So I'm presently in the group buy for for this little piece of awesomeness and I'm trying to decide how serious I am about it, and a lot of my thinking is centered around the split design. Do I want it? Do I really need it?
Of course you want it, and you absolutely need it. So stop asking such silly questions. It puts doubt in our fragile little minds. lol
I've used the Kinesis spread design for years and liked it, other than the footprint. I'm presently using the TE and the bent design is working out well too. So I did a quick experiment - try this and see what you get
- Stand up with your arms at your side
- Bend your arms at the elbows with the hands held out straight (like somebody is going to drape a towl over your arms), arms are parallel
- Now, bend those arms inwards so the hands are touching (forms a triangle with your body)
- Go back and forth a few times like this. Isn't the separated position more uncomfortable than the one where the hands meet in the middle?
I notice pressure on the outside back of my arms, the natural position is where the hands come together centered on my body. Thinking of it that makes some sense, we most frequently use our hands together at some task in front of us, think of the evolution where our primate hands are gathering food or performing some task.
One of the key items of ergonomics is to VARY positions rather than be static. Even though there are better/worse positions/actions overall, much of what get problems started are the same, exact actions with the same, exact positioning, over and over for long periods of time. I have always had issues with conventional boards (wrist position, key staggering). Bent, angled, inclined, split, matrix have all improved on the feel/comfort/performance I've needed. I'm not sure any one has been perfect, if it was, I was not aware of it. I'm a huge Kinesis Advantage fan for several reasons (split, matrix layout, keywells, programmability, build quality, etc.) but it's definitely not perfect, and even with my massive mods, STILL isn't perfect.
So honest question for people who like the split design (to help me make a decision)
- why do you like it?
- How far apart do you keep the splits?
- What do you do with the space in between the splits?
Thanks ..
The 'bent design' (ie: TE) is a small change with a gigantic ergo benefit. The 'split design' (ie: Kinesis Advantage) is a larger change. Two, independent keyboard "halves" (ie: Kinesis Freestyle) offers the fantastic benefit of using as a conventional board, bent board, split board and is infinitely adjustable with inclination, which is as natural as it gets.
If you have questions, concerns, doubts, I strongly suggest trying something affordable (Kinesis Freestyle) to isolate the split, separation, and inclination aspects. You won't have a matrix layout, but that will not confuse the other issues. Not trying to sell you, but I have a Mac Freestyle for sale I used for 2-3 months that is an excellent example of those aspects. Because of the Freestyle experience, I decided to cut an Advantage into 2 halves.
Doxie adds the thumb keys (yay!) and matrix layout (yay!) but not the keywells (boo!).
Obviously, everyone feels more/less comfortable with vastly different situations. I find that particular detail fascinating.