

Ask HN: What are good compact keyboards for programming? - smrtinsert

Lately I HATE the arrows/home/end etc keys on the right and want something where either they are removed, or shifted to the left hand.  I'd rather have my right hand move my mouse, but for now I'm using the mouse on the left.<p>I do this because of shoulder pains caused by the mouse on the right.<p>I tried the Genius i200 keyboard after I saw the reviews on Amazon, but the keys are very hard to press, so I'm probably going to return it.
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username111
There is the happy hacking keyboard (the mechanical one is quite expensive and
the regular one is hard to find, and usually comes out to ~$100 if not bought
from the company).

You can find a few here:
[http://www.elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=special&f...](http://www.elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=special&filter=spacesaver)

Those are pretty expensive though.

The typematrix is also an interesting option:

<http://www.typematrix.com/>

~~~
vidoc
While I love typematrix keyboards, and I also have to say that their tech
support is _really_ outstanding, the build quality is pretty weak and my
experience with those keyboards is that they are not very robust. Still, the
typing experience is awesome and they map particularly well on Linux.

tip: while they can be expensive, a coupon search on google will relax the
price a little bit.

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kps
>I do this because of shoulder pains caused by the mouse on the right.

As much as a I love a good keyboard, you need to fix _this_.

For keyboard reviews, see <http://deskthority.net/> and <http://geekhack.org/>

~~~
smrtinsert
bookmarked! dunno why I could find these after days of searching on my own.

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taternuts
<http://www.reddit.com/r/mechanicalkeyboards> is another good place to look at
keyboards. The Happy Hacking Professional 2 is probably the most highly
regarded reduced layout board, but you can get cheaper ones like this:
[http://kbtrace.com/kbtpure/catalog/product/gallery/id/1/imag...](http://kbtrace.com/kbtpure/catalog/product/gallery/id/1/image/5/)
. They are both 'mechanical' keyboards but HHKB uses Topre switches and KBT
uses MX Cherry switches and they feel quite different

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hollerith
The Logitech K810 is a good compact keyboard. It uses scissor-switch rubber-
membrane keys, like Apple keyboards do, but unlike Apple keyboards, the keys
are of standard size (.75 inches between the line through the center of one
row and the line through the center of the next row -- same as almost every
desktop keyboard since the keyboard on the original IBM PC but _different_
from Apple's keyboards) and they are slightly curved (spherical, to be exact,
as opposed to cylindrical like most desktop keyboards or flat like Apple
keyboards).

It is wireless, illuminated, light, only a few mm high and able to be picked
up with one hand. (I value lightness and ability to be picked up with one hand
highly; maybe I pick my keyboard up more than most people do.)

(Disclaimer: I do not actually own a K810, but compactness is not a
requirement or a desire for me -- time spent moving my hand to and from the
mouse is not something I seek to reduce. I did test drive a K810 for a couple
of weeks and own similar Logitech keyboards (two K750s, which shares the
Perfect Stroke system with the K810).)

I tried a mechanical keyboard (with Cherry Brown switches) and it was nice and
all, but when you press a key, the feel of the Logitech keyboards with the
Perfect Stroke system (the K750, K800, K810, wired Illuminated) is
sufficiently close to the feel of the mechanical keyboards that the other
advantages listed above -- plus the fact that the key tops are spherical
rather than cylindrical -- put the Logitechs in the lead.

Note however that the keyboard I am recommending is _more_ expensive than a
mechanical keyboard when you account for the fact that the mechanical keyboard
will last for about 10 times more key presses.

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swah
I haven't tried the Topres yet. But I have bought a Leopold MX Brown TKL
(elitekeyboards.com), then a CM Quickfire MX Blues (had to resolder the PCB
several times), and now another Filco MX Browns TKL, which hasn't arrived. And
shipped them to Brazil. I'm very satisfied with them.

One is at home, another at work.

In the first moment the MX Blues felt nicer, but after a few weeks I'm back
prefering the MX Browns, and my colleagues really complained about the MX
Blues noise.

I'm actually waiting for keycaps from a Deskthority Round4 order (Cherry MX
keyboards have an active customization community).

I'll buy a ergonomically weighted Realforce when I feel that I deserve it.

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duck
I was in the same boat as you a while back (maybe 7-8 years ago). My brother
bought me one of these:
<http://www.deckkeyboards.com/product_info.php?products_id=30>

It works great and looks cool too. I'm still using it as well and find the
size perfect, although it did take a little getting use to.

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DanBC
If you have pain you need to make sure that your ergonomics are correct before
you do anything else.

As for little keyboards: People like the Happy Hacking Lite; proper keys and
nice travel and small without being too cramped.

MS keyboards are often recommended, especially their ergonomic range.

But maybe a chiclet style keyboard would suit more?

~~~
smrtinsert
I actually prefer my current mechanical keyboards for typing. I like the
responsive ness. I would love a chiclet keyboard's profile so long as they
provide the same typing speed performance.

The HH keyboard looks great except for the fact that the compact directional
combo is FN and minus, add. That means the right hand would have to lift and
strain to press both at the same time. If only it offered another Fn on the
left hand side to accomplish the combo with both hands...

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loungin
<http://deskthority.net/> and <http://geekhack.org/> are both great resources
for everything keyboard, ergonomic, and beyond.

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codemonkeymike
Rosewill sells mechanical keyboards without arrow/numpads. I will only use
mechanical keyboards after I got my Das keyboard.

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subsection1h
I don't understand. You want a good keyboard for programming because of
shoulder pain caused by your mouse? Why are you using a mouse while
programming?

(I have a Kinesis Contoured Advantage keyboard. I use Emacs and I've
configured Firefox so that I rarely need my mouse. I experience no physical
pain while using my computer.)

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gcb0
buy an old microsoft natural keyboard, hacksaw the numpad as it's a different
logic board.

~~~
simplyinfinity
I have one of these and it's not a bad keyboard ... except the space bar ...
it's hart do press 90% of the time or you have to press it twice. but i would
recommend the MS Wireless Comfort Desktop 5000. i use one at work and at home
and i'm in love with it.

~~~
gcb0
completely opposite experience here.

have one natural keyboard at work another at home. Space bar is flawless! i
can press with any force on any part of it.

then there's the comfort desktop 5000 or 7000 or some large number that i
bought just to hack the "zoom" slider in the middle to be a mouse scroll wheel
simulator... i ended up trhowing it away because i simply couldn't press the
space bar anywhere! also, it was louder then the old natural keyboard (which
is a huge flaw for both models. since they are all membrane and should be near
silent)

