Anyone have one of these? Are they any easier on the hands/wrists/arms than regular keyboards, or is this just hype to get you to buy one?
At work, I have the Microsoft one that splits the keys between the 6TGB and 7YHN lines. (It also groups F1-F6 and F7-F12 together.) The space bar is still continuous for thumb use. Each set of keys is rotated about 20[sup]o[/sup]. When used properly, the hands extend straight from the forearms, instead of being turned 20[sup]o[/sup].
I’ve found it to be easier and less physically stressful to use. But that’s because I’m a touch-typist. HNP (hunt-‘n’-peck) typists wouldn’t get any benifit from it.
what about those “stand-up” keyboards? split in the middle, and then standing on end so your palms are perpendicular to the table instead of parallel?
My boyfriend has one, and it annoys the hell out of me. I own a plain straight board, and his ergonomic takes longer for me to type on, and stuff.
He, on the other hand, loves it, go figure.
I love mine. I do a lot of typing for papers and such, and it’s much more comfy than my old standard one. (Besides, I spilled grapefruit juice on it and wrecked it…)
This may be quite obvious, but there are only benefits if you know how to type. I have a few friends who frequently decide to do a quick e-mail check when they visit me, and they complain endlessly about how awkward my kb is. Mavis Beacon, I say…
**Quadzilla[\b]- do you have any trouble when you type on normal keyboards, now that you’re used to the ergomonic one? I often type on several keyboards during the day, and can’t switch them all …
Arjuna34
Obviously I’m ALREADY having trouble typing!
Arjuna34
Trying to learn to type was, for me, a huge waste of time. I just couldn’t get myself to break my patterns of ‘advanced hunt-and-peck’ that have been giving me such a good typing speed and high accuracy rate. I don’t know my WPM but I can really bang out text when I want to, never once even looking at the home row. I think the best teacher of typing is simple experience. I know the QWERTY keyboard by heart, and can simply set my hands and start going.
Switching to an ergonomic KB was one of the smartest moves i ever made… I’d never go back. While I never had any serious objections to standard keyboards, I did have the occasional sore wrist.
I now have an ergonomic KB at both home and work, and find them MUCH more comfortable. When I first got one, it took me a good two weeks to become comfortable with it, but I figure two weeks is a good exchange for the absence of occasional sore wrists, and increased WPM.
It’s tough at first, but well worth the investment, I think.
Try buying a cheap 20 dollar knockoff ergo KB, use it for a few weeks, and trash it if you don’t like it. If you do like it, I’d recommend spending the money and getting the all-out Microsoft version.
I have one, here is my exp w/ it:
My typeing stile is not correct but is not hunt and peck (probally more like the advanced hunt and peck mentioned above), I use 3 fingers on my left hand for letters (and #‘s) and my pinky for shift and a ,q , rarely do I use my thumb on that hand. my right hand I use my thumb for the space and the 1st 2 fingers for the letters and the 3rd(ring finger) for the enter (and all this stuff;:’}?/ and arrow keys).
My wife (g/f at the time) had a split k/b and I found it annoying at first but since I do a lot of work at home and wanted to spend time w/ her, I would work w/ her k/b. I got used to it very quickly and soon was annoyed w/ mine so I had to get one. I now dislike using a standard keyboard and laptop keyboards.
The spilt keyboard seems to be ‘roomier’ and allows a more natural placement of the hands. When I use my laptop I sometimes bring a split k/b with me.
Take this as a warning, if you do not have the power to change a keyboard you do a lot of work on (i.e. employers computer) don’t get one for your home computer as you will want it at work too.
As a professional geek, I get asked this a lot. Here’s what I tell people that they can probably expect.
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You will hate the keyboard for about a week or two. Stick with it. If you can get used to it, it will be worth it, because…
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Once you get used to it, you’ll find you can type for a more extended period of time without any wrist problems at all. It also seems to improve posture, but that’s just my observation. And also…
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If your typing style is anywhere near conventional, you can experience an increase in typing speed, adding up to 20 words per minute.
I switch back and forth between regular and ergonomic keyboards all day, and haven’t noticed any problem. It doesn’t seem to replace my current set of typing skills, it’s just an added ability.
Hope that helps.
Andy
I’m a writer and editor for a living, so I type a lot. And I’ve needed to make some ergonomic adjustments to reduce pain and repetetive strain on my arms, wrists, and fingers.
I’ve tried several ergonomic keyboards.
For me, the Microsoft, curved-style keyboards make little to no difference from the plain old standard QWERTY keyboard. The keys are still very close together, and you still have to keep your hands close together.
I tried the Comfort keyboard (http://www.ergopro.com/comfort.html) where you can make the sections vertical. However, that keyboard doesn’t adjust easily: It has gear-like tightening wheels that you have to keep firmly tightened to keep the sections vertical. If you want to change the angle or height, you’ve got to mess with it quite a bit. I found that very frustrating, because over the course of the day I tend to adjust my keyboard a lot compensate for posture and energy changes.
Then I tried the Pace keyboard (http://www.ergopro.com/keypaceadjust.html). That one works perfectly for me. Each section of the keyboard rests on a ball joint, and you can adjust the section to different angles any old time. Granted, you cannot get quite at much height as with the Comfort keyboard, but I find that the separation of my hands, plus the ability to put the keyboard in a negative (backward-leaning) position, works just as well. I’m hooked. I’ve been using the Pace keyboard for 4 years now, and my typing speed has improved and my hand and wrist pain has pretty much gone away. (Credit some of that to adopting the use of trackballs instead of mice, too.)
I’ve never gotten to try the Kinesis Contour keyboard (http://www.ergopro.com/keykinescontour.html), but a fellow writer swears by his.
As mentioned by earlier posters, if you can’t touch-type, these might not be good options for you.
If you’re talking about a keyboard for work, check with your IS guys. They may be able to get you trials for different types of keyboards. That way you can try them before buying them.
Best wishes.
Jeyen
I also type with “advanced hunt and peck”, and even after using a split keyboard at school for a few months, I still couldn’t stand it.
I’ve never had finger or wrist pain from typing… I normally hold my hands at the angle suggested by the split keyboard, but I’m used to the keys being in straight rows. On a split keyboard, I end up reaching across the gap to hit “G” or “T” with my right hand, or hit “B” or “Y” with my left hand.
I have a standard Microsoft split keyboard. Before I got it, I always used the “right fingers” to type, but could never truly touch-type.
I got the ergo keyboard, and within a week, BANG! I was touch-typing. Amazing. My speed and accuracy went up amazingly.
Then I got a job where the (shared) computer had a regular keyboard. After a day or so, I had gotten used to that, too, and was touch-typing on it like a madwoman.
The ergo keyboard somehow allowed me to cross that threshhold into the wonderful world of touch-typing. I think it is because my hands rest naturally on it, so my fingers easily move in all the right directions to hit the keys without me having to look. And once I got the confidence, or whatever, I could touch-type on the regular one, too.
And it is just more comfortable to use.
We got an ergo quite a while back and although I am not the world’s best typist I found that the ergo was pretty easy to get used to. I don’t have too much trouble switching back and forth between the board at home and the standard one at work.
When you have to do a lot of typing the ergo is much more comfy over a long period of time. They are well worth having.
You know, I had asked this not too far back, and the results are identical! In fact, here’s the link, so you can get even more opinions!
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=42772
Thanks for the info, folks. It seems that most people seem to like ergo keyboards, judging from the responses to this thread. Maybe if I ever have money I’ll try one out. Me, have money? Yeah, right! 
One factor to work in: the MS Natural is great if you have large hands (I do) but it may not be as convenient if you don’t. Any thoughts out there?
Hi, I’m thinking of buying the Logitech Cordless Desktop Pro. Does anyone have this set (keyboard and mouse) and does he or she like it?
I really want to make sure 'cause it costs around $100 here 
I LOVE the ergonomic keyboards. I switched years ago, and that change- along with my aol addiction ( Shhh, you ) let me perfect my touch-typing skills. I’ve read articles in “Discover” magazine about the perpendicular keyboards. While I totally understand the concept, I can’t imagine how anyone will market it. Since it stands like a box, you can’t sell it to work in a standard office/desk/tray setting. Me, I wanna buy a $ 20.00 knockoff ergo keyboard and try to make my own, but I love to solder and am a bit of a technoweenie that way.
As for Logitech. In keeping with the whole Ergonomic concept, I threw out the mouse years ago. I URGE you all- all Teeming Million of ya- to run out and buy the LogiTech “Marble Mouse”. It’s NOT a mouse ( stupidfuckin’ name). It’s a trac ball that uses optical reading to track the movements of the ball. It sits on three steel ball bearings. It moves like GLASS, and is simple to clean. It’s also the smoothest trac ball I’ve ever touched in my life. Kids have one, wife has one, the cats are saving their kibbles money for one 
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