I solved this problem many years ago by switching to a keyboard with a better layout.
I'd thoroughly recommend a HHKB to any programmer.
I'd thoroughly recommend a HHKB to any programmer.
As a hopefully interesting comparison, for me the right choice is a logical layout that is decoupled from the physical layout. And a Russian physical layout keyboard from Apple. And an US software layout.
(I'm Icelandic and don't speak or write Russian. Not yet at least.)
The Russian keyboard has all the programming symbols in the right places, a two-story enter key, and has the key between left-shift and Z. And gorgeous Cyrillic symbols on each key, in addition to the English-layout keys. Then my fingers sit on something beautiful that they know.
Russian layout: https://store.storeimages.cdn-apple.com/4982/as-images.apple...
US layout: https://store.storeimages.cdn-apple.com/4982/as-images.apple...
And I love the crisp action that Apple's keyboards have today. – I appreciate that some don't like the feel. That's why we need a rainbow of variety!
Then I remap things in software. I personally remap Caps Lock to Ctrl and keep Esc where it is.
It is not very Russian though. We call it European on your first pic. And Russian ~= Asian, as shown here http://xahlee.info/kbd/russian_keyboard_layout.html
Last decade layouts shuffled here heavily, probably due to supplier chain ignorance, and also laptop-like keyboard vendors, who put keys randomly to save space. It is a headache to find a good keyboard with the layout you used to.
- English (International) layout: https://store.storeimages.cdn-apple.com/4668/as-images.apple...
- English (US) layout: https://store.storeimages.cdn-apple.com/4668/as-images.apple...
- Russian layout: https://store.storeimages.cdn-apple.com/4982/as-images.apple...
For Windows/Linux, an easily available European keyboard with the double-height enter, extra key next to Z, and most of the "programming" keys in the same place as the American layout is the British/Irish layout.
(The main difference is " and @ are swapped. Shift-3 becomes £, but that pushes # to the extra, unshifted key, which is a plus. I have never used ¬.)
Nothing is as comfortable for me and I’ve tried a few, so remapping caps is still useful to me.
Been using them with Linux for about 5 years with no issues at all, yet to have one fail, the one I use at work the letters all wore off and I eventually wore through the faux leather padding surface but it's a nice high density foam so it's not breaking up.
I've taken them apart a few times down to boards out and keycaps off to clean them with no issues.
For a properly ergonomic keyboard at that price they are damn hard to beat so much so I have a spare new in box and am thinking of buying another just in case.