Comments on: Product Review: Kinesis Advantage ergonomic keyboard

By: spookiewon

spookiewon — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:28:42 +0000

I use the 3M Ergonomic Mouse, and have for years–as long as I’ve used the Kinetic Advantage keyboard. Calling it a mouse is almost silly–it looks more like a joystick, though it moves around the desk like a mouse. My employer bought it and the keyboard on the recommendation of my primary care doctor when I was having some severe elbow pain which was thought to be RSI. It’s funny, we all think of RSI from keyboard use as wrist related, but it’s just as common for the pain to be in the elbow.

By: Jake Seliger

Jake Seliger — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:29:51 +0000

My only problem is that very occasionally I get a ghost “a” when typing fast. It’s rare enough that I ignore the problem but frequent enough that I’ve noticed it and ascertained that it’s not me hitting “a” by accident.

By: Mid December Links: Marriage plots and incest, Seattle’s tunnels, coffee and economic development, and Amazon.com and independent book stores « The Story's Story

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:45:35 +0000

[...] I’m not convinced work “done with a keyboard” isn’t necessarily “refreshingly real,” mostly because I tend to use badass keyboards that are tactiley satisfying. [...]

By: Small Business Focus: Our Workstation and Computer Setups

Small Business Focus: Our Workstation and Computer Setups — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:53:50 +0000

[...] The Kinesis keyboard I use is ludicrously expensive and takes about ten days to really acclimate. At that point, it’d hard to imagine going back to a standard keyboard. It’s not merely more comfortable; it’s so much more comfortable that I don’t get the hand aches I used to. I began using mine as a review unit. The “review” has lasted two years and will probably last forever. [...]

By: David Cabana

David Cabana — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 21:14:30 +0000

If you are a serious emacs user, this keyboard is superb. I mapped the ctrl key to be under my left thumb, and made the alt (meta) key sticky. No more difficult stretches.

I have two Kinesis keyboards, one at home and one at work. One I have had for over a decade and I have never had a problem with it. I agree that better function keys would be nice, but the Kinesis as currently built is an indispensible piece of equipment, IMO

By: Jake Seliger

Jake Seliger — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 21:54:04 +0000

Thanks for the heads up. All those mice are pretty expensive, but I might check out the Contour Mouse. It doesn’t seem like they’re called “Perfit” anymore, at least http://ergo.contourdesign.com/products/product-detail.aspx?id=36".according to their website.

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 21:33:19 +0000

I know where you're coming from on the Evoluent vertical mouse. Some ergonomic folks absolutely rant against it, going so far as to say it causes RSI. As I said in my Evoluent mouse review, I think there's one point on which everyone - even the most confirmed Evoluent critics - would agree: The Evoluent vertical mouse is a vast improvement on the piece of junk that comes with most computers. A standard mouse seems almost designed to cause problems! Have you tried the Handshoe Mouse? I was quite impressed with it during the review period, though it wasn't precise enough to lure me away from my Contour Design Perfit mouse.

By: Jake Seliger

Jake Seliger — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 19:49:22 +0000

I haven't. I'm using an Evoluent vertical mouse, which I like less and less as time goes on. The top of it makes me "pinch" in such a way that I don't think is a great improvement over a regular mouse. Haven't tried the Kinesis version, and for $100 I don't think I'm likely to. I've seen people with track ball mice and that sort of thing, which might also be appealing. I use the keyboard far more than the mouse, so I think the keyboard is the low-hanging fruit, so to speak.

By: Ergonomic Keyboard and Mouse

Ergonomic Keyboard and Mouse — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:20:57 +0000

Kinesis really do produce some great Ergonomic Keyboards. I use the freestyle a love it. They also now sell and ergonomic mouse called the DXT Ergonomic Mouse which looks cool. Has anyone used it?

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 17 May 2011 03:50:29 +0000

To put the Kinesis price tag further into perspective, Maltron's version of the contoured keyboard costs $600-$800 - more than twice the $300 or so that you'll pay for a new Kinesis. Then again, Maltron's keyboard also has proper full-sized function keys, something programmers who have negotiated the tiny, squishy F-keys of a Kinesis Advantage might really appreciate. I wrote further about these function keys in my own Kinesis Advantage review on my blog.