On the other hand, adapting yourself to the junky $10 keyboard that comes with every computer means you've got your perfect keyboard everywhere. I can go work anywhere, and they've got one of my perfect keyboards somewhere in a box in a storage closet because it came with a desktop they bought for something, and nobody wanted it.

Adapting yourself to eating only junk food means you'll never have to cook or pay for a proper meal. Only problem is good food really is better and always will be.

These days you usually carry your computer with you, but if not, you can also easily carry a new 88 or 96 key keyboard as they come with a lithium battery and bluetoof support.

Also, you can also just start with remapping Caps Lock to Ctrl. It's free, not that complicated and is definitely an upgrade for people using a lot of keyboard shortcuts.

Although for $200 I recommend first considering what keys you'd prefer at what location and how you'd change the layout if you could choose freely, a lot of keyboards and kits are fully programmable and come with wildly different designs. For example, multiple thumb keys are pretty much the most comfortable modifier keys you'll ever use.

> an upgrade for people using a lot of keyboard shortcuts.

You are suffering from Stockholm syndrome. The keyboard commands should be thought of as the primary interface and the slow mouse actions are for beginners or when the slow mouse metaphor is more natural (e.g. grab and drag a screen element). Shoehorning keyboard commands into a menu metaphor has been a cancer computer design for over 40 years.

Are common keyboards really that bad? I don't really think there's enough benefit in investing the time and effort and money in working out and purchasing your absolute perfect layout if it only deviates from the standard by a small amount. Even the keyboard in the article only deviates from the standard by a few keys.

It's all subjective of course, but personally I'd prefer to be able to use any keyboard anywhere without much drama. I don't feel like I'm suffering much, even if it's not my "perfect" layout.

That said, I do have caps lock remapped to escape on all my personal devices. The muscle memory isn't so bad that I don't remember to hit the ESC key on keyboards that aren't mine though.

The way I see it, common keyboards are underpriced due to extreme competition, and top-shelf keyboards are overpriced because they're a niche market. So common keyboards aren't that bad, even if they're very cheap, but I think it's definitely worth it to spend ~$100 on a keyboard, which I think is a lot more palpable to people whose job involves typing.

I'm going to make up some arbitrary numbers, hopefully they'll make it more clear. I use a Planck, which cost about $110. Looking at Amazon, I found an alright-looking Logitech for ~$15.

Is typing on the Planck 7x better? Probably not. Is it 2x more enjoyable? I'd say so! Unfortunately, there are no $30 keyboards that are as good, but I'm fine with paying the big premium because the cheap version is already so cheap.

It doesn’t matter per se that it isn’t 7x better. What matters is that there is nothing else that would improve your experience more for extra $95 you spent on your keyboard.

Bloomberg keyboards have no competition, but I understand that enormous energies are expended on their design.

I order HPE workstations for the front desk, because they invest in the thermal fluid dynamics and sound energy diffusion of their cases. The default benefits are tangible.

Keyboard quality is a factor more when it is the standard you encounter. High quality consistent keyboard experiences would be significant in broad effect, at least I'm convinced that would be the case.

I’ll never leave my kinesis keyboard. It has multiplied how useful my thumbs are by placing more useful keys near them than just space (but including space). It’s great for rsi too

I’d only consider upgrading to the new Kinesis due to the mechanical F keys. The previous ones feel really weird.

Kinesis led to thumb strain for me. I ultimately settled on a traditional tenkeyless with mechanical switches.

Different strokes for different folks.

You could also go your entire life wearing underwear that chafe you, just a little. Or you could choose not to.

> I'd prefer to be able to use any keyboard anywhere without much drama.

I have no drama using other keyboards. Just like I have no drama sitting in chairs just because I have a good chair at home.

Hell, I've switched to Dvorak about 10 years ago and have been surprised at how rarely I type on other people's keyboards.

OTOH, UNIX tradition is the reductio ad eruditionem of every recurring expression.

This is not the perfect consonance with recent idolatry of UNIX keyboards that I imagine a number of proponents believe it to be.

Has there been a study of the ergonomic and productivity effects of various keyboard designs?

I type in the region of ten thousand words every day and I have no adverse physical symptoms, after almost three decades of continuing typing. Not continuous. I suppose continuous typing is inadvisable.

I hope you don't take my comment as derogatory, it's merely suspicious of the whole rigmarole that keyboards are involved in, and I have spent many more days in search of the ideal keyboard,myself. I have serious doubts about my chances of overcoming the importance of screen input devices, so far as my own use is concerned. Really, I can't believe it is impossible to produce a superb quality mechanical keyboard, even inside the tolerances of a laptop. Business margins are desperately short sighted in this regard. I will tell anyone unfortunate to be within earshot, how the first manufacturer of such a laptop will take my programmatic heart until I am thoroughly retired.

I think most typing problems could be cured with a good wrist rest and good posture.

The wrist rest should keep your wrists straight and keep them off the cold desk and its sharp edges.

Posture should keep your head balanced over your neck, not holding it forward or backwards. The monitor height should support this, and it should be straight in front of you. Your shoulders should be relaxed and your elbows should be around 90 degrees to help your wrists.

By the way, laptops are not ergonomic. There are no OSHA approved laptops.

My impression is that RSI differs from person to person, which means the solution differs from person to person depending on what is strained. For some, a new keyboard layout fixes the problem. For others, simply changing to a less strenuous editor like Vim helps.

cruising around work and checking people's setups...

The overwhelming majority do nothing. Many folks do everything on their laptop (not possible to be ergonomic) and most desktops lack any sort of ergonomic planning (monitors off center, no wrist rests, etc)

There's a lot of low hanging fruit out there.

Health issues aside, I will pay a fraction of a cent per hour for a keyboard that feels better, and a mouse that feels better.

I've been an hhkb user for close to 5 years. What's not mentioned in the article is the location of the pageup/pagedown hotkeys located to the left of the arrow keys. So much of the keeb is well designed including the choice of topre switches which make typing a joy. I agree with spending money on a few things, comfortable shoes, keyboards and bed sheets.

Is there a science to the biggish-feeling keys on most, if not all, of those mechanical keyboards?

I personally use the latest model Apple Magic Keyboard and the thin size seems nice. No need for a wrist support and the keys feel like hair pin triggers when I type. I personally haven’t experienced anything comparable, yet.