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!quiteRant

Since I'm working for 3 years as a parttime software engineer, I started to feel my tendon sheath more and more, sometimes it was hurting so I decided to have a look around on ergonomic keyboards, because in the office we only have these flat, thin wireless keyboards which are the fucking opposite of ergonomic.
They feel like when Eddie Scissorhands has to cut hair of a pile of rocks.
So after some reviews I decided to buy a Kinesis Advantage2 (made in the USA of Americas) eventhough it is quite expensive (379 Kanuckistan Kopeks).

I must say this keyboard is fucking well engineered. You can remap every key in a few keypresses and it is stored on the keyboard itself, no software required... awesome!
The disadvantage for me is, being pretty tall I have very wide shoulders so the 2 keyboard pits are a bit too close together in my oppinion.
The other thing is, you really have to get used to it... I am slowly advancing in speed and it feels great. No pain anymore and I don't have to move my hands at all.

So what are your experiences with keyboards and does your workplace have a good setup for staying healthy?

Comments
  • 5
    @AlexDeLarge That's great! I could never have imagined that it will get me at some point...

    Maybe my problems in the hands started because I broke up with my ex about 2 years ago... 😂

    nah just kidding, I fucking hate these flat keyboards to death.
  • 1
    @AlexDeLarge I have it now for 2 weeks and used it every workday for about 2-3 hours (the rest with the flat fingersmasher) and I am now about the same speed as with the usual cuttingboard.
    What I miss is a few more keys:
    There is no "Alt Gr" so I have to press[Ctrl] + [Alt] + ... and because of the fact that I still use the Swiss German layout (keys are in US layout but swapped appropriately), I have to do some strange fingeracrobatics like ghollum to write braces and brackets.

    Maybe I will fully switch to the US laxout some time...

    But it is on the other hand really handy that you can easily swap keys mechanically and programmatically to another position (both keys have to be the same size for mechanical swap).
  • 2
    Still using my on-screen keyboard and the pointing stick on the thinkpad
  • 2
    @shdw oh the good old pointing stick... I never really got used to it 😁
  • 1
    @PonySlaystation Me neither. It's more often a burden when you hit it by mistake to be honest :-)
  • 2
    @PonySlaystation I can't use ergonomic because they're the opposite of ergonomic for me. I use a G910 (no software as work won't allow) and I love it. I can type high 80 wpm and sometimes faster (there are sentences I use regularly). On the standard keyboards, I'm roughly 45-50.

    For "normal" people in the office (hahaha. We're all weirdos), work does provide the option for ergonomic, as well as detached keyboards (the two halves come apart and have a Y cable connecting them).
  • 2
    I was getting a lot if pain in my forearms at work swapped to a mechanical keyboard without a number pad so my mouse was closer and it feels miles better.
  • 1
    I use the same keyboard for over 10 years g15 and have the same board at home and work. It's probably a part of my body already xD

    Have some problems to write fast on other keyboards xD
  • 3
    @PonySlaystation

    I'm using Ergodox, although not as nicely constructed as the one in the picture.

    There are vendors selling them for 200-300, but they're open source hardware so you can also order the pcb, a bag of cherry switches and a 3d printed case.

    There's no curve, but the adjustable angles, thumb keys & split design make it a very comfortable keyboard.
  • 1
    I find those ergonomic keyboards to be exactly the opposite for me..

    Especially because it's damn near impossible to adapt to keys being elsewhere...

    It took me 3 months to accept the layout of an apple keyboard and as a result, my standard qwerty keyboard at home is now foreign...
  • 1
    I must say that I admire the bravery of you people that decide to use these weird things. I find it hard to even use the keyboard without the numpad...
  • 2
    @nikola1402 Then the 40% Planck format is just perfect for you!
  • 0
    @bittersweet Wow your Ergodox looks really beautiful!
  • 0
    @bshayhoe of course! keep your chick within the price 😉
  • 1
    @QueenMorgana absolutely! most of these mainstream ergo keyboards are not quite ergo at all...
    I also have a G910 at home, love it!

    Holymouly you are pretty fast!
  • 1
    @PonySlaystation Haha it's not mine, just a very nicely built one. Mine consists of cherry mx green switches, ugly discolored rough 3d printed plastic, generic blank keycaps and cheap Chinese PCBs from eBay 😂
  • 1
    @bittersweet Does that one have an official name? Something like 'sexy mindfuck'?
  • 0
    @jerome724 I'm used to it too much, but I'm thinking about switching 😉
  • 1
    I had the same keyboard it's freaking awesome
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