Keyboards and me

Posted on: 25.07.2023 - @Moskas

The growing pains

For about a year, I have been focusing on optimizing my computer setup with keyboard shortcuts for tasks such as window management, application launching, and text editing. It's been great, and I feel much better with this workflow. However, I'm starting to realize that my current keyboards aren't the best fit for my hands. As I try to keep my fingers on the home row, I can feel how cramped and unnaturally angled my wrists are.

Additionally, at work, I used my work laptop's keyboard, and for a while, it was fine. But recently, I've been typing a lot more on it, and to my surprise, I've developed some wrist pains in my left hand in less than a week. The edge of the laptop must have put too much pressure on my wrist, leading me to switch to a far inferior cheap rubber dome keyboard. This change helped alleviate the recurring discomfort, but in exchange, the typing experience isn't as pleasant, and some keys are much harder to activate due to wear because, of course, it's a used keyboard that my team has used in temporary workstations to debug or reinstall operating systems.

Regarding my private keyboards...

The keyboards in question

Anne Pro 2

It's a great 60% keyboard. It's highly customizable with software support for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Since I'm mostly using Linux right now, that support isn't always a given. The 60% keyboard format is not for everyone, but for me, it's pretty good.

The model that I have bought came with Gateron Blue switches, and I fell in love with the tactile feeling and overall clickiness of the keys. The lack of some keys isn't that painful since Fn1 and Fn2 keys exist and help with that. Moreover, since I'm using Vim keys for everything, even in my Emacs config, the absence of arrow keys isn't that annoying.

Although when I'm using it for extended periods of time, I have problems keeping my fingers on the home row.

HyperX Alloy FPS Pro TKL

It was my first-ever mechanical keyboard. It's nothing special, with single-color LEDs, and the only on-board customizations available are LEDs. However, it was enough to get me hooked, and it helped me improve my skills in rhythm games.

Currently, I'm using it exclusively for playing the aforementioned rhythm games, as I'm just too accustomed to the tactile feel of Blue switches.

The ideal keyboard

From my recent observations and use cases, I have come up with a couple of ideal points for my ideal keyboard:

Customization

If I have to buy a new keyboard, I don't want to downgrade my experience. I have customized the layout of my Anne Pro 2 quite a bit, especially to fit my window manager setup. So having the option to change or add keys for certain keyboard layers is ideal for me. Also, ideally, the software for customization has to be available outside of the Windows operating system.

Backlight

Ideally, ARGB (Addressable RGB) at least for the keycaps. I really like RGB lighting, even though everything outside my keyboard is set to a static color.

Portability

Lately, I have been thinking about having a portable setup. One that I can use when I'm at home, just not at my main desk, and also while outside, while traveling or going to a cafe, etc. Sometimes, I'd like to quickly write something on my phone, but the touchscreen keyboard isn't ideal for writing anything more than short responses or texts. I may be the weird one, but I have a fully working setup for writing both text and code on my phone, so I could edit and push changes to my applications on the go.

The path forward

I think I should look for some more ergonomic options, like split keyboards or staggered/tilted layouts. Especially the ergo split keyboards really appeal to me, but the main stopping point is their price, in general. Not to mention the fact that, due to where I live, they aren't easily available, and they need to be imported, so shipping costs can be an issue as well.

Some keyboards I have taken a look at:

• Keychron Q8

  It's pretty basic, and it doesn't offer any customization the angle of keys. So it might be a hit or miss in terms of ergonomics. The best part about it is availability, as I can find it in regular tech shops without a problem.

• Ergodox EZ and Moonlander Mark I

  Both are quite similar and from the same company. They are highly customizable and work well with every operating system. The main difference between them is a slightly different form factor and the price.

• Corne

  A pretty interesting DIY split keyboard with QMK firmware. I would like to build a keyboard like that someday, but currently, I'm missing the required soldering equipment. (I really should buy a soldering station after all these years).

For a more complete list of split keyboards, I highly recommend checking out the Awesome Split Keyboards repository, which contains many different split keyboards, both DIY and commercially sold models.

Conclusion

The topic of mechanical keyboards can quickly become a deep rabbit hole, especially when we set high standards and know what we want. If I ever experience anything more than just feeling odd with my hand placement or any sign of slight wrist/forearm pain, I will switch to some ergonomic option that is within my reach. But for now, I have to do some research.

Fun fact: some of this post was written on my phone in Emacs running in Termux using touchscreen keyboard. Speaking of unergonomic heh!