best keyboard for working on all day

[quanttrade99z]

Hi Everyone,

Question for you keyboard fanatic:

I need to buy a new keyboard for my work. I'm typing all day long (like most of you!) and want to buy the BEST keyboard I can. I don't care about fancy appearance, or extra magic buttons (at least I don't think I do). I just want to the keyboard with the nicest feel, that is really good to work on all day long. Price is no object, will spend what is necessary for luxury.

Don't care about backlit keys, etc (unless you guys think they are good).

Thanks for your help!

quanttrade

 

[SEAL62505]

Microsoft Natural 4000 is pretty nice. I just switched to it from an old style natural.

 

[Peter]

If you are ready for a bit of relearning, you won't ever look back after getting used to the SmartBoard's fanned key layout. Light-stroke, individual switch mechanics add to the easy feel. You'll be faster, and gone will be the crampy feeling in the left hand.

http://www.datadesktech.com/desktop_sb.html
http://store.ergocube.com/smartboard.html

 

[Steve]

Don't forget Solutions For Humans!

http://www.sforh.com/keyboards/smartboard.html

That's where I got mine, free shipping

 

[Eureka]

A $100? Isn't that a little bit much for a natural keyboard??

Personally my cheap Logitech Office Internet Pro keyboard with Zero Tilt is comfortable enough to be used all day.

Norm

 

[Peter]

Look closer - it's the /only/ keyboard that is actually "natural". Everything else below $500 uses the typewriter-ish slanted rows of keys that exactly DON'T allow natural finger movement - particularly not for the left hand. Try your own pseudo-ergonomic keyboard: Put your left hand into its ASDF resting position. Move your middle finger straight up, without any of the sideways motion you're possibly used to. Where are you? Exactly midway between E and R. Curl the same finger down to end up in the gap between X and C. Isn't that brilliant? Hardly - and that's exactly what the SmartBoard does differently.

Yes it's $99, and it's worth every penny of them. It's by far the cheapest of the truly ergonomic keyboards.

 

[Steve]

Norm, a hundred bucks is cheap for a long-term investment. How much did you pay for that CPU, or that video card?

 

[quanttrade99z]

Are you guys sure that "natural" keyboards are the way to go?

 

[Steve]

If you're typing all day as you say, then the SmartBoard (the only really "natural" keyboard) is definitely the way to go.

 

[Zepper]

See my post in the "quiet" keyboard thread just near yours - the kbd I suggested there has the key pressure weights arranged to match the strength of their respective fingers. There is little or no documented evidence that the strange keyboards are any better than a good normal one.

.bh.

 

[theslickvik]

Logitec Mx DUo is the way to go

 

[Zepper]

I bumped the Das Keyboard thread so it should stay on the first page of Peripherals for a while.

.bh.

 

[Peter]

Does that thread "know" that the DasKeyboard is just a Keytronic minus the writing on the keys?

Straight keyboard w/ slanted rows is about as far off "ergonomic" as it gets. The weighted keyforce thing sure is a nice idea, but the rest just isn't up to it.
(Besides, generally light keypress force does the job too - you are not supposed to rest your fingers on the keys anyway. The SmartBoard gives you wider keys for the less skilled fingers, which isn't exactly a stupid idea either.)