramped. Split design for life!
I like that it allows me to open my chest a bit. I keep the two halves pretty far apart. It's genuinely made a difference in terms of shoulder and back pain.