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Comment by Alex3917 | Hacker News Reader

> I've been typing dvorak primarily for about 20 years, also since I was in high school

Same. I type on my laptop pretty much all day, and am not even close to having an RSI. To me using QWERTY just seems irresponsible, like driving without a seatbelt or something. If you don't use a computer that much then I guess that's one thing, but if you actually use one on a daily basis for your job and are using QWERTY then that just seems like a huge and unnecessary risk for both yourself and your employer/startup.

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Everyone here seems to be saying that switching immediately eliminated their pain, so what's the risk? One can just switch when they start feeling pain.

An alternative to using a different key layout is to use a contoured matrix-style ergonomic keyboard (where all keys are arranged in symmetric columns and curved to fit the hand). I did this a couple of years ago and can similarly report an immediate cessation of pains associated with typing, although I kept a QWERTY layout. The costs and adjustment period involved are still not completely trivial, though.

Which keyboard do you use? I use a cheap Microsoft Ergonomic 4000 which works great. I may be ready to step up though.

The one I got was the Kinesis Advantage 2, which I almost hesitate to recommend due to the sticker shock. I'd recommend trying to see if the idea of a more symmetrical typing posture appeals to you enough to be worth it (maybe just some non-typing exercises at your desk). I was at the point of having already adjusted my chair, desk height, and wrist angle (making sure not to rest the wrists while actually typing), and the keyboard was something of a last resort. That said, I am very satisfied and wish it were priced more competitively so it could be a more ubiquitous option. I ended up getting a hard shell briefcase to carry it around in while I learned to type on it (which took around 2-4 weeks, after which point switching back and forth with normal keyboards became less of a hassle).

I've thought of that one before, but keyboardio also looks nice in the price range.

The advantage of the kinesis in my opinion is it being a little more trustworthy off the shelf for my security paranoid industry. Getting a Kickstarter keyboard with an Arduino builtin might scare some folks although I'm not enough of a hardware guru to know if there is anything to actually worry about or not.

I had a similar experience, although I went with the Freestyle 2 instead.

I was on the fence there for a while between the two designs, and now that you mention it I think the shoulder-width separation is at least as important for comfort as any other factor. I ended up going for the Advantage2 instead mainly because of the mechanical keys, since the two bottom-end Lenovo keyboards I was using previously got to where I had to forcibly "pop" some of the keys down to type and I wanted to minimize my chances of a similar experience. Though, I doubt the problem happens quite like that on any but the cheapest of keyboards.

I really do wish they made a separable Advantage version. The ErgoDox seems as evidence that there is at least some market for such a thing.

For me, what alleviated the RSI pain was switching to mechanical (cherry mx brown and buckling spring) keyboards.

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