Re: OT Reptitive Strain Injury

From: Pete Kazmier (pete-temp-2004-10-27_at_kazmier.com)
Date: 10/27/04 

Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 18:41:18 GMT

sj <_jones_57_@_swbell.net> writes:

> Thanks. I looked at the kinesis-ergo site and frankly Im a bit leary
> of the split keyboard design. I bought a Microsoft "ergonomic"
> keyboard about a year ago and couldn't stand the thing.

I was never diagnosed with RSI; however, due to discomfort while
typing (especially with emacs chords), I purchased the Kinesis
contoured keyboard:

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

I've been using it now for about a year and I will say that the
discomfort I felt at the end of a long day of typing is no longer
present. The keyboard was recommended to me from two of my friends
that were having the same problem. Like me, they also speak very
highly of the Kinesis.

Although the Kinesis may not look as "cool" as some of the other
supposedly ergo-friendly keyboards, it definitely made typing a lot
less harsh for me. I have some better pictures of it here (click on
the thumbnail for a bigger picture):

   http://www.kazmier.com/vacation/kinesis/index.html

Here are some of my thoughts on the keyboard and why I personally like
it and some useful tips if you do purchase one:

   * I find the vertical layout of the keys to be much more natural
     than the diagonal layout of a traditional keyboard. In addition,
     each key is at a different height depending on which finger is
     supposed to use it. I.e., the 'D' key is physically lower than
     the 'F' and 'S' keys because your middle finger is longer than
     your first and third fingers. Finally, the each side of the
     keyboard is concave. These tweaks may not be easy to see in the
     photos but I believe its one of the reasons the keyboard feels so
     natural. On the flip side, if you don't type correctly, or you
     have some sort of mutant hands, this is definitely not going to
     be the keyboard for you.

   * Ctl, Alt, Delete, Backspace, Space, PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End are
     now moved to an area on the keyboard for use by your thumbs (which
     only control the Space bar on a traditional keyboard). Now, all
     of your fingers (and thumbs) are utilized in an effective
     manner. Chording in emacs is certainly easier using thumbs.
   
     I did make a few minor changes to the keyboard (as it can be
     remapped). I ditched the "Windows" key which is in the "thumb"
     area and replaced it with another Alt key for symmetry. I also
     replaced the End key with Esc which is also in the thumb area.
     The normal placement of the Esc key is dismal if you are a 'vi'
     user. Here are the thumb keys (before remapping):

                    +---+---+ +---+---+
                    |Ctl|Alt| |Win|Ctl|
                +---+---+---+ +---+---+---+
                | | |Hom| |PgU| | |
                |BS |Del+---| +---+Ret|SP |
                | | |End| |PgD| | |
                +---+---+---+ +---+---+---+

     And here are my thumb keys (after remapping):

                    +---+---+ +---+---+
                    |Ctl|Alt| |Alt|Ctl|
                +---+---+---+ +---+---+---+
                | | |Hom| |PgU| | |
                |BS |Del+---| +---+Ret|SP |
                | | |Esc| |PgD| | |
                +---+---+---+ +---+---+---+

   * While researching the keyboard a year ago, I either read or one
     of my friends had warned me that at least one person said that
     the keyboard might have been a little difficult to use if you
     have very small hands. I imagine that would be the case with any
     keyboard though.

   * It will take some time to become proficient on the keyboard due
     to the new placement and reorientation of keys. I believe the
     documentation says that you'll be up to speed in 3 weeks, but it
     took me a little longer. I was probably back to 80% in 3 weeks,
     but it probably took another week or so to get me back to full
     speed. Its important that you ONLY use the Kinesis keyboard
     during the training period (3 weeks) because you are retraining
     your muscular system. They do not recommend going back and forth
     between the Kinesis and a regular keyboard during that training
     period. Thus, its probably not a good idea to try this out right
     before a big deadline.

     In addition, I brought my keyboard home each night for the first
     three weeks so I was forced to use it until the training period
     was over. They provide exercises which I would highly recommend
     doing each night. It certainly helped smooth the transition for
     me. When I first tried the keyboard, I was concerned I would
     never get used to it. Don't be discouraged, it will come to
     you. And once you are comfortable with the Kinesis, its trivial
     to switch back and forth between a traditional keyboard and the
     Kinesis. I no longer bring home my Kinesis each night.

   * Price. I was a bit surprised at the cost of the keyboard,
     especially compared to these other ergo keyboards; however, after
     using the keyboard for a while now, I will never go back to a
     traditional keyboard.

   * If you use a lot of apps that require the use of a separate
     numeric keyboard, there is none on the Kinesis (its embedded and
     accessed via a toggle key). Thus, I found it hard to use
     programs like Blender (open source 3D graphics app) that makes
     extensive use of the keypad.
 
   * I also find that sometimes I can get the keyboard in a state
     where one of the modifier keys is "stuck" if you will. Not
     physically, but somehow depressed. It doesn't happen very often,
     but it seems to only occur when I hit two of the modifiers
     simultaneously. To "unstuck" it, I just hit the same two
     modifiers simultaneously. Like I said, this rarely occurs, but I
     thought since I'm sharing the positive, I should also share the
     negative.

I can't seem to think of anything else at the moment, but feel free to
ask me any other questions that you may have.

Thanks,
Pete.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: best keyboard for emacs?
    ... so I don't need annoying windows keys making chords difficult ... There's no question in my mind, the best emacs keyboard is the ... Kinesis, specifically one of the "contoured" models that has some ...
    (comp.emacs)
  • Re: OT Reptitive Strain Injury
    ... > I've been looking for a while at getting a Kinesis ergonomic keyboard, ... I've been using a Kinesis for something like 8 years now and am happy ... Switch ... between a Kinesis and a regular keyboard is possible but you'll make a ...
    (comp.lang.lisp)
  • Re: How to approach a project (? Web Start)
    ... configured properly for Java Web Start *.jnlp and ... Unfortunately, my beloved Kinesis DSK keyboard packed it in, possibly ... AZERTY keyboard. ... You hit accent then letter. ...
    (comp.lang.java.help)
  • Re: split keyboard
    ... You may remember, Barb, I took your advice and plunked out the big ... bucks for the Kinesis, ... I used a Microsoft ergo keyboard for about 6 months, ... Who had the bright idea of changing the keys on the ...
    (sci.med.transcription)
  • Re: Adaptive Peaks in Typing
    ... you can chose Dvorak as an alternate keyboard ... and I found it didn't interfere with my typing. ... recognition - standard all versions - but it's well spoken of. ...
    (talk.origins)
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