stryd_one Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 It's alright stryd, you don't want one.- they have staggered keys. :Pyeh, and QWERTY too. Yuck!OT:For those who don't know, the staggered grid your keyboard has, is a throwback to old typewriter designs, where the mechanical arms had to be staggered to avoid collisions. The staggered keys create a need for your fingers to repeatedly translate side to side, something which they are only designed to do to a very minimal degree. If you want proof, see how many degrees you can bend your finger towards your palm, and towards the back of your hand. Should be about 200 degrees. Now try and move it sideways that far. Can't do it? How about half as far? Feel good? No? That's cause you're not built to do that ;)I rock a TypeMatrix 2030 with a black silicone cover with Dvorak layout at home/in the studio/in the lab/when mobile, and at work i use a 2020DQ with dual dvorak/qwerty layout. This isn't a bling thing, they aren't fancy toys. I use them because after some 20 years of typing around 12 hours a day, I started to develop some real problems with my hands/wrists/fingers, which quickly became crippling. Before buying these keyboards as a last-ditch attempt with my last money, I was diagnosed as having an illness that would land me on a pension within 6 months. That was over 2 years ago, and I'm still improving. I've since learned that, although we may not feel any discomfort right now, by using such archaic designs, we are still doing damage. It just accumulates over the years, until we get to 40 or 50 years of age, and then we blame the pain and stiffness in our joints on "just getting old". Having had my ass handed to me (bigtime) by several martial arts masters aging between 55 and 85 years old, I can assure you that age has less to do with it, than time - time spent doing unnoticed damage when we are young. These men have been active martial artists their whole lives, and it shows. Their age is a representation of how many years they have been taking care of their bodies, rather than a representation of how long they've been slumped behind a monitor operating a 1990's machine with 1890's technology.So, I like to pimp these kind of keyboards at every opportunity, because I know from first hand experience (heh) that although you might think the keyboard you have now is fine, it's probably not, and you'll pay for your oversight later. It might be when you're thirty, it might be when you're eighty... Trust me, it's not worth the risk. Being a cripple sucks, do yourself a favour huh :)Your keyboardhttp://69.90.174.249/photos/display_pic_with_logo/58978/58978,1139096675,13.jpgMy keyboardshttp://www.ergocanada.com/products/keyboards/typematrix_dual_legend.jpghttp://farm3.static.flickr.com/2295/1524691699_8d3f681baa.jpghttp://www.typematrix.com/images/skins/qwerty_keyboard_dvorak_skin_black_half_on_480x313.jpghttp://www.neotec.co.jp/syouhin/key/101etc/typematrix/2030qwerty.jpgThere's also the Maltron, and Kinesis 'Ergo' line. They're both very nice, a bit more expensive, much bigger, and have a more ergonomic layout, but slightly longer throw keys than the typematrix boards.If you can spend a little time and effort, it's really worth the switch to dvorak layout too. It's simply more efficient, requiring far less finger movement to type the same text. Try this page for a test : http://www.siteuri.ro/dvorak/Default.aspx Just put some words in the box, click the button, and find out how far your fingers need to move, etc., for various layouts Comparing qwerty and dvorak is a bit of a shock.... I'll be honest though.... Dvorak kicks qwerty ass in a big way, but it does take some real effort to switch. Most people who try, give up after a couple of weeks. If you stick it out, you'll see why people never switch back if they give it a couple of months.While I'm on the subject (and since I'm not hijacking the original thread any more) I should mention that it's really important to keep an eye on your posture. You want the screen at arm's length, with the top of the screen at the height of your eyes. Your upper legs, and lower arms and hands, should be parallel to the ground; everything else should be perpendicular to that. If you find that you are uncomfortable in this position, it's because you don't hold it often enough, and the muscles needed to hold you straight are weak. It'll come with time.If you don't feel that you type enough to warrant such a purchase or effort, at least operate wisely with what you've got...do stretches, take breaks, do exercise after you've been sitting there a while, etc... It'll help your body recover. But the best cure is avoiding any damage in the first place. :)</love rant> ;D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Wellington Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 My martial arts teacher can beat up your martial arts teacher!!! :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cimo Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 mine will destroy yours, his and respective families 3 generation back altogether with whoever he will find on the way home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryd_one Posted July 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 Mine already travelled back in time with the power of his mind and killed all of your master's fathers so they never learned. Now they're accountants and stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugfight Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 i'm gonna get the new dvormac and kick all y'alls asses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cimo Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 killed all of your master's fathers so they never learnedthey never came to life... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryd_one Posted July 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 they never came to life... Exactly. So watch out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nILS Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 ki-aaiiiiiiiiii?Erm, yes, um:Ki-aaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii![me=nILS Podewski]runs off to the hills kicking and screaming[/me] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBunsen Posted July 22, 2008 Report Share Posted July 22, 2008 stryd_one - you still have that non-staggered, programmable POS keyboard to pick up from here some time. The one with the interchangeable transparent keycaps. I has two now ;DWe really should exchange hostages soon. I'm hot for some hard core soldering action.BRING BACK LEAD. LEAD IS GUD FOAR U Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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