Sincerely typed by someone on a 44 key layout :)
I will admit, I have been in IT for many years. I feel like unless you are an accountant, or someone that has to hit {} [] constantly and can not deal with macros, that the 60%, 40% keyboards help a lot. Most CS/sysadmin/engineer type people are good with layering anyway.
I will say this, on a normal keyboard, you have to hit shift to do a few odds and ends. On a 40%, you would be amazed at the speed that you pikcup "oh, hey, {} and [] are over here, just I have to hold down this one key, just like shifting on an normal keyboard... ok, I get it" and then by week two you no longer think about it. Just my $0.02. I did, however, test my typing speed on one of those online things. I really did not change much after about a month from my previous keyboard to the minivan.
40% is not just plank, and I personally find the ergonomics of a plank board to be rather bad compared to staggered, unless it's split.
That being said obviously you have more flexibility if you have fully separated sides, but it does tend to make the keyboard harder to carry around.
However, I'm planning on making something like this[1] "trackball Dactyl Manuform", where the trackball under the thumb can be configured to use different modes -- e.g. a key toggles it between being a mouse and being arrow keys, and another locks it to vertical/horizontal. It could be combined with holding Alt/Ctrl/Shift.
I made a gallery of split/ergonomic mechanical keyboards if you'd like a quick overview of other options. [2]
[1] https://medium.com/@kincade/track-beast-build-log-a-trackbal...
Or even suggestions on what I'd need to google to find opinions of people in that group?
Anything 3D/dished like the Advantage isn't going to be very portable, just because of the bulk. I suspect many DIY versions are also fairly delicate, as a result of the 3D printing process.
For a flat, split keyboard you could look for one where someone has already designed a case that goes some way to protecting the keys, or make such a case yourself. I wouldn't choose something with this few keys, but [2] is on the first page of the Reddit, and shows what I mean -- unlike the keyboards where the "case" is just a sheet of acrylic, this one looks like it would be OK stuffed in a bag. Many of these keyboards use a Pro Micro controller, which is known to have a weak USB port. Using a wireless keyboard, or choosing a different controller, might also help.
You will have far more options if you're able to solder the components onto the PCB yourself. Otherwise, there are a few companies like falba.tech that sell assembled keyboards.
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/
[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/ir7axv/a...
You can easily use your right pinky to hit Fn and then use the arrow keys that are right under your fingers (I think it's actually better than normal keyboard arrow key placement).
I don't think I could go below a 60% board because having the number row is too useful and dealing with function layers for that (and memorizing symbol placement) seems like an unnecessary pain for style.
The bigger issue with adding more keys to the mix is that with heavier switches (35g+) the amount of work/stress done by the hand can be more then a traditional keyboard. But even with heavier switches it's often faster then having to move your hands around the physical board. And once you factor in things like combos you can just map End to something like QW or whatever works for you. Programmable input devices are _really_ weird!
[0] https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rRS_TOYuIQQ/XhRERox3moI/AAAAAAABE...
I finally don't have to worry about this or that program not supporting this or that binding, it's uniform everywhere.
You say that you already use hjkl (I assume?) in Vim, so clearly you have the muscle memory for that, why not extend it to all applications?
And there's so much more to programmable keyboards. Modifier keys that input characters when pressed on their own, allowing for dual function. Some people like remapping caps lock to control, others to escape. Why not both? My keyboard has a key that behaves like control when chorded and like escape when pressed on its own. The best of both worlds!
On ergonomics and RSI, tough to say whether some of these things make a difference or not. There's no data. The single biggest difference to me is having multiple thumb keys because that allows you to almost completely relieve the pinkies. The only sideways movement I use them for now is a "sticky keys" style one-shot modifier for Control on the keys adjacent to the home-row. Although having a split board (and standing desk) has been super for overall posture.
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/infzme/t... [2] http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/8105b7f97f89fa...
It's not new in the vim world, but now what I use is `jk` pressed at the same time. Adjacent finger pairs are pretty easy to coordinate fast combos with -- just sort of jab your hand. Since it's in the keyboard firmware (QMK) it works in all contexts and not just vim, but the `jk` combo is also something that I can configure in the vimrc to use on my laptop.
Thumbs do L3, space, L1, escape, L2, L4, control.
L0: dvorak
L1: programmer, left hand symbols (all 4 braces paired under middle and index), right hand arrow keys, nav, pgup/pgdn. Vimlike navigation at the keyboard level!
L2: left hand function keys, right hand numpad
L3: qwerty layout but with command so I get natural one-hand undo/cut/copy/paste
L4: mouse keys. Not a big fan of mouse nav, but keyboard issuing scroll up/down is handy
L1+L2: macros live here, I use this to eg. flip between iterm tabs. I desperately need more bucky/control bits though - It's hard to know which hotkeys are mapped across various applications. Give me a real Meta key, dangit!
This lets me rarely move from home position and it's great for ergonomics. Still trying to figure out what to about the mouse, as that makes my hand cramp. I keep a magic trackpad between the ergodox halves for gestures which is neat. But the dang mouse. Maybe it's the way my brain works, but I'm rarely in a single context, flipping between Pycharm and chrome and terminal constantly. Controlling application focus is a pain point.
I can't do the vim thing. I've tried for years. I'm a fast yet inaccurate typer, and the lack of any insight into the state (other than mode), and the heavy chording setup means spooky action constantly happens. I also hate having to hit a key for mode changes, chording is so much more efficient.
I use bettertouchtool and alfred, and don't have a lot of customization in there, so if anyone has any tips for utilizing this sort of setup to reduce mouse reliance, I'm all ears.