this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2023
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ErgoMechKeyboards

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Ergonomic, split and other weird keyboards

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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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I've taken it too far haven't I?

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[–] nezbyte 51 points 1 year ago (2 children)

What do you plan to do with the extra 17 switches that aren’t necessary for morse code?

[–] hannadryad 6 points 1 year ago

To be fair I am planning on putting them back at some point.

I'm working on a core 18-key layout that I can expand anywhere up to 34 keys, so I have a consistent layout that I can use on some of the unibody split keyboards that are usually in that range of keys.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Miscounted, long day...

[–] kttnpunk 19 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Eh, I don't get it at all so I can't judge. I feel like even a 104 key-layout is kinda lacking, a keyboad just doesn't seem like the right place for minimalism to me.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's not about minimalism it's about ergonomics

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not sure if this is bragging or a call for help

[–] hannadryad 11 points 1 year ago

Somewhere in the middle? More of late night realisation than anything else.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Can you Alt+F4 with one hand? If not, it's a yes from me.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

This comment made me feel uneasy, claustrophobic even :D

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago

Nahh, 2 half numpads is, still, like, nearly double the number of fingers you have, so waay overkill with all that finger movement

[–] gaael 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

So one half is for typing in t9, what does the other half do ?

[–] PainInTheAES 4 points 1 year ago

Layers, so many layers.

[–] markstos 9 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

I like the little Ferris!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I wish I could join the under-20-keys gang. What are you running with tho? KMK?

[–] hannadryad 2 points 1 year ago

Personally I'm not sure it's worth it longer term. 5x3+2 is my preference but I'm doing this to sort my layers so I can try some of the unibody split keyboards that have less keys to go round.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago
[–] arska 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I see the reasoning for everything else, but no thumb keys makes no sense to me.

[–] hannadryad 1 points 1 year ago

I totally agree. I was focusing on getting the positioning of symbol layers and such right, and I wanted that to be independent of the number of thumbkey so when I add thumbkeys back in (say for weteor/grumpy) the core layouts will remain the same.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

So one button is for key, all other are layers?

[–] puppybox 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Bit too low for me but interesting. I think ditching pinky column completely is too much, I'd rather go 3*4+2 per hand minimum.

What's the layout?

[–] hannadryad 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah I'm doing it to establish a common layout for my symbol / number / navigation layers more than anything else, so I can expand from there to some 28 and 30 key keyboards as well as the Ferris Sweep with some consistant muscle memory.

[–] puppybox 1 points 1 year ago

https://github.com/jaroslaw-weber/code-pillow

This is mine (I have few changes tho) if you want some inspiration :) it's 34 based on Canary layout.

I really love small format but I struggle with chords misfiring. But it's a good mix of one shot (shift and symbol layer) with hold (navigation) layers. I think I couldn't go lower without sacrificing typing speed.

[–] hannadryad 2 points 1 year ago

It's my own layout starting from Colemak DH with the "missing" outer keys on another layer.