You all know I’m trying to get the writing thing going, right? Lately I’ve been wedging in a few words here, a few words there, on a bunch of different machines and places. So I have a some recent experience using several different keyboards.
Now, when I was a student assistant in the Admissions Office of the U of A, I found my first real love. I had a lust after the computer terminal keyboards, the old ones. They had great functionality and feel. Then in the office we had an IBM Selectric. OMG, now that was a keyboard. I had done my first typing on a manual typewriter. If you’ve never had to use one, count yourself lucky. The Selectric was like honey. Smooth, easy, and those keys with breakaway springs. Oh my.
So ever since then I’ve had a love of full function keyboards. They just felt right. So when I saw Apple’s new keyboard design, I was immediately put off. It reminded me very much of the old TRSII Color Computer Keyboard (the chicklet keyboards). Not very functional, no play, no feel, no depth of stroke. Nothing.
And then it just hit me the other day when I went to use an older style Apple Keyboard, that was based on the full stroke keyboards of old. Holy crap. I’ve been ruined. And now I’m really thinking about parting with $50 to get one of the new keyboards for home. Especially since I’ve realized that I type faster and with fewer errors on those keyboards. Whodathunkit. I actually like those little buttons. And it doesn’t feel like I’m whacking the keyboard to get the words out.
So yeah, one is on my wish list. And I may get one I can use for my laptop (which feels constrained even though it’s supposed to be a full stroke keyboard). It feels like freedom.
Ken McConnell
Matt Mitchell
Stephen Buchheit
bandraiocht
A Smith
sallyfogel
stefwithnf
ladybriony
I agree Steve, my MacBook has spoiled me. I have been thinking of getting one of the new Mac boards to replace my old mushy one. Especially since the copy edits of my latest book have all been done on the old keyboard.
I remember those color Trash-80 keyboards too, oh man, were they bad.
Yeah, full stroke keyboards, just like handwriting, aren’t my best suit.
I recently had to get my day job to spring for a full-on ergonomic keyboard so I could stop wishing for my right arm to fall off. The keys are stiff, but I can go to sleep without 600mg of ibuprofen. It’s all relative, I guess.
While you guys were noodling around on TRS-80 keyboards, I had a Compugraphic typography system to play with. Now *that* was a keyboard–it had an extra left-side keypad for editing commands and the action was smoother than the Selectric in the office. Lahk buttah.
Valerie, well, yes, I have two days of experience on the Compugraphic system. We had one at college, and it was the first machine I ordered type from. Although I don’t remember the keyboard all that well. To be fair, I drank a lot back then. And in the space of two years I used Apple IIe, IBM Personal Computers, IBM Mainframe terminals, Selectric, Atari 800xl, and if I think about, I’m sure I could come up with a few more (Atari 400, see, I knew I could).
My friend Dan swears by his Kinesis Advantage keyboard. (http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/advantage.htm). I’m not a touch typist, so ergonomics are out for me. And I suffer from tenosynovitis. I had to learn how to mouse with my left hand to get over it. There are still days where my arms and fingers hurt to the point I want to chop them off.
I have tendonitis from my fingertips to my shoulder, leftovers from a prep-cook type job that involved much cutting of fruits and veggies. I ease the discomfort by using a Microsoft “Natural” Ergo keyboard 4000 v.1.0. soft touch. I use a Microsoft fingertip trackball, too, rather than a standard mouse.
Stef, I’ve tried to use tracballs, and they just don’t work for me. Right now with the ergonomics at work I have recurring pain from my thumb, up my arm, and now in my back around the shoulder on the right hand side. The pain in the hands and arms is the tenosynovitis, and the back is sprained muscles. It is so not fun.