Silencing the Kinesis Advantage 2
blog.yboulkaid.com
blog.yboulkaid.com
Besides that, it's an excellent keyboard and I'll never, ever buy a regular keyboard again. Everything else about the design makes sense, and it's completely programmable.
Patient: “Doctor, doctor, it hurts when I do this”
Doctor: “Then don’t do that”
I’ve been reading RSI stories for almost 30 years.
http://xahlee.info/emacs/emacs/emacs_hand_pain_celebrity.htm...
Yes, coders will never type 180 wpm with most other solutions but isn’t it about time we found other ways to let people enter information with computers.
This solution from 7 years ago is memorable:
Maybe we should realize the human body is just not built for extremely repetitive actions, and work our way from there.
Here’s one of the first stories I remember reading by the creator of TCL/Tk from the late 90’s
> Users of the Advantage keyboards tend to fall into two rough buckets: 1) people who suffer from pain when typing on a conventional keyboard, and 2) software developers.
I assume the second bucket is software developers who do not have RSI problems. What are the advantages of this keyboard for software developers? Is "software developers" just another way of saying users who want to customize how the keyboard works?
* it's just vastly more comfortable than any ordinary keyboard. I now consider any "ergonomic" keyboard without key wells to be a joke, including the cheaper Kinesis keyboards like the Freestyle.
* you can get a version with "linear" cherry mx red switches for gaming, which is what I did.
* no drivers, no autohotkey scripts, nothing.
* every key is easily remapped; press a key you want to remap, press the key you want it remapped to, repeat until done. Put that escape key on top of caps lock where it belongs.
* there's a crucial "keypad shift" function where you can make one of the keys a modifier that remaps all the other keys. The default functionality is to give you access to numpad and media keys while holding the kpshift key, but you can freely reprogram any of the keys to trigger macros, move hard-to-reach keys to a better position, etc. Basically doubles the available keys.
* as many profiles as you want. You can completely reconfigure the keyboard for each activity you do. The other day I wanted to play the original Diablo 1, which doesn't support changing shortcut keys, so it took me 2min to create a profile that moves the uncomfortable F5-F8 spell casting keys to the home row. Again, there's no alt tabbing or mucking around with GUI's or config files; you just remap keys on the fly while playing the game.
* other stuff like programmable macros, etc. I don't really use this personally.
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edit: I realized I didn't really answer the original question. For software developers specifically I would say at the end of the day it comes down to comfort. The key wells, thumb clusters, and wrist pads ultimately keep your hands in a comfortable position. And the programmability features ultimately work in service of comfort as well: having modifiers like CTRL/ALT/SHIFT available on the big thumb keys makes emacs chords much less of a stretch. Having Super/Windows on a thumb key makes i3/sway window management very comfortable. And the kpshift feature I described above makes it so you can move lots of functionality to the home row instead of stretching for it somewhere else.
I've used an original Advantage for most of the last 10-15 years; it's a TANK of a keyboard and I love it.
I bought a KeyChron -- conventional style, but smaller -- to use with an iPad last year, but it's ended up being my go-to at my desk due partly to the great key feel and smaller footprint, but also because it turns out backlighting is a really nice thing to have.
A backlit Advantage sounds awesome.
The pain and soreness in my hands made me notice something: My thumb hurts when I use it to hit the command key! And my pinky hurts when I hit ctrl!
This, along with a generous bonus from my work, inspired me to cut the problem off at the pass and invest in a Moonlander keyboard. I love weird controls and input methods, so it doubles as a quirky hobby purchase for me as well.
That being said: I am absolutely ready for the day we have viable alternatives to finger typing. I would also love a way to interact with my phone better. I've looked at the "twiddler" one-handed chorded keyboard, but it seems like a gimmick.
I remember a few years ago there was a promising project that read your keystrokes through your wrists. Hopefully something like that will pan out in the near future.
0: Basically... i was using pruning sheers to cut through the bamboo by squeezing the shears really hard. I KNOW I AM AN IDIOT. I already ordered a hand saw for my next battle.
Also, pair that with sticking a "Reset" button on an out of the way layer so you can reset your KB without needing a paper clip or similar poking tool.
Could be something you can't do if you already use .bin files elsewhere in your system (embedded programming work perhaps), but if you can swing it, it was really convenient the first month or two I had my Moonlander. I often made two to three changes to my layout per day the first couple of weeks, then 2-3 changes per week the next month or two.
A year in now and my last tweak was 6 months ago.
It took a significant amount of time to get back up to speed, but some time last month it finally "clicked" and I couldn't be happier.
Definitely wish the keyboard was a bit more portable for travel, but for short stints I can stomach typing on a regular laptop keyboard.
As for the Kinesis 360: I recently saw it in use on a twitch stream (https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1422298932) and it looked fantastic. Looks like the general public will have to wait until later this year to actually buy it though.
I recently switched from MX Blue to Zilent 65g (https://zealpc.net/products/zilent?variant=5894817710118) on my Moonlander in preparation for bringing it to the office. It sounds like any membrane keyboard while retaining the tactile feel of a MX Blue/Brown.
Drive-by suggestion for Boba u4's. It's very much a personal feel, but in my head to head comparison of Zilents and Boba u4's on a Moonlander, I found the Boba to be more to my liking.
IMO, there was a stronger tactile bump on the u4 and they seemed a bit quieter to me.
Mainly got them because, and I quote my coworker, "When we were in offices and you were across from me, I sometimes closed my door because I could hear them" (only half-joking). Still wanted a tactile switch, and I tested it next to a standard ergo keyboard a bunch of coworkers have and it was about the same noise level, so I think it'll be fine for that purpose.
I did end up ordering a second Moonlander for the home office with Kailh Bronze, though. If I end up not liking them, I still have a full set of Blues. :)
But either way, glad you're enjoying your Zilents! I love the variety of choices now available, as you can find the perfect key for you.
It's hard to commit to one when you're spending almost a (normal) keyboard's worth of money on just the switches.
I've found with my moonlander I can get by with swapping about 10 keys on one side and using it for a few days as my test, but then I'm stuck with 10 keys that I might not like.
Luckily I recently got one of my friends into mech keyboards and we have similar but different tastes so he tends to like the keys I pass on, so I just sell them to him at cost if he likes them!
Might check around and see if there's a local keyboard meetup in your area (or close enough for travel) to see if you can borrow some switches to try or sell your unwanted switches.
When people asked about the price, I told them some days I spend more time on my keyboard than on my bed.
I just wish I could put a trackpoint right between YUHJ buttons and never use my mouse again.
> "The firmware of the original Advantage was developed prior to the advent of modern operating systems and USB 3.0. As a result, it is not uncommon for original Advantage keyboards to become unreliable when used on newer PCs and operating systems as they were not designed with these protocols in mind." [0]
For shits-n-gigs I bought a Dactyl Ergodox from Oh My Keycaps, I'm still waiting on it to be delivered but I'm really stoked. I would never go back to a typical keyboard.