Ask HN: What keyboard and keyboard layout are you using? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What keyboard and keyboard layout are you using?

6 pointspsychoslave40 comments

I use a split keyboard with a magic trackpad in the middle between the two halves-- for me, it's so much more comfortable and ergonomic to move my hand toward the middle for mouse stuff, instead of off to the side, and using a split keyboard lets me keep my shoulders in a more natural position with my hands farther apart.

I built my keyboard using this: https://keeb.io/products/quefrency-rev-4-65-split-staggered-... and I've been happy with it for the last few years.

Microsoft Sculpt Ergo keyboard in standard QWERTY, without the numpad (so the mouse can sit naturally next to it). It has soft laptop keys, the opposite of a mechanical keyboard. Used it for more than a decade and can comfortably type for hours at around 130wpm.

I used to have really bad hand cramps and this saved my hands (and probably my career). Best keyboard I've ever had, by a large margin (both ergo and not, mechanical and not).

Same here. I just wish the quality was a bit better.

What mouse do you pair it with?

It's not made out of any fancy materials, but it's held up for years without issue for me.

I use a Magic Mouse for work because it's the only thing I can click repeatedly without pain (using my pointer and middle finger together to left click is a lot easier than the pointer finger, over decades).

For gaming I use a SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless. It works great and is light.

Das Keyboard Model S Professional Wired Mechanical Keyboard

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008PFDUW2

It was the only mechanical keyboard I could find that fit the following requirements:

* no fancy RGB lights * full 101+ keyboard - meaning it has a numpad on the right

Das Keyboard for me too. I have two UK layout keyboards, one for the office and one for home.

The lack of RGB lights was a huge plus point!

I used Das Keyboard (Ultimate) and Filco Ninja before, but recently I discovered Asus ROG RX switches (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZwDqL5f4x8) and fell in love. The keyboard I'm typing on now is ROG Strix Scope RX TKL with RX red switches. It's a "tenkeyless" layout but otherwise everything is in the "right" (classic) position, no funny business.

What's so special about these RX switches? The PBT keycaps are mounted on 4 corner posts absolutely eliminating any key wobble while having a very decent amount of travel. The switches are optical and tuned to very light actuation (this being a gaming keyboard). After typing on this keyboard every other keyboard feels somewhat sluggish and wobbly.

For the layout I use the typical QWERTY.

A $12 Logitech K120 QWERTY keyboard.

https://www.logitech.com/en-us/products/keyboards/k120-usb-s...

Hardware: Kinesis Gaming Freestyle Edge. It's an excellent split keyboard by Kinesis. They also have a non-gaming variant, but the Gaming edition has much better wristpads in some kind of fake leather, while the other one is an icky kind of scratchy fabric.

Layout: modified azerty. Some things are where you'd expect them, but about 10 keys are remapped and moved around.

I like splits. Sadly, many of them don't have a dedicated row of function keys (F1-F12), which I use rather a lot. I've built my own a couple of times over the years, but the Kinesis is good enough.

Logitech G12 I think it's called (gaming fullsize keyboard with a blue togglable backlight and extra rows of function keys on the left side), had it for years and it works great, no reason to contribute more to our global trash and pollution problem by buying a marginal upgrade.

qwerty, because my home keyboard isn't the only one I use and I don't want to bother with changing to dvorak or colemak or whatever (I used those two at various points), and even though I'm typing somewhere almost every day, including occasional transcriptions, I'm fine with 70-80 wpm and and having to reach a bit.

A 34-key split keyboard called Ferricy: https://github.com/icyphox/ferricy

The main keymap is Colemak (unbelievably comfortable compared to QWERTY) along with a bunch of custom layers for the other stuff. I've written more about it on my blog (https://snprajwal.com/blog/ferricy-custom-split-keyboard/)

I am using a keyboardio model 100 with the default layout.

I have had it since it came out (I think that has been about 2 years now). It has had the best ergo layout I have tried for programming. I think a big part of it is the palm (fn) button is so nice for getting to alternate characters without feeling like I have to strain for a modifier key.

https://shop.keyboard.io/products/model-100

Um... dumb question, but where is the space bar (key?)

Under the right thumb there are four buttons, one is the space key (shift, alt, space, ctrl).

When I got this keyboard I transitioned from a standard (non ergo) layout, and thought the thumb clusters would take getting used to. They felt surprisingly natural.

I found the ortholinear layout harder to get used to (the straight vertical rows the keys are laid in). For a long time when I wanted a `c` I got an `x`.

I went through a "keyboard wanker" phase. Spent $2k on different boards and trying out different physical layouts. I settled on a simple 60% keyboard with a normal US format, with CAPS as my meta key for accessing arrow keys, navigation ,etc. I use my laptop too much to be dependent on a custom layout. Instead I use a keyboard layer emulator so I can use the same shortcuts on my MBP

A 34-key split keyboard called the Ferris Sweep: https://github.com/davidphilipbarr/Sweep

With a custom keymap, but still using QWERTY. Ben Vallack on YouTube has some great videos on minimalist layouts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wZ8FRwOzhU

I use a Keychron Q2 mechanical keyboard. It's one of the few that I found that has a quick switcher between three different Bluetooth endpoints and is QMK/VIA programmable though it weighs more than an anvil.

https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-q2-pro-qmk-via-wi...

Northgate Omnikey Ultra in qwerty layout mode, with control and caps-lock swapped.

Same one as in the top photo here: https://rudra.dev/keyboards/northgate_omnikey_ultra/ (note, not my blog, just one that I found with a photo).

WFH office: Ergodox EZ

Office: ZSA Moonlander

Both programmed with a slightly adapted US layout and ESC instead of caps lock. Plus I have "hold down ESC" as a layer for very primitive vim binding simulation for Windows (e.g. mapping hjkl to arrow keys or b to ctrl-left and e and w to ctrl-right).

I am using the keyboard built into my Thinkpad. While I have tried out a couple of mechanical keyboards, they did not especially impress me.

I am using the Dvorak layout, as I have done all my life; it works well enough that I have never bothered to try anything else.

Keyboard: SK-8815 Enhanced Performance USB Keyboard from Lenovo (technically from the IBM PC department) with swiss layout. And I use the hungarian layout because I have to type in hungarian.

Went through a few mechanical keyboards, both cheap and expensive along with many non-mechanical ones over the years. Finally settled on Cherry Stream. I never miss a key on this one.

Amazon Basics wired keyboard. Standard (default) layout.

The current price of this keyboard is $18, and I prefer it to the Kinesis Advantage I used to own (current price, $349).

I’m one of the few folks who use and enjoy a MacBook butterfly keyboard. The clickiness and thinness is very satisfying.

I use two Ultimate Hacking Keyboards.

V1 had some issues, V2 is better.

https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/

HHKB Professional Hybrid Type-S with eng-us layout, despite being danish. The various symbols are just better placed for programming than on the scandinavian layouts :)

A newer Model M on a Mac. I had to swap the alt and ctrl key, but otherwise default key bindings.

An Apple magic, even though I'm using Windows. I like how close it is to the table surface.

Moonlander https://www.zsa.io/moonlander

With custom layout

I've always enjoyed the M Series by Unicomp. It's the original tech from 1986. Perfect for this touch typist.

Keychron K2V2 hot-swappable mechanical keyboard - 75%, Gateron brown switches, RGB backlight, aluminium base.

Logitech MX Keys with Qwerty layout

Apple Wireless Keyboard (love it).

Logitech G613 wireless gaming mechanical keyboard and logitech G305 wireless gaming mouse.

Apple Wired Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (MB110LL/B) + Colemak

A KMI Qunexus with version 2 firmware layout.

A ThinkPad keyboard. Why any other?

Logitech Wave Keys with QWERTY

logitech mx mechanical with qwertz layout

Any keyboard

Qwerty

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