Ergonomic Keyboard

[Steve Brannon]

Does anyone here have a recommendation for an adjustable split keyboard that feels similar the Neo's keyboard?

I just bought my second Microsoft Natural Ergo Keyboard 4000 and spent a few hours trying to coax the space bar to function properly. The number pad makes the trip to the mouse / trackball a long one and takes a lot of desk space. I'd really like to find a Mac-compatible keyboard without the number pad, one that feels as nice as the Neo's keyboard and allows the user to adjust the split and tilt angles.

(I tried using two Dana's side-by-side, using the left side of one and the right of the other, propping them up in an inverted V using a beanbag. This sort of worked, though the left shift will not activate for keys typed on the right and vice versa.)

I'm looking at the Goldtouch for Mac. Has anyone here tried this keyboard?

http://www.goldtouch.com/p-133-goldtouch-for-mac-adjustable-keyboard-black.aspx

I'm also looking at the Kinesis keyboards

www.kinesis-ergo.com/

Thanks for any help!

Steve

[Steve Brannon]

If you've ever used the old Apple ADB Extended and Extended II keyboards, you might be interesting in the keyboard listed below. I loved the old ADB extended keyboard--I think it came with an Apple Quadra. I moved that keyboard from Mac to Mac until USB popped up and ruined things. I guess I could have bought an adapter for it, but by that time the keyboard was starting to show some signs of age.

The Matias Tactile Pro Keyboard is built from the same premium keyswitch technology that Apple used in its original Apple Extended Keyboard, widely viewed as the best keyboard Apple ever made.

http://matias.ca/tactilepro3/index.php

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During my search for a better keyboard, I also found many fans of the IBM model M keyboard. It is still being produced by a former IBM employee who started Unicomp Keyboards to produce keyboards that use the buckling spring switches.

http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/keyboards.html

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I picked up a used GoldTouch GTU-0033 keyboard (see: http://www.goldtouch.com/ ) that I've been testing. Overall, I like the keyboard. The keys require very little effort to engage.  One problem has cropped up.  When my G4 goes to sleep it takes the keyboard with it.  The only way to get the keyboard back in action is to wake the computer, unplug the keyboard and plug it in again.  (NOTE: I'm using the PC version of this keyboard on a Mac, which could be the cause of this sleep problem.)


Steve

[Steve Brannon]

I now have a Mac version of the GoldTouch keyboard (model GTUMACW).  There are no sleep issues with this keyboard hooked to my G4 running 10.4.  The key response is very good, better than the PC version of this keyboard I have.  The locking latch is very firm.  Splayed, tented, and placed on a lapboard, this keyboard is excellent and quickly feels natural.  I've read reviews complaining about key placement, but I haven't experienced any slow down.  When I use the PC version for spreadsheet work, I change the board to straight.  It's easier to hit the intended keys if your hands are frequently moving to and from the keyboard.  If you're composing large chunks of text, the splayed and tented position is great, though I drop it down to my lap.  Tenting the keyboard raises it up from the desk surface, which can cause a bad angle for the wrists, so dropping the board down to lap level fixes this problem.

Both keyboards are used, so this isn't comment on the current production line of these GoldTouch keyboard, though my next new keyboard will be a GoldTouch GTU-MACW (white) or GTU-MACB (black).

By the way, I haven't had any wrist pain since I started using this keyboard.  

Steve  

[PeteW]

Possibly I'm too old and set in my ways to change now, but I've tried various split keyboards and didn't get on with them. The split "erogonomic" keyboards were OK for keying in text but I do a lot of graphics work which means I use a mouse a lot, but I also use many keyboard short cuts instead of going to drop-down menus. I found that constantly moving from the mouse to the keyboard was far more awkward with a split keyboard than with the normal straight one.

The keyboard I use at the moment is light and positive but still not quite as nice as the one on the first PC I owned back in the early 1980s, a Chuck Peddle Sirius, text only, no graphics, green text on a black screen, and a massive 128K of RAM. You had to boot up with MsDOS every morning. State of the art then.

The keyboard with that was a dream, combining a very light touch with positive action. My late wife Valerie was a very fast touch-typist (I'm only a "partial-touch-typist") and the poor old Sirius couldn't keep up with her. Every few moments a message came up "Please wait. The computer is catching up".

Similarly with mice. I can't stand the mouse pad on a laptop, and I've tried a couple of trackball mice, even tried a graphics tablet. They all have their champions but, for example, when using the pen tool to outline an object in Photoshop I find the most accurate and pecise thing is the old-fashioned mouse that you move around a mouse pad.

I don't think I'm too much of a traditionalist but I often wonder how many technological "advances" are made just because the technology is there.

I have made one concession to more advanced technology. When my old Trinitron CRT monitor finally gave up the ghost I bought a 24 inch (oh, all right, 64cm) flat screen monitor by LG Technology. I love it.

PeteW

[Steve Brannon]

Hello, Pete.

One nice feature of the Goldtouch is that it can be quickly adjusted to operate as a straight keyboard.  I've been using it as a nearly-straight board when working on spreadsheets, but I splay and tent for good old writing.

Steve