If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead

Re:If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead by samatman on Sunday December 15, 2019 @04:14PM (#21799038)

What an Ergodox lets me do is this: while standing, with good posture, I extend my arms, level with the ground, to where they comfortably and naturally want to be.

Then, I put the keyboards there, adjust the desk up to that height, and put books under the monitor until the center is exactly level with my eyes. Trackball to the right.

This is dramatically more comfortable than anything else I could be doing. It's hard to convey how uncomfortable a straight keyboard is to someone who hasn't tried the alternative.

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Re:If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead by Fellshard on Sunday December 15, 2019 @05:01PM (#21799276)

For me, I notice the difference in my shoulders. They tuck in with a compact keyboard, and then my wrists bow inward. It ends in a slouch and increasing neck pain over time - even my personal laptop makes this noticeable after a short amount of time.

Ergodox EZ may puzzle people with its layout, but the split island part alone has made computing comfortable for me, especially when combined with a sit/stand desk. There's a lot less physical strain to wrestle with, which a bigger difference as time goes on.

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Re:If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead by rickyc091 on Monday December 16, 2019 @11:25AM (#21804186)

OH! I just realized this explains why my right shoulder is lower compared to my left! Every time I take a photo, the photographer always tells me to bring it higher. My neutral position for my mouse!

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Re:If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead by amiga_500 on Sunday December 15, 2019 @05:59PM (#21799575)

Same here. This is why I got a split keyboard at work. I'm at home right now on a normal keyboard and the shape of my shoulders is terrible.

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Re:If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead by brandonmenc on Sunday December 15, 2019 @06:53PM (#21799811)

> It's hard to convey how uncomfortable a straight keyboard is to someone who hasn't tried the alternative.

I've tried split keyboards. They feel unnatural. I feel like I type better/faster when my hands are closer together.

The single greatest thing I've ever done to completely cure RSI pain while typing is eliminating "wrist yaw" - i.e., maintaining a mostly straight line from my elbow to my knuckles. The bonus is that I can type comfortably on any keyboard.

ymmv, obvs.

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Re:If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead by ganonm on Sunday December 15, 2019 @04:18PM (#21799065)

Yep totally agree, in fact sometimes when people see it and ask me questions about it, I suggest they stand at my desk and lay their hands on the two islands. Even without typing a single character they almost invariably react extremely positively to the ergonomic pose.

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Re:If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead by markstos on Sunday December 15, 2019 @05:46PM (#21799502)

Typing this on an Ergodox EZ as well.

I defined custom layers so that I can toggle a layer on depending on whether I'm using the keyboard with Chrome OS or Ubuntu Linux. This allows me to use the same shortcuts between the two OSes, while they are otherwise not customizable on Chrome OS. Also, it allows me to use media keys for Chrome OS on a split/ergo keyboard.

Plus as a Vim user, I'm able to use HJKL arrow keys in any app on either OS.

My layout is here:

https://configure.ergodox-ez.com/ergodox-ez/layouts/3vzB7/GZ...

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Re:If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead by thefringthing on Monday December 16, 2019 @04:53PM (#21807694)

> It's hard to convey how uncomfortable a straight keyboard is to someone who hasn't tried the alternative.

This is how I feel about the Qwerty keyboard layout.

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