We spend a huge amount of time at the computer. From the perspective of comfort and health, the most important thing is the chair. Then the monitor. Next – input devices. Let’s talk about them today.
So, the keyboard. It so happens that common models lead to diseases: both carpal tunnel syndrome (pain in the hands and difficulty picking up anything with your hand) and poor posture.
The main solution: split ortholinear keyboards. Split, to maintain posture and not hunch over. Ortholinear: fingers move up/down, so keys are arranged in columns without offset.
Such keyboards come in 3D (not flat) and flat. 3D is more ergonomic, flat is easier to take on trips. I lean toward 3D, as we’re talking about health. They’re usually called Charybdis. At Ergohaven it’s called Velvet.
They come in wired, dongle, and bluetooth. Wired is straightforward. Bluetooth drains unevenly: the main half 5 times more than the slave. Also, bluetooth is unavailable in BIOS or when the OS is not fully configured. Dongle (USB wireless dongle) drains halves evenly, so with the same battery size you need to charge significantly less often (once every 10 months vs once every 2 months). My choice – wired, as I don’t move every minute and therefore don’t see much point in wireless (before that the main one was bluetooth).
Keyboards usually range from 4x6 (4 rows by 6 columns) to 3x5. These are keys for 4 fingers of one hand. 4x6 – it’s like a regular keyboard (without the f-key row, with a number row and 3 symbol rows). Many come to the conclusion that neither the f-row, nor the number row, nor the number pad are needed: this is enabled by keyboard modifiers. I.e., actual typing happens on the main row (where fingers rest by default), and the mode is enabled by the thumb. 5 columns work well for English, but with the Russian alphabet it’s better to have 6 columns. So my choice is 3x6.
For thumbs there are from 2 to 5-6 keys (each). I don’t have a strong opinion here, but at least 3 per thumb would be ok. It’s strange that large keyboards (4x6) have many modifiers, but small ones (3x6) also decrease them for some reason, even though fewer keys – more modifiers, to make it easier to switch layers.
There are also “mice”. Several options:
- use a separate mouse – not my option, I haven’t used them for a long time
- put an external trackpad between the halves – possible
- trackpad integrated into one of the halves – possible, but I haven’t seen 3D keyboards with this for some reason
- red nub from ThinkPad (TrackPoint) – not my option, somehow never used them
- trackball – apparently our option, as I want an integrated solution, so I don’t have to move my hands much for small mouse movements (I already have an external trackpad). Ceramic bearings are better than metal. Sensor not a9800.
Often such keyboards are sold without keycaps (the top surface of keys) and switches (the actual press mechanism). There’s huge variety here. There’s an understanding that there’s no point in symbols on keys. I want a low keyboard. What the press feels like, what they feel like – better to see in person, but in Samara there’s not really anywhere. So we’ll experiment. The problem is that in 3D keyboards they’re not removable, and the split keyboards themselves are quite expensive (from 28 to 50 thousand rubles currently for 3D with trackball).
There are also encoders. These are knobs. For example, to change sound volume. Might make sense when working with music or video, I’m not a professional, but professional consoles for this usually have knobs. I don’t need that.
The taller the keyboard, the more support is needed. In a split keyboard you need 2 supports.
It’s good if the keyboard supports VIA/VIAL – this allows easy key configuration. You’ll definitely need to configure it at first.
After learning, such a keyboard is even more convenient to use than a regular one.
Is it difficult to learn to work on such a keyboard? It’s more than possible, but you largely need to relearn. Especially hard the first week, 2-3 weeks to good speed. This stops many, but diseases don’t stop them.
In the end, I liked the Charybdis 4x6 (4 keys for left thumb, 3 for right and trackball) on Avito from an assembler (ergosplits was good, but too expensive). 3x6 ones like this basically don’t exist, the extra row can always be unused if needed :). It came out to around 30 thousand. From ergosplits generally around 50.
So I got https://ru.ergohaven.xyz/shop/tproduct/767494027-332462034772-k03-pro-galaxy-black-edition for 23k (full kit): at least some manufacturer, they work on software, I like touchpad more as an idea. It remains to check how it works in practice. The only downside: it’s not curved like Charybdis / Velvet, but we’ll wait for when Velvet with touchpad appears. In any case, good progress for me.