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And I like .OEU -- same keys as ESDF, but in Dvorak.

I type on a Kinesis contoured keyboard, in Dvorak key layout. The kinesis is wicked sick for FPS gaming; aside from the ergonomics that minimize finger traverse distances, having six keys around the left thumb makes for a lot of bindable actions.

Here you are: Contoured USB keyboard

Enablemart - This seems to be a third party seller but I've yet to find out who makes all the equipment they sell
3M Ergonomic Products - Notable is the Ergonomic Mouse that looks kind of like a joystick
Kinesis Corporation - Another third party place that sells ergonomic items (they have chairs also)
Perific - Their main product is the Wireless Dual Mouse
Evoluent - They are known for the VerticalMouse
Contour Design - Best known for the RollerMouse and the PerfitMouse (Contour Mouse)
Combimouse - Combination Keyboard and Mouse
Adesso - They make a lot of products
Aerobic Mouse - Looks a lot like the VerticalMouse except it has a plastic area to hold your hand
Nohands Mouse - Control your mouse with your feet
Zero Tension Mouse - seems like a mix between the VerticalMouse and 3M's Ergonomic Mouse

... and I love the thing. I use (the left-hand model) with my Kinesis keyboard, and for the first time in my life i haven't had those annoying pains when at the computer for long time.

Kinesis (I think) will actually let you try the mouse for a while and then return it (money-back satisfaction guarantee) although there's a possibility that it's just for thei keyboards (although I thought it included the mouse also) -- might be worth paying the little extra than you can get it for elsewhere. J&R was the cheapest I've seen it (and I've got less qualms buying from them than some place like Amazon as someone else had suggested).

Actually I don't think that a keyboard with a slight slope is a good idea ergonomically-wise. Of course it has a big personal element in it, but a tilt means that you bend your wrists slightly upward. The more expensive Kinesis keyboardshave a design where you actually have your fingers lower than your wrists to keep the strain from the wrists.

I switched a few years back because my wrists were slowly bothering me more and more over the years. I started out by just switching to Dvorak via software, then eventually bought a Kinesis Contoured keyboard. This is hands-down the best keyboard I've ever used, and my wrist pain has completely subsided since the switch. I started to get annoyed by a few aspects of Dvorak and eventually started morphing it into my own variant to make typing 'ls' under Linux easier, to move punctuation used in coding around to be easier to get to, etc. For those interested in the speed aspects, I'm probably typing now at around 75-80 wpm on my Dvorak variant; similar to what I did before on Qwerty (I can still do probably 60-70 wpm on Qwerty, strangely). I'd say Dvorak isn't faster, but is definitely more comfortable--if you are really worried about your wrists and ability to work, have the patience to work through the several weeks/months it'll take you to get close to normal speed again after switching your format, I highly recommend considering switching to Dvorak or a Dvorak variant on a Kinesis Contoured keyboard; I did and haven't looked back since.

- Bill

P.S. - I put up a web page years ago when I did the switch with loads of detail about the whole process since I learned so much from other people's web pages at the time. It's not 100% up to date now, but here it is for those interested:

Adventures in Ergonomic Keyboarding

Also, I don't have trouble switching back to qwerty when using public terminals (and vim shortcuts weren't hard to adjust to).

And I agree that's it's mildly faster, but noticeably more comfortable. Any shot I have to avoid RSI, I'll take.

I'd recommend it to the bold and principled, as long as you have a month to type very slow. Check out http://dvzine.org/ for a great dvorak primer comic.

Get a Kinesis Contour keyboard if you want to use your thumbs for more.

http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/

Check out the Vertical Mouse 2

I have this and a Contoured Keyboard.

My experience with the Vertical Mouse 2 is that it takes a little bit of time to get used to, but it is a wonderful product. It has relieved the pain in my right hand.

Plus it keeps people off of my computer because they don't have the time to get used to my setup.

Apart from the ergonomic descriptions already given, I would recommend:

http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/ for keyboards (the contoured are my personal choice)
http://www.mousetrak.com/ for mice

Both have worked well for me since I developed an RSI working back in the dot-com days. About 2 weeks worth of adjustment to the new devices and no problems since.

Everything from ergonomic keyboards and mice to foot pedals and eye-control:
Fentek Industries
Kinesis Corporation
AbilityHub
Solutions for Humans ...

I use this at work:
http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/evolution.htm

This keyboard is split in half (completely) so each half may be mounted on a chair's arms. I recommend the model with a touchpad on both sides; this way I'm able to click with one hand while moving the pointer with the other. I can then alternate if I need some variation.

Adjusting to the keyboard was fairly easy; it would obviously be quite difficult for someone who doesn't touch type. Still, since I program daily (and hunting for keys is a bigger chore than with a standard keyboard) I have finally learned by touch the number and symbol positions and am better of for it. My only complaints are the touchpad buttons are unusually stiff and there is no third mouse button (quite handy in Linux).

Overall, it was a quick transition and my occurrences of arm/wrist pain have significantly decreased. Additionally, I found that my typing speed has increased by at least an estimated 50%. Very satisfied.

That whole process knocked out my problems in about a month (a month of heavy coding, even). It ain't cheap, but it's cheaper than surgery. --0x4a6d74

I use an Evolution (discontinued) from Kinesis. The trackpad on the keyboard is useful. That and a Wacom on my lap is particulary nice, and while the pen does require some gripping, not much...

Then, learn *nix where more time is spent on the keyboard. The biggest cause of my RSI is the mouse, and CLI solves much of the problem.

Finally, whatever system you use, you have to use it correctly... Posture, breaks, etc.

I use an Evolution (discontinued) from Kinesis. The trackpad on the keyboard is useful. That and a Wacom on my lap is particulary nice, and while the pen does require some gripping, not much...

Then, learn *nix where more time is spent on the keyboard. The biggest cause of my RSI is the mouse, and CLI solves much of the problem.

Finally, whatever system you use, you have to use it correctly... Posture, breaks, etc.

I haven't used this myself, but the ErgoClick uses the palm for clicking, and thus should relieve a lot of stress from the thumb.

What's kept my RSI problems at bay for the last 13 years is the Kinesis Contoured Keyboard and a BodyBilt chair with linear tracking arms. I cannot recommend these highly enough. They have saved me from being in terrible agony every day.

The chair is rather expensive, but certainly much cheaper than either going on disability or a Vicodin addiction. The Kinesis keyboard takes a bit of getting used to, and all my friends who I have suggested it to, have initially cursed at me over the learning curve. But all of them have also later come back to me and thanked me profusely for saving them from a life of torment.

I know that some people also swear by the DataHand, but that requires a lot more relearning than even the Kinesis. I would have tried that next, however, if the Kinesis keyboard hadn't solved my woes.

|>oug

I haven't used this myself, but the ErgoClick uses the palm for clicking, and thus should relieve a lot of stress from the thumb.

What's kept my RSI problems at bay for the last 13 years is the Kinesis Contoured Keyboard and a BodyBilt chair with linear tracking arms. I cannot recommend these highly enough. They have saved me from being in terrible agony every day.

The chair is rather expensive, but certainly much cheaper than either going on disability or a Vicodin addiction. The Kinesis keyboard takes a bit of getting used to, and all my friends who I have suggested it to, have initially cursed at me over the learning curve. But all of them have also later come back to me and thanked me profusely for saving them from a life of torment.

I know that some people also swear by the DataHand, but that requires a lot more relearning than even the Kinesis. I would have tried that next, however, if the Kinesis keyboard hadn't solved my woes.

|>oug

Oops. Darn Dragon and the slow copy and paste functionality. The link for the Kinesis Savant Elite footswitch should be http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/fs-savant-elite.htm.

http://kinesis-ergo.com/advantage_pro.htm

it's a nicer keyboard, it's hardware programmable, it's ergo-friendly and it'll scare strangers away from your terminal.

Sure, it's expensive, but for something my hands are on 8-10 hours a day, I don't mind paying for Quality.

If someone could spend all their time writing a speech recognition tool to aid in coding, why not go the next step and actually start creating Code that spews out Code. This is theoretically possible, the only barrier being the presentation of the problem from the human and the interpretation of the problem by the machine. Heck, that's why we write (source) "code" and we use the fastest (and perhaps the most convenient) possible input devices. Is there statistical analysis to prove that a programmer spends more of his time typing source code rather than terminal commands, compile commands, test cases or documents? Papers on Software Engineering seem to point that coding isn't the most intensive part of any software project. Did I get this wrong?

I do not disagree that speech recognition is good for the average business user who usually is accustomed to typing by hunting rather than touch typing (which causes RSI.) The easier way instead of one getting sore throat over coding would be to have ergonomically friendly keyboards; Check out Kinesis (Macromedia Flash Warning) or try and use light projection keyboards that can project keyboards on almost any desktop surface. No one seems to have commented on handwritten code, whether they produce the same Stress injuries upon writing heavy volumes of text.

Further, I remember that MIT media labs did have a paper on reduced cognitive activity while speech was being used as an interface with people (spoken and listened to.) I am unable to get the link to this paper which opined that it was better not to use speech recognition where critical thought (driving, heavy machinery, precision engineering et al) is required. There are other problems when programmers start talking, everyone has to start wearing ear-muffs (so they wouldn't hear anyone talking, directional microphones to avoid picking up another conversation or noise.) I wonder why they haven't though of all of that before letting voice recognition help in coding. This doesn't seem a remotely convincing method of source code input.

This [link to reciprocating saw] can fix anything.

Unfortunately, it can't fix the damage you did to your office equipment (from the perspective of your employer). Companies are often irrationally resistant to non-destructive, 100% reversible alterations to office equipment, but they are 100% rationally resistant to destructive, irreversible alterations to office equipment.

The trick is to work within the system you're given, adding things you can remove, and removing things you can put back later. Other commenters have suggested basic upgrades along these lines, like keyboard trays, shelving, etc., and these are great ideas. A few more simple thoughts from my personal experience:

1. Ergonomic keyboard. Cheaper than an ergonomic chair, but almost as useful. Forcing your hands into a more reasonable position for typing marathons can have (positive) ripple effects throughout your posture and musculature. Some swear by the Kinesis keyboards (my advisor has the "keys-in-a-bowl" version), but these will set you back almost as much as a chair, so I settle for the venerable MS Natural Keyboard (mine is an OEM version of the Pro, resold at Fry's for about $15).
2. Move your desk. If you can't change anything else about your desk, hopefully you can position it so that it's not backed up to a wall. This gives your eyes a different distance at which to focus when you glance away from your monitor (assuming your boss allows you to do this).
3. Hack your furniture. Not applicable if you really just have a big lab-bench-style desk, but for those who are living in Hermann Miller Hell® (a.k.a. a cubicle farm), there are lots of ways you can reconfigure your space, given the right hex driver. Half-walls, shelving, whiteboards--there are cube modules for all of these. Even if your employer didn't spring for all these fancy parts (the office furniture equivalent of purchasing exclusively the "boring" LEGO sets containing only 2x4 bricks (tall)), there are still hacks to be had. At a previous job we connected desks to wall sections out-of-phase, so we could have half-width wall sections cut open between cubicles (for a little bit of collaboration without reverting to an open bullpen layout, or to suspend other improvised half-height divider panels).
4. Use spare moving boxes to create dynamic and interesting office furnishings. OK, this one's a joke (mostly).

This [link to reciprocating saw] can fix anything.

Unfortunately, it can't fix the damage you did to your office equipment (from the perspective of your employer). Companies are often irrationally resistant to non-destructive, 100% reversible alterations to office equipment, but they are 100% rationally resistant to destructive, irreversible alterations to office equipment.

The trick is to work within the system you're given, adding things you can remove, and removing things you can put back later. Other commenters have suggested basic upgrades along these lines, like keyboard trays, shelving, etc., and these are great ideas. A few more simple thoughts from my personal experience:

1. Ergonomic keyboard. Cheaper than an ergonomic chair, but almost as useful. Forcing your hands into a more reasonable position for typing marathons can have (positive) ripple effects throughout your posture and musculature. Some swear by the Kinesis keyboards (my advisor has the "keys-in-a-bowl" version), but these will set you back almost as much as a chair, so I settle for the venerable MS Natural Keyboard (mine is an OEM version of the Pro, resold at Fry's for about $15).
2. Move your desk. If you can't change anything else about your desk, hopefully you can position it so that it's not backed up to a wall. This gives your eyes a different distance at which to focus when you glance away from your monitor (assuming your boss allows you to do this).
3. Hack your furniture. Not applicable if you really just have a big lab-bench-style desk, but for those who are living in Hermann Miller Hell® (a.k.a. a cubicle farm), there are lots of ways you can reconfigure your space, given the right hex driver. Half-walls, shelving, whiteboards--there are cube modules for all of these. Even if your employer didn't spring for all these fancy parts (the office furniture equivalent of purchasing exclusively the "boring" LEGO sets containing only 2x4 bricks (tall)), there are still hacks to be had. At a previous job we connected desks to wall sections out-of-phase, so we could have half-width wall sections cut open between cubicles (for a little bit of collaboration without reverting to an open bullpen layout, or to suspend other improvised half-height divider panels).
4. Use spare moving boxes to create dynamic and interesting office furnishings. OK, this one's a joke (mostly).

is it really necessary to sacrafice teh productivity of a standard keyboard in order to gain a convenient, compact form factor?

Uhmm.... yeah, right. Like the standard keyboard is worth more than a dime-a-dozen.

I'm serious: I treated myself with a Kinesis Ergo Elan (http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/elan.htm), and I'm really glad I did--it's a really pleasant keyboard to work with. I only noticed when I first used a standard keyboard after adapting to using the Ergo Elan--not only did it feel uncomfortable, it felt painful. I'm serious--and it wasn't just because I had adjusted to something different (if it were, I should have felt pain when switching to Ergo Elan, something I did not). Also, one thing that completely confounds me is why modern keyboards still have stagger--it's just being mindlessly carried along from the 1890's up until today (sure, it was reasonable due to mechanical constraints on typewriters; newsflash: computer keyboards isn't a new invention).

(End of rant about the sad state keyboard design is in these days)

Actually, I think the AlphaGrip might be better than a (physical) keyboard layout designed for typewriters. I'm open to the possibility that I might be wrong (in general I dislike small keyboards, but this one might have been done well).

I hope you don't argue that the usefulness of the standard keyboard layout is high just because it's a standard; if that was true, Windows 95 was once a good OS, and Bush was a good president (at election time, he was the "standard" choice).

Also, the keyboard permutation matters. I'll replay this anecdote (I'm not playing any role, and I can't remember who participates in it, and I'm not even sure I got the phrases exactly right, or that I've go the gender information right, but... oh well, someone once said something to the effect of...):

Alice: "Excuse me. If you don't mind me asking, are you using that alternative keyboard layout?"

Bob:: "Yes--it's called Dvorak. How could you tell?"

Alice: "Your fingers aren't moving."

I like the promise that the virtual keyboards have
It's not a bad idea (at all), but it's amazing that they haven't shuffled the keys around (okay, so I was almost done ranting about keyboard design): it must be almost trivial to do--all there is to it is basically detect surface contact in a different polygon.

Get a Data Hand instead.

I personally prefer the Kinesis Advantage Pro USB.

I'm posting this from my brand new Kinesis keyboard. It's not really compact, and whether the arrow keys are located someplace sane is debatable, you can have the mouse nice and close to your right hand. I do admit they've got some really cool ideas for keyboard & mouse input, they just take a little bit to retrain your hands to the different layout. Fortunately, you're already prepared to pay a lot for the keyboard. Their products are not cheap: http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/

The article uses "There are only half as many keys to learn" as an advantage. Not quite. I still need to learn all the keys, but there's only half as many spaces in which to put them. So I'm learning at least two key positions for every button...if not more.

The fact is that I have to use all of the letters and numbers. If its 1 key that I depress 26 times to get to z or similar, I still have to learn the method to get from the insane thoughts in my brain to the computer. Telepathy does not work well.

I've gotten into a debate before on /. from people that are convinced that we still need a hardware based key TO SHOUT TO PEOPLE! I have disabled the key for years through a variety of hacks because it only causes problems. I would guess its on the top 100 list of tech support calls. Try using vi and look to find out that the past few commands were issued with the cap lock enabled.

If an application needs only caps, can't it use something like toupper()? The key is also in a prime real estate position that is never used as much as tab or shift or even q or z. Actually, by design, it is not intended to be used that much because it toggles the state of the "lock". If it were on top of the monitor or somewhere more out of the way, I would not care, and I don't think too many people would mind. The shift keys can be used FOR A QUICK SCREAM!!!

There have been a vast number of keyboards or other input devices over the years, but until something extremely and radically different and easy to adopt comes by, we will stick to the familiar format. Cording keyboards, joy stick like keyboards (left with the left control and right with the right control sends an '8' for example), fancy keyboards like this, Steven Hawking style input. I've seen people use their mouth and poke the keyboard in the standard dvorak layout with a pencil. The guy was an HCI person that was also a quadropolegic. I guess that was the best method he could come up with for input. There is eye tracing methods. Software keyboards. Cell phone overloaded keys (1abc, 2bcd, etc) dvorak layout using the same structure of the querty is not very successful. I used to know tons of other keyboard design tricks, but I've forgotten them because they were and still are useless.

And yet Kinesis Contoured keyboards have no space bar, but everybody I've ever met who's typed on one refuses to type on anything else.

I won't say this new abcde design is good, but we shouldn't discount something just because it isn't the same as our C=64.

This new keyboard doesn't look particularly ergonomic to me, the angle between the left and right hand sides isn't great enough and the buttons in the middle are going to be difficult to reach.

Kenesis make some of the best ergonomic keyboards available, a guy in our office has one and it's done wonders for his RSI. You can see some examples of their keyboards here http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/contoured.htm

Bah, as long as a meaning is foolishly hardcoded to each key combination, a keyboard lacks the flexibility to be optimal. And as long as keys are laid out on a plane, it's ergonomics are in doubt too. Now, would the rest of the world please get with the program and visit http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/ for a good alternative keyboard?

May I recommend the Kinesis Ergo keyboard?

This device helped my wrists recover from severe tendonitis; I have had no relapses. The keys are arranged in vertical columns, which is something the "New Standard" got right, but it looks as if it forces your hands to remain unnaturally close together. Also, "chording" (pressing more than one key simultaneously) just creates superfluous keystrokes.

As far as input devices I use a Kinesis Contoured Keyboard. It’s much more ergonomically correct than most anything on the market and in the long run I’m hoping that this fact will save my butt.
The Kinesis Contoured has built in memory so you can program a bunch of macros into it. You can also remap the keys to any other key position. If you don’t like the location of F2 you can remap it to the delete key or the A key or whatever.
I type using the Dvorak layout. It’s much more efficient than the standard Qwerty layout. The Contoured keyboard has Dvorak built in. Just press Progrm + Ctrl + F5 and walla, you’ve got a Dvorak layout keyboard. Press the same keys again and you’re back to Qwerty.
It has a built in 10-key keypad. Hit the keypad button and the right hand keywell turns into a 10-key. Hit the keypad button again and you’re back to normal.
You can connect a foot switch. The keyboard has a little connector for you to plug in a foot switch. The foot switch can turn the keypad and shift on and off as well as a bunch of other actions.

For pointing devices I use two. So I won’t have to reach so far I have a small touchpad that sits on my keyboard in the empty space between the left and right keywells. I use the touchpad for pointing operations that don’t require a high degree of accuracy. For high accuracy pointing I use an Evoluent Vertical mouse.

Of course everything sits on a fully adjustable keyboard tray that I position to be sitting just above my lap.

This is the most comfortable setup I've had so far.

As far as input devices I use a Kinesis Contoured Keyboard. It’s much more ergonomically correct than most anything on the market and in the long run I’m hoping that this fact will save my butt.
The Kinesis Contoured has built in memory so you can program a bunch of macros into it. You can also remap the keys to any other key position. If you don’t like the location of F2 you can remap it to the delete key or the A key or whatever.
I type using the Dvorak layout. It’s much more efficient than the standard Qwerty layout. The Contoured keyboard has Dvorak built in. Just press Progrm + Ctrl + F5 and walla, you’ve got a Dvorak layout keyboard. Press the same keys again and you’re back to Qwerty.
It has a built in 10-key keypad. Hit the keypad button and the right hand keywell turns into a 10-key. Hit the keypad button again and you’re back to normal.
You can connect a foot switch. The keyboard has a little connector for you to plug in a foot switch. The foot switch can turn the keypad and shift on and off as well as a bunch of other actions.

For pointing devices I use two. So I won’t have to reach so far I have a small touchpad that sits on my keyboard in the empty space between the left and right keywells. I use the touchpad for pointing operations that don’t require a high degree of accuracy. For high accuracy pointing I use an Evoluent Vertical mouse.

Of course everything sits on a fully adjustable keyboard tray that I position to be sitting just above my lap.

This is the most comfortable setup I've had so far.

As far as input devices I use a Kinesis Contoured Keyboard. It’s much more ergonomically correct than most anything on the market and in the long run I’m hoping that this fact will save my butt.
The Kinesis Contoured has built in memory so you can program a bunch of macros into it. You can also remap the keys to any other key position. If you don’t like the location of F2 you can remap it to the delete key or the A key or whatever.
I type using the Dvorak layout. It’s much more efficient than the standard Qwerty layout. The Contoured keyboard has Dvorak built in. Just press Progrm + Ctrl + F5 and walla, you’ve got a Dvorak layout keyboard. Press the same keys again and you’re back to Qwerty.
It has a built in 10-key keypad. Hit the keypad button and the right hand keywell turns into a 10-key. Hit the keypad button again and you’re back to normal.
You can connect a foot switch. The keyboard has a little connector for you to plug in a foot switch. The foot switch can turn the keypad and shift on and off as well as a bunch of other actions.

For pointing devices I use two. So I won’t have to reach so far I have a small touchpad that sits on my keyboard in the empty space between the left and right keywells. I use the touchpad for pointing operations that don’t require a high degree of accuracy. For high accuracy pointing I use an Evoluent Vertical mouse.

Of course everything sits on a fully adjustable keyboard tray that I position to be sitting just above my lap.

This is the most comfortable setup I've had so far.

As far as input devices I use a Kinesis Contoured Keyboard. It’s much more ergonomically correct than most anything on the market and in the long run I’m hoping that this fact will save my butt.
The Kinesis Contoured has built in memory so you can program a bunch of macros into it. You can also remap the keys to any other key position. If you don’t like the location of F2 you can remap it to the delete key or the A key or whatever.
I type using the Dvorak layout. It’s much more efficient than the standard Qwerty layout. The Contoured keyboard has Dvorak built in. Just press Progrm + Ctrl + F5 and walla, you’ve got a Dvorak layout keyboard. Press the same keys again and you’re back to Qwerty.
It has a built in 10-key keypad. Hit the keypad button and the right hand keywell turns into a 10-key. Hit the keypad button again and you’re back to normal.
You can connect a foot switch. The keyboard has a little connector for you to plug in a foot switch. The foot switch can turn the keypad and shift on and off as well as a bunch of other actions.

For pointing devices I use two. So I won’t have to reach so far I have a small touchpad that sits on my keyboard in the empty space between the left and right keywells. I use the touchpad for pointing operations that don’t require a high degree of accuracy. For high accuracy pointing I use an Evoluent Vertical mouse.

Of course everything sits on a fully adjustable keyboard tray that I position to be sitting just above my lap.

This is the most comfortable setup I've had so far.

You'll be the best judge for whatever system hardware you need, no sense trying to argue that - but as far as input/output - spare no expense.

Display: LCD (Dell? good quality, good deals)

Nice high res lcd, should be able to rotate/pivot. Match to preference - but remember, you're staring at this the WHOLE day. Some prefer 2 or 3. I personally would like to try 3, but I think 2 is a more realistic practical limit (but like I said, never tried)

Keyboard: Kinesis http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/contoured.htm [normal site is in frames, but eh]

Ergonomic, no question. I used to swear by the thin little laptop-style keyboards with no numeric keypad (mainly so my mouse was closer) - cramps your hands too much over the years. I switched to a Kinesis keyboard. Yeah, it was $300. Yeah, my hands are loads better for it. If you're making any kind of scratch at all using a computer, you can easily afford paying for this. The split design and perfect placement of the keys, plus the thumb keys, is awesome. It's fully reprogammable in hardware, so there are no compatibility problems - want to switch your space and backspace thumbkeys? Press 6 keys* total and you're done. 'enter map mode' - space - backspace - backspace - space - 'exit map mode'.

* map mode requires 2 keys pressed simultaneously, so if you want to be nitpicky, it's 8 keys.

Mouse: Evoluent http://www.evoluent.com/

Also ergo. Normal mice are tiny and horrible on your hands - switching to and fro. I use an Evoluent myself, and it's not quite perfect, but it's a ton better than a normal mouse. $70 again isn't too much to drop for your health.
Also, if you can break the habit - use your scroll wheel sparingly. It's a really bad interface as far as overworking your tendons go. At the VERY least, increase the # lines scrolled for scrolling it.

Chair: Aeron? [match to taste.]

Chairs are pretty particular beasts. I would like to get an Aeron, I used one for a while in my last job - but it's too expensive given that I have 3 cats and no reliable way to keep them out of the office. I can definitely attest to its comfort, adjustability (be sure to get the most adjustable model), and breathability - which is very important for long stints on your arse.

Desk:
That's a matter of preference. I have a huge desk at the moment because my office has a wall made entirely of windows, so my desk makes up for it by "making" a wall (it's about 6 feet tall and has a solid backing for almost all of it). There was no way to position things so I could avoid glare, so this was the only solution. As long as your legs fit under it, and you can adjust the keyboard tray (adjust, not just slide in/out) - or it just happens to be the perfect height - then it's fine.

If money was not a contraint I'd probably go with a top of the line Powerbook with the extra heafty graphics card to power the 30in. cinema display. Using the laptop instead of a desktop allows you to pop off to the coffee shop / bar to do work when your house gets boring. Add on to that the http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/ Contoured keyboards (I know alot of people here have said they love their normal flat keyboard but personally I LOVE this thing I didn't realize how much pain my wrists were in until I started using it *WARNING* it will take about 2 weeks to get used to).

As for a desk I personally like a good solid hard wood slab type desk. I'm not sure about the rest of you but I don't like the monitor to shake etc.. when I'm trying or moving stuff around on the desk.

As for IDE, go with what you know/like, personally I like Emacs others don't.

Visual Studio
- Whole Tomato Visual Assist (Intellisense done right) http://www.wholetomato.com/
- Compuware DevPartner (Serious Error Detection + Code Coverage) http://www.compuware.com/products/devpartner/defau lt.htm

Dual LCDs & Dual DVI Video Card
(Once you start developing on multiple monitors, you can't go back)

Kinesis Advantage Pro Keyboard + FootPad
(No one ever tries to borrow my computer since they can't type on my keyboard)
http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/advantage_pro.htm

Stardom-2600 Hardware RAID
(Fits into two 5 1/4" Slots, looks like a standard HD to the OS. Highly Recommended)
http://www.stardom.com.tw/web/index_e.htm

Quiet Homebuilt Devbox
- Lots of Memory
- Only one fan

Leap Chair from Steelcase

Big Ass Desk + Big Ass Bookshelf from IKEA

View of the Seattle Skyline (Take breaks and stare at something far away)

Honest Tea (Assam Black is my favorite)

I do contracting, so I pay for my own equipment. It ends up costing $$$, but I do get to choose exactly what I want.

Location: A beach in Northern California, slightly south of San Fran.
Power Generation: This Honda Generator for reliability and gas efficiency, 20hrs of code at a time. (note: after viewing the power consumption of this solution, you may require a second generation unit or higher model number)
Computers: 2 Mac Mini's - one for compile runing Gentoo, the other dual boot Red Hat / Os X... Cluttering up your beach space is simply unacceptable.
Second Computer set: some low power-drain and Form Factored PIV for testing that 'old and busted' windows crud people occasionally run
Display: 2x The DLA-QX1g - Why do monitors (old and busted) when you can have the new hotness of a projection screen with 1365x1024 resolution. It's a no brainer. Remember to get a widescreen lens for the projector, and an active screen to go with as well - these things are going to need to produce a LOT of lumens to compete with the sun.
A 4 port KVM switch
Input: Microsoft Natural keyboard w/ mouse, wireless versions. Gonna have to be both, although you might want a trackball that works in midair.... MS is still pretty much the best at putting together an awesome and non-stress creating keyboard / mouse combo. Alternatively, you could combine keyboard and chair I guess. That would mean, with the screen and the KVS switching hotkeys, etc, you wouldn't NEED a desk, although you might want a second screen and projector for a computer to be used as a notepad hooked up to one of the keyboard inputs on the KVM but not the video. Note: Sand might get into your chair, I'd be down with a yoga mat or chaise lounge, and the wireless keyboard.

I'm strictly confined to ergo keyboards, seeing as I had carpel symptoms at 12. I'm looking for one that's easier the back and shoulders. I found this keyboard http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/evol_chair.htm, which is a chair mount and wondered if there's a cheaper/better one out there. I don't have this kind of money! Suggestions, anyone?

Each key could be programmed to produce any sequence

Some day it will be split ('ergonomic')

I've been a Qwerty touch typist since I took typing in high school (~'88), and decided to switch to being a Dvorak touch typist when I had wrist problems (~'98). In both cases, I'm a touch typist, but I still need to see the keys of the Qwerty layout, which, I guess loses one of the major points of being a touch typist, but oh, well.

Oh, and because I was a touch typist, I got 2 Kinesis Classic QDs for the dual key labels (Qwerty in upper left, Dvorak in lower right). [And since I'm a vi nut, I re-programmed CapsLock to Esc and vice-versa.]

I do software development for a living and a hobby (no t.v.). So I spend a lot of time on a keyboard.

I've been interested in Dvorak for awhile, and I keep a printout of the layout and hotkeys active to flip between QWERTY and Dvorak for practice. I do 100 WPM on the former (measured) and about 20-30 WPM om the latter (guesstimate). I did some typing practice with Dvorak, similar to what one does for QWERTY in typing class, but only got as far as the home row and never got around to doing the rest. I'm still a dabbler in Dvorak.

I find it's not particuarly hard to switch if you don't think about the layout too much. Just like when I type QWERTY, it works better if I think about the words and the fingers and letters take care of themselves. I find that for both Dvorak and QWERTY, if I start thinking about the keyboard layout, I confuse myself. Of course, it's much more pronounced with Dvorak.

Dvorak and vim don't mix well for me. Mentally, vim is more like another keyboard layout that I've learned, rather than atop QWERTY. I think even if I get good at Dvorak, I'll have to use QWERTY for vim. So Dvorak will be more useful for "mass" typing, like a Word document. Relearning hotkeys will also be a pain, so I'll probably always keep a really easy and fast hotkey (e.g. Ctrl-Shift-1) to toggle keyboard layouts.

Expanding into the broader RSI topic, I've done some research and experimentation in that area, too. My original wakeup call was shooting pains from my elbow to the pinkie, while just walking around far away from any computer.

Originally, I found that a split keyboard (original Microsoft) helped. Then pain started coming back (just the wrist area).

I tried out the Smart Glove (http://www.imakproducts.com/products/smart_glove. htm) and got good results from that (it also helps with using laptops, where other ergo products can't be used).

I've tried various wrist support products, and I found the best one I've used is a gel-like product that deforms from your pressure on it and stays mostly deformed when you take your hand off. (http://www.gaylainc.com/WristRst.html)

Once I had the money to, I decided that just for the chance of improvement, it was worth sinking the money into possible hoopla. So I bought a couple Kinesis Maxim keyboards (http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/max-spec.htm) and an Aeron chair (http://www.hermanmiller.com/CDA/SSA/Product/0,159 2,a10-c440-p8,00.html), as well as a keyboard tray from Kinesis (I also have a contoured Logitech mouse, if that makes a difference).

My current opinion is that the Aeron chair is good but pricey, the Maxim keyboard is excellent, and the keyboard tray is a necessity.

The Aeron chair is unusual, because you need to sit "just so" for it to feel comfortable. "Just so" happens to be good for you, so it's like continuously being encouraged to sit properly. If you're stubborn, it won't ever feel comfortable (I often still don't sit properly). The mesh fabric is quite nice for keeping your backside cool.

The Maxim keyboard is very comfortable. The adjustable split isn't a big deal, once you get what you want (they recommend a certain setting anyway). However, the keys have a short depth (discourages the habit of killing a key and having the excess force bounce back on you through your fingers) and are quite sensitive (I've tried without success to depress it gently without actually registering a keystroke). The key layout is still familiar (unlike some other keyboards which shrink the backspace, align the key columns differently, etc.). Best keyboard I've used (out of about a half dozen Microsoft and Logitech keyboards personally, as well as old cheap ones at university computer labs).

Maltron is a rip-off of the Kinesis contoured keyboard (http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/) which I've been using since 1995. Curved to reduce finger throw, high-traffic keys moved to thumbs (delete, control, return, etc.), optimized key throws, but otherwise a normal layout, I was typing faster in a week and more importantly could work 8-15 hours a day without hand/wrist tension or that general fatigued feeling I associated with a day in the office. Plus, they're a small family business and they always help when I email or call.

Get a Kinesis keyboard, they are damn expensive but keeps you from having to deal with dvorak.

yo umay think of getting datahand or kinesis

Ouch! $239 for their cheapest keyboard. Looks great but I guess I'll stick with my cheapo ergonomic keyboard for now.

Here's the direct link for their contour keyboards at their online store if anyone is interested in jumping straight to price.

Kinesis make (or at least sell) a lot of stuff of varying quality, but when someone just says 'a kinesis' they usually mean the Kinesis Contour, ie the keyboard with the two bowl-shaped areas.

http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/

I use a Kinesis http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/ keyboard at work and it is bad enough for people not to be able to use my computer, and it is in QWERTY. If I change to Dvorak, I'll have to carry another keyboard every time that tech support comes to work on my computer.

I recently bought a G4 Cube because I wanted a fanless machine for my desktop. It was cheaper than buying a Hush or the like, and simpler than figuring out what case + VIA combination which would make me happy.

I was unhappy to find, however, that a 500 MHz G4 isn't fast enough to play MPEG-4 video (specifically Xvid). I'm running Linux on the Cube anyway (largely because I can't find software which will let me remap my keybard to have control, command, and option keys) so I'd be interested in the Pentium-M replacment if it has no fan.

Here you go:

http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/contoured_usb.htm