Mechanical Love in a Digital World: Using a German-Engineered Gaming Keyboard for Writing

Free Republic ^ | 6/12/2016 | PoconoPundit

[poconopundit]

I always wanted to try one of these. Tell me how long it took you to get used to it — and it’s advantages, if you could.

[sparklite2]

Back in the sixties, they did a study to see how many secretaries in Washington DC could actually type and how many were in their jobs just to find a husband.

The study found that sixty-eight percent of the secretaries could touch-type, while the rest were just huntin’ peckers.

[Windflier]

“I will never again willingly use a straight keyboard.”

Same here. I started using a Microsoft ‘Natural’ keyboard around 2004, and never looked back. I have no idea how I ever typed on flat, straight keyboards.

I do have a beef with Microsoft’s newer version, though. It doesn’t feel nearly as natural and easy to navigate as the old style (like in the pic you posted).

[Jamestown1630]

:-)

(I downloaded it, will get back to you for help. I do like it as a browser.)

-JT

[sparklite2]

:)

[Fresh Wind]

It would depend on how much you use it, but I would guess a couple of weeks or so. It felt really odd at first, but now it’s very uncomfortable for me to use any other keyboard. A laptop keyboard is pure torture.

Basically, the advantage is that the two halves are approximately perpendicular to your arms, so your wrists aren’t being forced into an unnatural angle as you rest your fingers on the home key row. I am broad shouldered, so using a standard keyboard forces my upper arms against my rib cage, which I don’t like, and I used to get neck pain as a result. That might not matter so much for skinny people.

The wrist rest at the front of the keyboard is also helpful.

You also get a nice open space between your arms for papers, a book, food, or anything else.

There are adjustable keyboards that allow the angle between the two sections to be set to match your individual body geometry, but I’ve never tried any of them.

[Jamestown1630]

Do you touch-type, Windy? I’ve see pics before but never understood how I could type on one of those wavy boards...

-JT

[Windflier]

Yes, I do touch type, and it’s easier to do on an ergonomic keyboard, because the keys are split in half and angled the same way your hands and wrists are.

I find typing on a straight keyboard nearly impossible, because I have to turn each hand outward at the wrist to accommodate the position of the keys (I can’t stand laptops for the same reason). You don’t have to do that on a ‘natural’ style keyboard because the layout is angled to fit the natural position of your hands and wrists.

[Jamestown1630]

Thanks; I will have to try one out sometime.

-JT

[Windflier]

“Thanks; I will have to try one out sometime.”

You’re welcome. If you type more than a few days on it, you’ll never go back.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I never memorized the position of the number keys above the QWERTY so I’m not that efficient.

I’m a tolerable touch typist, not for typewriting because I make mistakes and use backspace, etc - but like you I am weak on the numeric row; I know which finger maps to touch-type each key, I just wander when reaching more than one row off the home row.

I have a theory that there is too much unnecessary freedom to make gratuitous typing mistakes. There is simply no reason not to channel each finger so that it can only reach keys they are supposed to hit. A chrome wire should run from between the “B” and “N” keys up to between the “6” and “7” keys, about a quarter or half inch above the key tops. Similar wires could run from between the “C” and “V” keys to between the “4” and “5” keys, another from between the “M” and “,” keys to between the “7” and “8” keys. And so forth.

IMHO that would usefully discipline each finger to reach only the keys designated for it, and improve touch typing on the numeric row in particular.

[poconopundit]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing, Fresh Wind.

[poconopundit]

Interesting. Your chrome wire idea is a good men.

Perhaps there's a sensor based way to train our hands to make less errors and enable a more accurate reach to the row of numbers.

Let's hope some clever inventor comes along and makes a fortune with a keyboard that helps us type more accurately.

[poconopundit]

A year and a half later, I have new intelligence and a new recommendation.

After using the Corsair mechanical keyboard for a year, I've concluded it's no longer right for me.  While I'm still delighted with the mechnical keys, I ran into some issues so I can no longer recommend:

1. Face of the keys wearing badly -- After only six months, the face of the keys became blurred to the point where I can no longer read many of the most used keys!  Pitiful.  And Corsair refuses to sell replacement kits at a reasonable price.  Seems the replacement keys they sell are not opaque which obviates the value of having a lighted keyboard.
   
   
2. Heavyweight keyboard -- The Corsair is very heavy and thus is not ideal for taking with me to the library to work.

All is not lost, I found a new mechanical keyboard created by Logitech, the K840.  It is a beautiful piece of engineering.

Here's what I like:

• Mechanical but Half the Weight -- Now I no longer need to lug the Corsair armored tank with me. And yet, at half the weight, I still get with the K840 the solidness of a mechnical design.  The keys respond to the touch and give you the assurance of mechanical resistance, but I find myself making less errors.  Just the right tactile feel.  Also the keyboard is quieter than Corsair.
  
  
• Lower price -- I bought this for $59 at BestBuy whereas I paid $79 for the Corsair.  So I got a good deal: attractive aluminum base, one year warranty, and the keys look like they will not wear out.
  
  
• No keyboard lighting -- So I lost keyboard lighting, but I really don't need it.  The novelty of having lighting wore off on me.  It's a nice to have -- but not as nice as having keys that don't wear off.

In the final analysis, I'm glad the market leader, Logitech, stepped up and delivered a mechanical keyboard.  And they have the solid global distribution and manufacturing muscle to do it it right.  It's a cool piece of engineering.

We can thank Corsair for forcing Logitech to see the wisdom of having a line of mechanical keyboards.

If you do a lot of typing, I think you're going to be happy with this one.

[V K Lee]

Competition. It pushes us to do better.

Though the one being used lacks a key, one ALWAYS seems to stick
(my fault, there, a drink that dribbled); it will
continue to be used until it is unusable
Thanks for the continuing report, PP and kudos on your superb
memory after two years time :-)

[poconopundit]

LOL, it happened to me just a couple weeks ago.

My daughter was home from graduate school (Cal Berkeley) and put her Mac computer on the dining table.

Me the dummie spills a glass of water on the table and it enters one of the side connectors.

The computer goes kaput and we spend a couple days thinking how to fix.

So just after I spent a couple hours updating my used computer for her to use as a substitute, I get an email from her saying her Mac is working fine again!

And I remarked, “You just knew that Steve Jobs was finicky enough. He wasn’t going to let a simple water spill to a cable connector take out his motherboard.”

Didn’t make any sense. So good engineering saved the day on that one. Oh, and my daughter was impressed that I spent the time to get set up with my old computer.

Win/win... :- )