vvp wrote: ↑25 Jun 2021, 09:51
I would go with a split contoured keyboard. Dactyl sounds ok. But you can save time (and probably also money) with e.g. Kinesis Advantage.
You do not need to move fingers much with a contoured keyboard. But you can type with thumbs only (two finger typing) on a flat keybaord :-/
Definitely something with thumb clusters if you intend to continue touch typing. Modifier keys on pinkies are a pain.
Thanks for the suggestion. I saw that Kinesis is planning a split version, Advantage 360 I think.
Weezer wrote: ↑25 Jun 2021, 11:22
"Any other recommandations ?"
Sounds like you need a beamspring. Did you know Jacobalbertus1 has a 4978?
I'd love to, but aren't Beamspring keyboards a bit ... huge ?
raoulduke-esq wrote: ↑25 Jun 2021, 15:01
This one might be a little odd, but just consider it.
gboards.ca has some split ortho options on the low end of the price spectrum because you've just got a PCB, switches, and caps (unless you elect to buy a case). He has some very light switch options- lighter than what you've listed above. The keyboards can thus be very short, which can be helpful depending on the height of your desk.
I find the dactyl terribly uncomfortable and for me, I need MORE and different finger motions than regular keyboards to hit the different angles. Combined with the height, they're the anti-ergo to me. Flat keyboards low to the desk seem to be the most comfortable for me.
It's not odd at all, split ortho were already high on my consideration list. Especially something with a thumb cluster as doing lots of CTRL+<name your key> with the pinky really hurts at the end of the day.
I appreciate the return on experience about the Dactyl. Them being often very tall was my main concern.
Thorogrimm wrote: ↑25 Jun 2021, 16:06
Mitsumi KKR sounds like a good option if you can get your hands on one. They supposedly have a pretty relaxed, bouncy bottom out. However they are winkeyless, so I don't know how much of a difference that makes for a software engineer.
Credit to Chyrosran22
https://imgur.com/TiFjO4A
I don't use winkey outside of the Win+L to lock my session
. I'd like the stay away from full size keyboard though as I never use the numpad. It allows me to have the mouse/trackball closer to me too.
Rayndalf wrote: ↑26 Jun 2021, 02:00
Another thing to consider is getting a lower desk. In my case my arms are long relative to my height so my desk was to tall.
Start by adjusting your chair to your height, then adjust desk height and finally keyboard and monitor height to work with it.
Many people adjust the chair to match the desk which can cause problems.
Didn't think about the desk height, but sadely this is something I can't change at work. I already adjst chait and monitors height though to have my eyes lined up with the top of the screen.
davkol wrote: ↑26 Jun 2021, 11:48
budget recommendation: go on eBay and look for a cheap Goldtouch SKR-4200U (perhaps with a broken plastic lever); it uses fairly soft and *very thocky* domes… Kinesis Freestyle2 is fine too.
30g Topre Realforce is a classic for this use case; JIS layout if you want to engage your thumbs a bit more.
If you want to get into (custom) ergonomic keyboards, just keep in mind that minimalist or contoured keyboards may have you use your fingers *more*, as opposed to engaging your arms as well.
However, the best way to minimize strain from typing is not to type. Options range from utilizing other body parts (speech, gaze), to more automation (autocomplete and text expansion, code generation, templates and scripts), to rethinking life priorities.
Forgot to mention that I'm in France. Not many keebs available from here, so anything cheap will have quite high shipping rate.
About Topre, I only tried 45g one and didn't like them. Was unable to touch type. I'll try to find a 30g board to try it.
Custom route is still my main consideration. Speaking of minimalist, how small is too small ? In the split ergo market, I see layout 3x5 layout (letters only), 3x6 (letters + 1 mod column), 4x6 (3x6 + numrow). I think that letters only might be way too small, but does the numrow makes a huge difference ? Better or worse....
Been considering alternatives too, but speech2text is not something I can do (can't install the soft on work computer + openspace). Been thinking about mods on footpedals (Shift, Alt and Ctrl). I already uses autocomplete, textexpansion, text prediction and templates a lot ... my programming teacher, 20 years ago, told us that a good dev is a lazy dev
.
I can't agree more about life priorities. Gaming, for example, i soemthing I rarely do now because it stress my hands too much. I play the switch casually with the kids, because it's important, but I set myself a time/pain limit.
I'll also need 2 keebs, or something I can travel with as I work from home 2/3 days a week. About switches, I'm still lost ... way too many references. Don't know what to use between linears (I'm very used to them) or tactile, light or "semi-heavy". Clicky is not an option as they are not openspace friendly
.
Thanks a lot everyone for all your answers so far !
EDIT: it might be worth mentioning that I do not use the number row very often. I mostly input letters, punctuation charaters and programming characters () [] {} <> - + = ~ _ / \ | & $ @ # ' " ^* %, so having them on a layer is fine as most of them already requires the use of SHIFT or ALT GR .... I'm french but am used to using dead keys for accented caracters (ANSI US Intl with dead keys), it's way more convenient than regular AZERTY and allows for all capital accented caracters (unlike AZERTY).
