Good keyboard for someone who types out hundreds of pages

[Isaac]

I think I want to upgrade my usb keyboard. Any suggestions?

I tried one of those mechanical keyboards. it was UH-maaAAAaazing... ahh... I also don't want to spend over $50 bucks.

Are those ergonomic keyboards the real deal? I have yet to try one for hours and hours to see if they're any good.

[Jeff250]

I use this on my desktop machine:



There's a small learning curve, but the idea is to force your wrists into good posture. Are you having carpal tunnel symptoms? If not, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Some people will never get them no matter how awfully they type.

For me, it's the switching e.g. between the keyboard and the mouse or between the home row and the arrow keys that causes the most nerve aggravation (and explains why I've never had symptoms in my left wrist). This is one of the many reasons why I use vim for programming in most languages. (Also, it's super productive once you learn it!)

[Isaac]

i've been getting used to vim. I like it's assist complete function for some stuff (ctrl+p). Though it's no match for eclipse's assit complete (ctrl+space), where it actually sees what functions are in what class and what has been imported into your script. That's really nice for big classes with.lots.of.layers.in.classes.withfucntionwithbigstupidnames( "which I think is made easier in eclipse") . I don't think vim can do that, except call on words you've already used. Perhaps it can do more, but it wasn't doing much else for me.

That keyboard doesn't look too bad. The price isn't that bad either. That might be a winner.

Thank you!!

[BUBBALOU]

Keytronic Classic USB. PS2 version was called 'Classic II Lifetime Series'

When you get bored you can use it to smash everything in your room, then plug it back in and continue with your work... That's quality

ENJOY

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Grendel]

XArmor U9Plus, $80 tho.

[Jeff250]

i've been getting used to vim. I like it's assist complete function for some stuff (ctrl+p). Though it's no match for eclipse's assit complete (ctrl+space), where it actually sees what functions are in what class and what has been imported into your script. That's really nice for big classes with.lots.of.layers.in.classes.withfucntionwithbigstupidnames( "which I think is made easier in eclipse") . I don't think vim can do that, except call on words you've already used. Perhaps it can do more, but it wasn't doing much else for me.

For python? Yeah... there are vim plugins that you can use to try to reduce the number of results, maybe (?) even to use the same plugin that Eclipse uses. The problem is that, since python is a dynamic language, in general, you cannot always provide correct results, since it may depend on program input and even given all machine state would still be formally undecidable. Eclipse probably has a pretty good heuristic though that works almost all of the time for almost all programming patterns. Without a plugin, for vim, the best thing is just to give it the first few letters of the function name--if you can--before attempting to autocomplete. Also, long function names aren't pythonic, so you hopefully shouldn't be seeing these too often...

[Ryujin]

2nd vote for the M$ Natural 4000. I use one at home and at work and I'm on the computer all day.

[Isaac]

When you get bored you can use it to smash everything in your room, then plug it back in and continue with your work... That's quality

I didn't realize I needed this feature until I heard, because mine gets carried around a lot. The reviews seem to really like it.

2nd vote for the M$ Natural 4000. I use one at home and at work and I'm on the computer all day.

Excellent. That's a cool keyboard. I bet I could try one out at a local store.

XArmor U9Plus, $80 tho.

That's one of the lowest priced ones I've seen, yet. Now, do you have one of these? Why do you like it? I would get it if I knew for a fact that a mechanical keyboard would allow me to type more information for a longer period or with fewer typos. I mean, they feel great! Though an ergonomic keyboard might do what I want better, by positioning my body and wrists more naturally.

[Isaac]

For python? Yeah... there are vim plugins that you can use to try to reduce the number of results, maybe (?) even to use the same plugin that Eclipse uses. The problem is that, since python is a dynamic language, in general, you cannot always provide correct results, since it may depend on program input and even given all machine state would still be formally undecidable. Eclipse probably has a pretty good heuristic though that works almost all of the time for almost all programming patterns. Without a plugin, for vim, the best thing is just to give it the first few letters of the function name--if you can--before attempting to autocomplete. Also, long function names aren't pythonic, so you hopefully shouldn't be seeing these too often...

Yeah. it's something I haven't worried too much about. I still find myself using vim for random stuff. I really prefer it when I'm editing a system file, since it's much harder to accidentally add characters and accidentally save them.

[Isaac]

I use this on my desktop machine:

2nd vote for the M$ Natural 4000. I use one at home and at work and I'm on the computer all day.

Got it. So far I'm loving the heck out of it. Typing with it is very comfortable and I feel like I'm making fewer typos than I was on my old keyboard, which had some lose keys.

Later I might have to figure out how to make the zoom lever use compiz.

Thanks for your help!

[Grendel]

XArmor U9Plus, $80 tho.

That's one of the lowest priced ones I've seen, yet. Now, do you have one of these? Why do you like it? I would get it if I knew for a fact that a mechanical keyboard would allow me to type more information for a longer period or with fewer typos. I mean, they feel great! Though an ergonomic keyboard might do what I want better, by positioning my body and wrists more naturally.

I only use mechanical KBs, can't stand anything else. Currently typing on a U9BL-S (Cherry brown switches.) Prefer it for gaming. I also have a Das KB (Cherry blue) that I prefer for writing, and a Deck Legend (Cherry black) that I replaced w/ the XArmor. At work I use an Unicomp, works best for writing (closely followed by Cherry blue switches), not as good for gaming tho. The position of the wrists is the least problem you have w/ a KB. The lack of good feedback makes you hit rubberdome keys way harder than necessarry, putting strain on your hand. I have been using straight mechanical KB's ever since I got my hands on an IBM Model M back in '91 and I never had any wrist problems despite typing an hour each day on average for the last 20 years. YMMV of course.

[Jeff250]

YMMV is probably the most important part. I have an expensive mechanical keyboard in my closet, but my ergonomic keyboard feels better to me. In fact, I conjecture that ergonomic keyboards cause you to not hit the keys as hard too, except for different reasons.

[Grendel]

For an ergonomic keyboard, I would suggest this one.

[Heretic]

I like my MS Ergo Keyboard 4000 it does have a learning curve. You could go with an antique word processor like this one.

[Duper]

I use this on my desktop machine:



There's a small learning curve, but the idea is to force your wrists into good posture. Are you having carpal tunnel symptoms? If not, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Some people will never get them no matter how awfully they type.

For me, it's the switching e.g. between the keyboard and the mouse or between the home row and the arrow keys that causes the most nerve aggravation (and explains why I've never had symptoms in my left wrist). This is one of the many reasons why I use vim for programming in most languages. (Also, it's super productive once you learn it!)

I have one at work and at home. i love it. The only draw-back is that the letters will wear off as they're decaled and not embossed. Depending on usage, they could wear as fast as 6 months. Mine lasted a year or so, 7 years ago ... when this thing was $100.

[Isaac]

I use this on my desktop machine:



There's a small learning curve, but the idea is to force your wrists into good posture. Are you having carpal tunnel symptoms? If not, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Some people will never get them no matter how awfully they type.

For me, it's the switching e.g. between the keyboard and the mouse or between the home row and the arrow keys that causes the most nerve aggravation (and explains why I've never had symptoms in my left wrist). This is one of the many reasons why I use vim for programming in most languages. (Also, it's super productive once you learn it!)

I have one at work and at home. i love it. The only draw-back is that the letters will wear off as they're decaled and not embossed. Depending on usage, they could wear as fast as 6 months. Mine lasted a year or so, 7 years ago ... when this thing was $100.

Good point. I've decided to make this new keyboard last longer by only using it during big projects and not everyday stuff. In the meantime, I'll keep it protected in it's box.

[Jeff250]

If you're worried about repetitive stress injury, I'd think you'd at least have the proficiency of touch typing.

[Isaac]

Heck yeah. Even on this new keyboard and alternating between the ten key and the qwerty. To clarify, I was actually more worried about keeping the keyboard in working order for a longer period of time.

However, that might be impossible since I've decided to use it for note taking in class. (I am a geek)