That's true, didn't realize that. Guess you could get the international version and use AltGr as an additional modifier. Or you could maybe use the left and right Ctrl or Alt as different modifiers...I don't use Macs, so I have no idea whether that would work in practice.
most desks are really too high to rest your elbows on- it tends to bring the shoulders up and forward instead of being able to keep them rolled back. Under the desk is often preferable.
I contend that this doesn't matter, as long as all the arm muscles are relaxed. I type lying back in my chair, with the shoulders almost at keyboard height, and I've found it very comfortable...
Resting the elbows only helps certain parts of the body. For example, if you're still breaking the straight line from your hands to forearms, it's not ergonomic.
I really like it. I just wish it was available for cheaper. To drop $200 and possibly not like it would suck. But bravo for an ergonomic keyboard without the number pad. If I come into some extra dough I may just go for it.
My worry on these is that my hands are much larger than average so it may be extremely annoying to adjust to, but I feel like ergonomics in general is worth optimizing for...
There's a video on youtube of someone typing on a Kinesis Advantage, where one can see a lot of wrist adduction to reach the tab key.
The Maltron keyboard might be a better option for heavy tab-key users.
I have a Kinesis keyboard and used a Microsoft Natural before that. If I were looking for a replacement keyboard, I would base most of my evaluation on three things:
- Does it separate out the hands? This one does to some extent, but it looks like less than the Microsoft or Kinesis.
- How many keys do you need to press with your pinky? What I like most about the Kinesis is that it moves many keys traditionally pressed with the pinky finger - control, alt, enter, backspace, delete - to under the thumbs. It's much easier to hold the modifiers down with your thumb because the muscle is so much bigger, and it's nicer to hit enter/backspace because you don't have to stretch your finger.
- Does it have mechanical key switches instead of the plastic bubbles? I don't know how good this one's are, but it's noticeably less work to press the switches and requires a constant/predictable amount of force on the Kinesis compared to the Microsoft and others. This really adds up over a day of typing.
You can see from the page that it has Cherry switches. My current keyboard uses Cherry switches, and I found it to be a vast improvement over previous keyboards (I like it a fair bit more than the IBM Model M, for example).
I look at where the slash and backslash keys are (along with the pipe and question mark), and I realize I would smash this thing to bits within about two minutes of using it.
Well, just swap Ctrl and Shift and it's back to normal. It's that Tab key up in the middle of nowhere that's a real problem. This keyboard must be aimed at book authors rather than code authors.
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[ 4.1 ms ] story [ 68.1 ms ] thread> Windows, Mac, and Linux compatible
Also a big + for the blank versions.
http://www.trulyergonomic.com/benefits.html#Programmability http://www.trulyergonomic.com/options.html#Model-109
- Does it separate out the hands? This one does to some extent, but it looks like less than the Microsoft or Kinesis.
- How many keys do you need to press with your pinky? What I like most about the Kinesis is that it moves many keys traditionally pressed with the pinky finger - control, alt, enter, backspace, delete - to under the thumbs. It's much easier to hold the modifiers down with your thumb because the muscle is so much bigger, and it's nicer to hit enter/backspace because you don't have to stretch your finger.
- Does it have mechanical key switches instead of the plastic bubbles? I don't know how good this one's are, but it's noticeably less work to press the switches and requires a constant/predictable amount of force on the Kinesis compared to the Microsoft and others. This really adds up over a day of typing.
I wish I could get a Topre-based ergonomic keyboard without going to Japan. (Yes, I'll pay the $700.)