keyboard/mouse ergonomics

[cbf123]

Kind of a rambling post here...

I'm software developer and long-time user of the Microsoft Natural keyboards.  I've been trying to find a mechanical ergo keyboard, and not having much luck.  (I wish the "truly ergonomic" one was legit but I've emailed them three times and they haven't gotten back to me.)

Anyway, someone mentioned that an ergonomic keyboard wasn't as important as actually using the keyboard in an ergonomic way.  That led me to the articles at Cornell where they show optimal use.  Someone else pointed to the following image:



Two things stand out to me:

First, the picture is a joke.  When I sit down with my elbows at 90 degrees, my forearms are literally sitting on my thighs.  Kind of makes it hard to keep proper form when it would require a keyboard and tray of negative thickness.  Need a split keyboard with half attached to each armrest, I guess.

Second, the Cornell article suggested a sloping mouse pad that is 1-2 inches higher than the keyboard and covering the numeric keypad.  I was looking at a tenkeyless keyboard to bring the mouse closer in, but if the mouse should be higher anyways this might be an interesting alternative.  Has anyone actually done this?

[sapht]

Take a look at Kinesis and Maltron keyboards. I've tried neither, but they look pretty interesting to me. I'm pretty inspired by Tim Tyler's amazing microswitch keyboard.

Anyway, I tried a number of different "ergonomic keyboards" (typematrix, kinesis maxim, microsoft natural) before discovering mechanical keyswitches. I don't use any of those "ergonomic keyboards" anymore, in favor of a tenkeyless Filco with cherry browns.

[Rajagra]

the Cornell article suggested a sloping mouse pad that is 1-2 inches higher than the keyboard and covering the numeric keypad.  I was looking at a tenkeyless keyboard to bring the mouse closer in, but if the mouse should be higher anyways this might be an interesting alternative.  Has anyone actually done this?

They are contradicting their own advice - to keep the elbow angled at 90° or more. I see no reason why the best mouse position should be different to the best keyboard position - other than they would occupy the same space. This is what tenkeyless boards are for! It doesn't sound like the Cornell people know about them. Using a platform above the numpad is very much a compromise. Tenkeyless boards are a proper solution.

[woody]

And I thought the distance to the monitor should be in a relation to the monitor's size.

[muchadoaboutnothing]

It is, but it's probably a generalization based on average screen sizes.

[wordfool]

I sorta arrived at something similar to the Cornell suggestions by accident... Humanscale keyboard tray virtually on my lap with adjustable mousepad a few inches higher that can swing over the top of the numpad. Seems to work well enough, although I am getting a tenkeyless board to center it properly -- despite the width of the keyboard tray I still cannot get my full-size properly centered. Add to that a footrest (which is a huge back saver) and a slightly negative tilt on my monitor (to prevent glare) and I'm a happy desk jockey

[patrickgeekhack]

Someone once said that regardless how ergonomic one's desk is, one still has to take breaks, and excercise the back. I truly believe that he was right. If we don't take breaks, we get tired. As we get tired, we tend to take bad postures to compensate to get more comfort. The same reasoning applies to long distance driving. Check out your driving posture after an hour, and you'll see what I mean.

[msiegel]

a keyboard of negative thickness

fascinating... *ponders*

[Lanx]

imo ergonomics are subjective to the user. Cuz if it wasn't the case then we'd have thousands of limp wristed, back arched individuals, not only from computer keyboard use but also from all the thousands of musicians.