Keyboards
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From: shane on 23 Apr 2010 12:28 Lew wrote: > Stefan Ram wrote: >> >> http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/images/kb_adv-pro_met720x471.jpg > > I used this keyboard on a job for over four years. It fixed my > repetitive-motion pain, but I hated the tiny function keys. Ditto, It's a great keyboard, but Kinesis really messed up with the 'impossible not to fat-finger' function keys. All they'd have to do is relocate the 'keypad' and 'program' keys, then they'd have enough room for real function keys... > Then I used a version of the Maltron keyboard > <http://www.maltron.com/maltron-kbd-etype-intro.html> > for a couple of years at home. I loved it - I absolutely loved it - but > it was fragile as heck. Ugh... I was thinking of this as a next purchase. > So now I use a Microsoft Wireless Comfort Keyboard 1.0A. ... > My hands pronate some, but it's not causing injury like some cheap > keyboards would. Hmm... I've always been scared to migrate back to a non-split design. Perhaps I'll give it a try. Shane
From: Lew on 22 Apr 2010 19:47 Stefan Ram wrote: > Unless waterproof, this would cost me $359 per month, but > should make an impression: > > http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/images/kb_adv-pro_met720x471.jpg I used this keyboard on a job for over four years. It fixed my repetitive-motion pain, but I hated the tiny function keys. Then I used a version of the Maltron keyboard <http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/images/kb_adv-pro_met720x471.jpg> for a couple of years at home. I loved it - I absolutely loved it - but it was fragile as heck. The cable to the PC kinked, the keys fell off, and my wife and friends found it frightening. But it's not as wide as most keyboards, thus it fit beautifully on my narrow keyboard shelf, and the ergonomics of it are everything they claim. But the fragility made it infeasible to replace. So now I use a Microsoft Wireless Comfort Keyboard 1.0A. I've worn the letters off several of the keys, it's grimy from a few years of use, but the key layout is comfortable (it has the long "Delete" key below "Home" with the "Home"/"End"/"PageUp"/"PageDown" suite in a vertical arrangement, and the arrows in a low inverted-T) and just won't quit. My hands pronate some, but it's not causing injury like some cheap keyboards would. If Maltron made a durable, wireless USB version it'd be ideal. The Microsoft is so much less expensive, though. I use the Microsoft wireless mouse that came with it, and I find it perfect. In the end, Microsoft wins. -- Lew
From: Lew on 22 Apr 2010 19:49 Fixing my copy-paste error. Lew wrote: > Then I used a version of the Maltron keyboard > <http://www.maltron.com/maltron-kbd-etype-intro.html> -- Lew
From: Peter Duniho on 23 Apr 2010 01:54 Tom Anderson wrote: > Evening all, > > In my office, we have several rubbish keyboards. We are going to replace > them with less rubbish keyboards. Does anyone have any recommendations > for keyboards they really, really like, and if so, would they care to > tell them to me? Sure! I'm up for off-topic tonight. :) Besides, I'm looking forward to seeing how Roedy works a plug in for his web site on this one. :) > [...] > What i want is a keyboard designed according to the old-school unix > philosophy - it should concentrate on being a keyboard, and nothing > else. A keyboard designed for programmers. That doesn't mean bells and > whistles; does a saw designed for professional carpenters have lots of > bells and whistles? No, it's just bloody good at sawing. > > Personally, i really like Apple's desktop keyboards - nice low-travel > keys with a sturdy feel, and good build quality. However, their key > layout is weird, so if we plugged them into our linux boxes, we'd either > have to use a Mac keyboard and have the keys in weird places, or use a > standard keymap and have some keys not emit the symbol printed on them. > Neither sounds good. Also, not everyone in the office likes low-travel > keyboards. > > So anyway, rant and ramble (rantble?) over, recommendations welcome. I so much liked the Microsoft Wireless Laser 7000 keyboard that I got for my living room setup that I bought another one to use at work. I love the feel of the keyboard. In part, this may be because my fingers have so much time on my laptop that they are used to the slightly smaller form factor, and the Wireless Laser 7000 is itself on the smaller side (only the merest bit smaller than a full-sized desktop keyboard, but not at all clunky like some I've used�I'm surprised to find that the word "svelte" actually seems to apply :) ). One caveat: the Wireless Laser 7000 desktop keyboard comes with a wireless mouse that is wonderful, except for the poorly designed battery receptacle. The first one I got worked fine, but the next two (I bought one on its own to replace a wired mouse that was falling apart, and then I got another with the second Wireless Laser 7000 keyboard I bought) kept having trouble getting charged correctly. There are various message topics and articles on the Internet about the problem. You either need to pad the side of the battery, or adjust the positive terminal connection, or both, to get things to work correctly. It's very finicky, but once you get it set up right it works fine. And the mouse is really nice. It's something like $70 for the keyboard/mouse combo on Amazon right now, which I think is a pretty good deal for what you get. Another caveat: the keyboard isn't "over-the-top" on extras, but it definitely suffers a little from the "special key" syndrome. If you are looking for _really_ bare bones, this isn't the keyboard for you. Yet another caveat: the function keys are not full-sized keys. They are more like buttons about half the size of a normal key. I spend a lot of time with the function keys as I step through code in the debugger, and it seems fine to me. But no doubt some people will hate them. Me, I love the keyboard too much to hate it for the function keys. Nobody's perfect! :) Pete
From: Kevin McMurtrie on 23 Apr 2010 02:03
Look for scissor switch keys. They were originally created for laptops but some makers have put them in full-sized desktop keyboards because of their exceptional longevity and nice feel. Typical keyboards having plastic pistons wear rapidly when keys aren't struck straight down. They don't hold up well to software development that makes heavy use of the meta, underscore, and symbol keys at the edges of the keyboard. -- I won't see Google Groups replies because I must filter them as spam |