New keyboard
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Thanks for all the tips to everyone when I asked about a new keyboard for serious programming work. I decided to go with the Kinesis Freestyle solo: http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/images/freestyle-solo_690x375.jpg[^] It's a split kind and I'm very happy with it. It makes a huge difference being able to separate and angle them outwards a bit. The angle of my hands is much easier and because it has no fixed points you can start with them side by side as a normal keyboard and slowly separate and angle them outwards as you get used to it. The typing action is nice as well.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
Definitely not for me, but it certainly looks like what you sought.
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Thanks for all the tips to everyone when I asked about a new keyboard for serious programming work. I decided to go with the Kinesis Freestyle solo: http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/images/freestyle-solo_690x375.jpg[^] It's a split kind and I'm very happy with it. It makes a huge difference being able to separate and angle them outwards a bit. The angle of my hands is much easier and because it has no fixed points you can start with them side by side as a normal keyboard and slowly separate and angle them outwards as you get used to it. The typing action is nice as well.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
John C wrote:
It's a split kind and I'm very happy with it
John C wrote:
The typing action is nice as well
It looks solid, if a little weird compared to standard keyboard. I hereby nominate you for the position of CP Kinesis Solo Tester. You are now obliged to submit regular reports covering performance, durability and speed. Seriously I, for one, would be interested to hear how you are getting on with it, from time to time. One thing though, I had a quick glance around their site and noticed that the Solo with 20" separation was 40 bucks more than the 8" one. $40 for a foot of cable? or is there more to it than that?
Henry Minute If you open a can of worms, any viable solution *MUST* involve a larger can.
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John C wrote:
It's a split kind and I'm very happy with it
John C wrote:
The typing action is nice as well
It looks solid, if a little weird compared to standard keyboard. I hereby nominate you for the position of CP Kinesis Solo Tester. You are now obliged to submit regular reports covering performance, durability and speed. Seriously I, for one, would be interested to hear how you are getting on with it, from time to time. One thing though, I had a quick glance around their site and noticed that the Solo with 20" separation was 40 bucks more than the 8" one. $40 for a foot of cable? or is there more to it than that?
Henry Minute If you open a can of worms, any viable solution *MUST* involve a larger can.
:) The 20" is a waste of money. The whole idea is to put your arms naturally out to the sides, the 8" is more than enough for that. I'm not sure why anyone would want the wider one. I'll keep everyone up to date if anything annoying comes up but so far I'm very happy with it, way nicer on the arms and shoulders and wrists.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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Not sure actually, not my department, I just say "I want that one" and it magically appears a short time later. :) Much less I'm sure than the Herman Miller chair I asked for.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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Thanks for all the tips to everyone when I asked about a new keyboard for serious programming work. I decided to go with the Kinesis Freestyle solo: http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/images/freestyle-solo_690x375.jpg[^] It's a split kind and I'm very happy with it. It makes a huge difference being able to separate and angle them outwards a bit. The angle of my hands is much easier and because it has no fixed points you can start with them side by side as a normal keyboard and slowly separate and angle them outwards as you get used to it. The typing action is nice as well.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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:) The 20" is a waste of money. The whole idea is to put your arms naturally out to the sides, the 8" is more than enough for that. I'm not sure why anyone would want the wider one. I'll keep everyone up to date if anything annoying comes up but so far I'm very happy with it, way nicer on the arms and shoulders and wrists.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
John C wrote:
The whole idea is to put your arms naturally out to the sides
I always wished they would have come out with a chair that had the keyboard at the end of the arms but adjustible. Kind of Star Trek captian's seat :) Shocked you do not have a numeric pad though... Great on long digits :)
Rocky <>< Recent Blog Post: Doughboy – R.I.P. Thinking about Silverlight? www.SilverlightCity.com
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John C wrote:
The whole idea is to put your arms naturally out to the sides
I always wished they would have come out with a chair that had the keyboard at the end of the arms but adjustible. Kind of Star Trek captian's seat :) Shocked you do not have a numeric pad though... Great on long digits :)
Rocky <>< Recent Blog Post: Doughboy – R.I.P. Thinking about Silverlight? www.SilverlightCity.com
Rocky Moore wrote:
Shocked you do not have a numeric pad thoug
Seriously? You're the last guy left that doesn't know how incredibly bad that is for ergonomics? :) When you have the number pad your mouse is automatically 5 to 6 inches too far out to the side and gives a *lot* of people terrible shoulder pain from having to work with it at such an unnatural angle. I used to do data entry for a living a *long* time ago and that was the only time in my entire life I had a use for the number pad. It should be banned on health and safety grounds alone.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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Rocky Moore wrote:
Shocked you do not have a numeric pad thoug
Seriously? You're the last guy left that doesn't know how incredibly bad that is for ergonomics? :) When you have the number pad your mouse is automatically 5 to 6 inches too far out to the side and gives a *lot* of people terrible shoulder pain from having to work with it at such an unnatural angle. I used to do data entry for a living a *long* time ago and that was the only time in my entire life I had a use for the number pad. It should be banned on health and safety grounds alone.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
John C wrote:
mouse is automatically 5 to 6 inches too far out to the side
Actually, for me it does not matter as I just swivel a little and my arm it straight to me mouse and swivel back a little and I am at the keybaord again :)
John C wrote:
It should be banned on health and safety grounds alone.
:) I use my numeric pad a bit too ofen to get rid of it. Very handy on large numbers like registration numbers, guids, etc..
Rocky <>< Recent Blog Post: Doughboy – R.I.P. Thinking about Silverlight? www.SilverlightCity.com
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John C wrote:
mouse is automatically 5 to 6 inches too far out to the side
Actually, for me it does not matter as I just swivel a little and my arm it straight to me mouse and swivel back a little and I am at the keybaord again :)
John C wrote:
It should be banned on health and safety grounds alone.
:) I use my numeric pad a bit too ofen to get rid of it. Very handy on large numbers like registration numbers, guids, etc..
Rocky <>< Recent Blog Post: Doughboy – R.I.P. Thinking about Silverlight? www.SilverlightCity.com
Rocky Moore wrote:
I use my numeric pad a bit too ofen to get rid of it.
And much easier (IMHO) to touch-type numbers on than doing the top-row numbers
If I knew then what I know today, then I'd know the same now as I did then - then what would be the point? .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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disappointing... it still says 'ctrl', 'esc' etc. probably even 'home' and 'end' but I can't make it out on the picture... and the clingon logo instead of the windows key would be nice as well.
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John C wrote:
mouse is automatically 5 to 6 inches too far out to the side
Actually, for me it does not matter as I just swivel a little and my arm it straight to me mouse and swivel back a little and I am at the keybaord again :)
John C wrote:
It should be banned on health and safety grounds alone.
:) I use my numeric pad a bit too ofen to get rid of it. Very handy on large numbers like registration numbers, guids, etc..
Rocky <>< Recent Blog Post: Doughboy – R.I.P. Thinking about Silverlight? www.SilverlightCity.com
I always use the top row for number, and the keypad for editing. Usually when I type long numbers I use my left hand anyway.
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Thanks for all the tips to everyone when I asked about a new keyboard for serious programming work. I decided to go with the Kinesis Freestyle solo: http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/images/freestyle-solo_690x375.jpg[^] It's a split kind and I'm very happy with it. It makes a huge difference being able to separate and angle them outwards a bit. The angle of my hands is much easier and because it has no fixed points you can start with them side by side as a normal keyboard and slowly separate and angle them outwards as you get used to it. The typing action is nice as well.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
John C wrote:
keyboard for serious programming work
What kind of serious programming work are you doing when you bought keyboard without 'Insert' button?
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Rocky Moore wrote:
Shocked you do not have a numeric pad thoug
Seriously? You're the last guy left that doesn't know how incredibly bad that is for ergonomics? :) When you have the number pad your mouse is automatically 5 to 6 inches too far out to the side and gives a *lot* of people terrible shoulder pain from having to work with it at such an unnatural angle. I used to do data entry for a living a *long* time ago and that was the only time in my entire life I had a use for the number pad. It should be banned on health and safety grounds alone.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
I'm left handed (mouse in left hand), i won't use a keyboard without a number pad.
...cmk The idea that I can be presented with a problem, set out to logically solve it with the tools at hand, and wind up with a program that could not be legally used because someone else followed the same logical steps some years ago and filed for a patent on it is horrifying. - John Carmack
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John C wrote:
keyboard for serious programming work
What kind of serious programming work are you doing when you bought keyboard without 'Insert' button?
Well, a) I never use the insert button in all my years of programming. b) I can't think of any valid reason to use it programming or otherwise. c) It's right beside the delete button in the upper right corner. :)
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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Rocky Moore wrote:
I use my numeric pad a bit too ofen to get rid of it.
And much easier (IMHO) to touch-type numbers on than doing the top-row numbers
If I knew then what I know today, then I'd know the same now as I did then - then what would be the point? .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
Maxxx (Steve Harris - what a nice Chap) wrote:
And much easier (IMHO) to touch-type numbers on than doing the top-row numbers
That is *not* touch typing. I learned to touch type as a wee lad in school and I find the top row numbers absolutely fine, taking my fingers off the home row to enter digits in the keypad destroys all the speed of touch typing and breaks my concentration (just like having more than one monitor would) and anything that doesn't break my concentration is absolutely vital if I'm going to continue to do the job of 3 people. :) Now on the other hand if I was doing numeric data entry (and I have before) I'd be all over that number pad but I'm a programmer not a lowly data entry clerk any more and I need a grown up keyboard.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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I'm left handed (mouse in left hand), i won't use a keyboard without a number pad.
...cmk The idea that I can be presented with a problem, set out to logically solve it with the tools at hand, and wind up with a program that could not be legally used because someone else followed the same logical steps some years ago and filed for a patent on it is horrifying. - John Carmack
Because...? I don't see what one has to do with the other, with the exception that you don't suffer from the aches and pains of mousing right handed with the silly number pad forcing your arm out at an unnatural angle.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
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Maxxx (Steve Harris - what a nice Chap) wrote:
And much easier (IMHO) to touch-type numbers on than doing the top-row numbers
That is *not* touch typing. I learned to touch type as a wee lad in school and I find the top row numbers absolutely fine, taking my fingers off the home row to enter digits in the keypad destroys all the speed of touch typing and breaks my concentration (just like having more than one monitor would) and anything that doesn't break my concentration is absolutely vital if I'm going to continue to do the job of 3 people. :) Now on the other hand if I was doing numeric data entry (and I have before) I'd be all over that number pad but I'm a programmer not a lowly data entry clerk any more and I need a grown up keyboard.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
You program with one monitor?!!? how very eighties of you! I couldn't live wiothout two - it's not distracting at all, it's good use of real estate. And you;'re right re numerical entry - if I am just doing the odd number (if a < 100) then I will tend to use the top row - but if I am doing data entry ( and who doesn;t have to at times - setting up test data, testing or whatever) then teh numeric keypad is my chum...
If I knew then what I know today, then I'd know the same now as I did then - then what would be the point? .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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See here.
"Love people and use things, not love things and use people." - Unknown
"The brick walls are there for a reason...to stop the people who don't want it badly enough." - Randy Pausch
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Because...? I don't see what one has to do with the other, with the exception that you don't suffer from the aches and pains of mousing right handed with the silly number pad forcing your arm out at an unnatural angle.
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it." -Sam Levenson
John C wrote:
Because...? I don't see what one has to do with the other, with the exception that ...
You answered yourself, as a lefty the number pad isn't in the way. It is a usefull addition. Soooo usefull in fact that (wait for it) ... i won't use a keyboard without a number pad. It is one of the _very few_ things that seems designed for us (lefties). Your bitching about the number pad and aches and pains is how most lefties feel about everything else we have to use - man up and give us this one. :) ... I even bought a little usb number pad to sit beside my laptop keyboard.
...cmk The idea that I can be presented with a problem, set out to logically solve it with the tools at hand, and wind up with a program that could not be legally used because someone else followed the same logical steps some years ago and filed for a patent on it is horrifying. - John Carmack
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John C wrote:
Because...? I don't see what one has to do with the other, with the exception that ...
You answered yourself, as a lefty the number pad isn't in the way. It is a usefull addition. Soooo usefull in fact that (wait for it) ... i won't use a keyboard without a number pad. It is one of the _very few_ things that seems designed for us (lefties). Your bitching about the number pad and aches and pains is how most lefties feel about everything else we have to use - man up and give us this one. :) ... I even bought a little usb number pad to sit beside my laptop keyboard.
...cmk The idea that I can be presented with a problem, set out to logically solve it with the tools at hand, and wind up with a program that could not be legally used because someone else followed the same logical steps some years ago and filed for a patent on it is horrifying. - John Carmack
cmk wrote:
It is one of the _very few_ things that seems designed for us (lefties).
Just remember it only *SEEMS* that way. :rolleyes: It was designed for righties before the mouse, its current position is nothing more than a legacy artifact.
Today's lesson is brought to you by the word "niggardly". Remember kids, don't attribute to racism what can be explained by Scandinavian language roots. -- Robert Royall
