improbablynotarobotWhat's everyone's thoughts on split or tented keyboards?
Chamomile š@improbablynotarobot I own several split keyboards at this point and very much prefer them. I have RSI and it's much more comfortable to type and helps keep my wrists at a comfortable angle.
As for tenting I haven't experimented with it much, but I know that a lot of people swear by it.
Yeah the split seems more justifiable but tenting seems ergonomic too. Curious at to if you leverage extra thumb keys or dynamic switching of rows too. Seems like it has a learning curve but I like the idea of keeping closer to home row
@improbablynotarobot I do! My main keyboard is an Ergodox, and I make heavy use of the extra thumb keys. Having enter/del/backspace on my thumbs alone is really nice, and I also keep a layer toggle next to them. Commonly used keys, like my navigation cluster and a numpad stay close to the home row on two different layers.
The one thing I don't make much use of is symbols on layers, which takes a bit more getting used to than I've put time in for. Instead I just use the dedicated number row.
ANapSoundsNiceI have bi-lateral carpaltunnel (Mild left, moderate right) and have found it greatly managed in my life as a heavy computer user for work and pleasure by changing my keyboard to the Kinesis Advantage 2. This is an expensive keyboard that definitely isn't in a lot of people's range but thankfully work was able to get it for me to prevent further RSI.
I swear by this damn keyboard though. The split and boxy design perfectly aligns to my shoulder width, and my arms out in front of me rest every comfortably on the pads below each hand-well. The keys are ortholinear meaning instead of the usual QWERTY keyboards having a slight staggering of the keys (and thus, at least for me, I have a lot of micro-adjusting of my hands and wrist as I'm tying) the keys being aligned straight up and down where my fingers are resting means all I have to do is flex my fingers foward and back to hit the proper key. Having the very often used keys on my thumbs (backspace/delete/enter/control/alt/windows+CMD key) mean no more stretching out my pinky to push it.
Far more affordable options include the Iris split keyboards that are DIY in a kit (you provide your own key switches), which I've had my eye on for a long while but could never seem to tear myself away from the advantage 2. Since I've been issued a new laptop with work that is a lot thinner and easier to work out of a coffeeshop or drop-in desk somewhere with, I might start revisiting that conversation.
For completeness sake - I use a logitec Ergo M575 trackball mouse. I grew up laughing at a family member who worked in tech for using this kind of mouse back when it was that ball of clay and an optical sensor. I'm not laughing anymore now that I have to use it so my hands don't hurt from work at by the end of the day š
