this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2023
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ErgoMechKeyboards
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Ergonomic, split and other weird keyboards
Rules
Keep it ergo
Posts must be of/about keyboards that have a clear delineation between the left and right halves of the keyboard, column stagger, or both. This includes one-handed (one half doesn't exist, what clearer delineation is that!?)
i.e. no regular non-split¹ row-stagger and no non-split¹ ortholinear²
¹ split meaning a separation of the halves, whether fixed in place or entirely separate, both are fine.
² ortholinear meaning keys layed out in a grid
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Some useful links
- EMK wiki
- Split keyboard compare tool
- Compare keycap profiles Looking for another set of keycaps - check this site to compare the different keycap profiles https://www.keycaps.info/
- Keymap database A database with all kinds of keymap layouts - some of them fits ergo keyboards - get inspired https://keymapdb.com/
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At someone who has to pound a lot of keys for a living, I've taken a small passing interest in these sorts of split boards, especially since they keep popping up so prevalently in the Lemmy "all" feed. (Currently I use a variety of traditional, but very nice mechanical keyswitched, 104 key boards.)
But... The apparent universal lack of a number row is turning me off of all the offerings I'm seeing on display, or built by others. Is there a reason for that? I use my number pad a lot, ergonomically terrible or not, but losing not only that but also the number row would drive me batshit. No arrows, either? Are you guys doing all that stuff with foot pedals, Fn key combos, or telepathy, or do you have a manservant off to the side holding a numeric pad for you, or what?
Disclaimer: I daily drive, including write code, on a Ferris Sweep.
Each of my 4 thumb keys are tap for space, tab, enter, and backspace. But I hold one of those keys and I enter a dedicated layer for navigation, a 10-key number pad, a custom symbol layer, and my media and F-keys.
It does take a bit of getting used to but the trade off is holding an extra key compared to having to lift my hand off of home row and moving to arrows, number row, number pad, etc. I basically never have to look at where my hands are and still retain 100% functionality of a full size board.