

Truly Ergonomic keyboard available for preorder - vl
http://www.trulyergonomic.com/preorder_us.html

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alec
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.

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klodolph
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).

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rewind
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.

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PatHyatt
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.

Also a big + for the blank versions.

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StavrosK
Any keyboard is truly ergonomic as long as you rest your elbows on the desk...

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gregwebs
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.

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StavrosK
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...

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jrockway
Sigh, Cherry keyswitches. I've tried them all and am just not a fan.

I wish I could get a Topre-based ergonomic keyboard without going to Japan.
(Yes, I'll pay the $700.)

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mst
So bribe somebody going to YAPC::Asia (or other japan-hosted conference)

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jrockway
What if I like it and want a second for work? :)

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anthonyb
Talk patio11 into starting a side business?

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zacharypinter
Odd that the backspace key still has to be used by the pinkie finger. I'll be
sticking with my Kinesis Advantage for now.

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Mike_V
The website states that you can reprogram any key you wish, even having the
Backspace instead of the left spacebar.

<http://www.trulyergonomic.com/benefits.html#Programmability>
<http://www.trulyergonomic.com/options.html#Model-109>

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keefe
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...

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hogu
as an emacs user, I don't like the ctrl alt placement. the kinesis looks to do
a good job at that (i haven't bought one yet but i want to)

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jrockway
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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vl
Looks really interesting, but it seems it's not Mac-compatible.

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w1ntermute
Take 5 seconds to actually read the page:

> Windows, Mac, and Linux compatible

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blehn
It might work with Mac, but it looks like you'd have to sacrifice a modifier
key.

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w1ntermute
Just use Caps Lock as a modifier.

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blehn
Good idea, but I don't see a Caps Lock either...

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w1ntermute
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.

