

Ask HN: Has anybody here ever used a completely split keyboard? - jacquesm

Here is a sample of what I mean:<p>http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/freestyle.htm<p>So a keyboard that is completely split in to two portions, one for the left hand and one for the right hand.<p>If you did, what was your experience like? Is it worth it?
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ZeroGravitas
I use the Contour from the same folks:

<http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/contoured.htm>

The two halfs are built into a single plastic block but there's still about 6
inches of separation between the two islands of keys. I love it, though there
are other benefits, like two key clusters of 6 special keys (Enter, Backspace,
Ctrl etc.) under each thumb area, amongst several other things. Double the
price though.

From the images on the freestyle it would appear you still have to deal with
both halves being linked by a cable, so it's probably not that great a
difference from a normal ergo keyboard or the Maxim model they sell (unless
you put it into the vertical mode). I'm sure I've seen setups with one half on
each arm of a chair.

~~~
jacquesm
> I'm sure I've seen setups with one half on each arm of a chair.

That was what I was going for. Thanks for the info!

~~~
ZeroGravitas
Here's what I'd seen before. Looks like it was discontinued as a product even
when I first saw it years ago.

[http://blog.jonudell.net/2009/03/14/the-floating-arms-
keyboa...](http://blog.jonudell.net/2009/03/14/the-floating-arms-keyboard/)

~~~
jacquesm
Funny quote from that article: "Some people are so devoted to their keyboard
that they search for backups and worry about finding another copy of a
discontinued version."

That could be about me, I spent a week tracking down a working SGI keyboard
because I managed to mess up my 10+ years old one. I dread the day when I
won't be able to buy mother boards without a keyboard connector.

It's weird how you can get attached to certaain hardware, screens I'm not so
partial to but that keyboard is something else. Haven't found a replacement
yet.

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hga
I use this keyboard: [http://goldtouch.com/p-64-goldtouch-adjustable-keyboard-
blac...](http://goldtouch.com/p-64-goldtouch-adjustable-keyboard-black.aspx)
(it's completely split, but the two halves are _firmly_ connected).

The #1 reason is that it has a minimal laptop style single column of keys to
the left of BS \ ENTER etc., my biggest problem is moving my right arm from
the keyboard to the mouse (all mouse alternatives I've tried are worse than a
plain optical mouse).

If you tent it it's _rock_ solid, but I didn't find any advantage to that
feature. I do really like the variable splitting ability; I've previously used
a solid base keyboard with a fixed split (and some tenting) but being able to
adjust all this so it's _just_ right is noticeably better.

