I currently use a datadesk smartboard. I am considering a new keyboard. I originally got it because of some minor RSI problems. They started cropping up again recently. I had a stroke of genius and fixed them by rebinding caps lock to control (emacs pinky ftl). I bought a laptop about 2 months ago and I am now switching between the two layouts several times a day. The difference is not too bad but it takes me about 15 minutes to get comfortable on either system. The big problem is that my typing speed is going down the drain.
I would recommend the keyboard to anyone who only has to use one computer. The key feel is very good but does take a while to break in. The minor negatives I found were the caps lock key light is always covered by your hand, there are a few key combinations such as ctrl+alt+del can't be typed with one hand, moving the +/= key is weird because I use it so much in programming.
The big negative I found was I think datadesk got the design backwards. They use an interesting system where the keys fan out and get wider as they move towards the edge of the keyboard. The problem is that it feels like your pinky has to move considerably farther to hit keys like backspace, tilde, and +/= key. My rsi problems are mostly on the pinkies of both of my hands (also has to do with the musical instrument I play). For the keyboard to fit me better, I would have preferred the keys to increase in size in the middle and decrease in size on the ends of the keyboard.
Before I switch keyboards I have a couple questions:
To help with my RSI issues, I strongly prefer a keyboard with ctrl in caps lock location and escape in the tilde location. I have a windows registry hack for caps lock but I have not had the time to figure out tilde to escape.
What is the used market like for the datadesk smartboard? Will it just get buried in a for sale forum or do they get snapped up quickly?
What are my choices for buckling spring keyboards with a max price around $125. I am specifically looking for an os key and preferably ctrl where caps lock goes. I know the linux layout for the unicomp keyboards comes close but doesn't give me an os key.
What are deck keyboards like? I absolutely do not like the lights. However, if there are no other options and no major flaws, I will consider them.
I am not buying a saitek eclipse, a g15, or the new razer keyboard. I appreciate your input, but if any of these is your suggestion, I am going to ignore your entire post. I cannot justify spending more than $20 on a rubber dome keyboard with no usable special features.
What are my choices for small footprint keyboards? I found the happy hacking keyboard and it looks fairly interesting. I have not been able to find a review more recent than 2004 so I am looking for more info. How do the membrane switches on the hhk lite 2 compare to other membranes and buckling springs? Other than the hhk and the small footprint deck, are there any other interesting models? Are there any other small footprint keyboards with buckling spring keyswitches?
I would recommend the keyboard to anyone who only has to use one computer. The key feel is very good but does take a while to break in. The minor negatives I found were the caps lock key light is always covered by your hand, there are a few key combinations such as ctrl+alt+del can't be typed with one hand, moving the +/= key is weird because I use it so much in programming.
The big negative I found was I think datadesk got the design backwards. They use an interesting system where the keys fan out and get wider as they move towards the edge of the keyboard. The problem is that it feels like your pinky has to move considerably farther to hit keys like backspace, tilde, and +/= key. My rsi problems are mostly on the pinkies of both of my hands (also has to do with the musical instrument I play). For the keyboard to fit me better, I would have preferred the keys to increase in size in the middle and decrease in size on the ends of the keyboard.
Before I switch keyboards I have a couple questions:
To help with my RSI issues, I strongly prefer a keyboard with ctrl in caps lock location and escape in the tilde location. I have a windows registry hack for caps lock but I have not had the time to figure out tilde to escape.
What is the used market like for the datadesk smartboard? Will it just get buried in a for sale forum or do they get snapped up quickly?
What are my choices for buckling spring keyboards with a max price around $125. I am specifically looking for an os key and preferably ctrl where caps lock goes. I know the linux layout for the unicomp keyboards comes close but doesn't give me an os key.
What are deck keyboards like? I absolutely do not like the lights. However, if there are no other options and no major flaws, I will consider them.
I am not buying a saitek eclipse, a g15, or the new razer keyboard. I appreciate your input, but if any of these is your suggestion, I am going to ignore your entire post. I cannot justify spending more than $20 on a rubber dome keyboard with no usable special features.
What are my choices for small footprint keyboards? I found the happy hacking keyboard and it looks fairly interesting. I have not been able to find a review more recent than 2004 so I am looking for more info. How do the membrane switches on the hhk lite 2 compare to other membranes and buckling springs? Other than the hhk and the small footprint deck, are there any other interesting models? Are there any other small footprint keyboards with buckling spring keyswitches?
), the distance between the ; and Backspace keys (center to center) is the exact same 65 millimeters as it is on a standard layout keyboard. The += key is 45mm from A, also the exact same distance as += is from ; on a standard keyboard (valid complaint: It's on the left side, not where it usually is). Even the ESC key is no further out from A than it is on a standard keyboard - it looks far away, but the distance is the same (actually a wee bit less than on the standard keyboard I've just used for comparison). The `~ key is completely elsewhere than usual too, but at 58 mm from A it's no further out than the much more often used Backspace.
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