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I would recommend checking out the .
Unfortunately, they marketed it as a "gaming" keyboard, and it is only available in US-ANSI (or I would have got two of them myself when it kickstarted).

That's a pretty limited list on Wikipedia, BTW.

Kinesis Advantage or a custom one.

What happened to /. Its been almost 100 posts and nobody has yet to mention the best keyboard on the market. Its mechanical, programmable and will cure you of CTS in a couple of weeks. Its expensive but worth it. Thought everyone already knew this...

QWERTY are two things: A physical layout of keys in rows and a logical mapping of symbols to those keys. Dvorak is only the latter.

There is a movement for changing the physical layout, from rows to a column for each finger, which can improve typing speed and accuracy, as well as being touted as more ergonomic. These are also often separated into a part for each hand.
This idea is not new, but almost as old as typewriters themselves. Schools for QWERTY divided the keyboard into columns for use with different fingers. The Blickensderfer typewriter with its "Scientific layout" from the late 1800's and Lilian Malt's Maltron from the 1970's (onwards) changed both physical layout to a columnar and logical mapping to a more logical, and I suspect that it was the unusual logical mappings that prevented adoption of those more than anything.
The Kinesis company has made its "contoured" ergonomic keyboards for decades -- with QWERTY or Dvorak, but they are not common.
Columnar ergonomic computer keyboards used to be common in Japan in the 1980s, mainly for the NEC PC-8800 computers, but IBM squashed that platform, partly through political pressure.

In the recent decade there has also been a resurgence in keyboards with mechanical switches, partly as a reaction to what I think has been a regression in keyboard design towards having flatter, cheaper keyboards.
As animals, we touch and feel. We think spatially. Things are more intuitive when they are things and not abstract concepts.
Mechanical keyboards feel more substantial, and often provide better ergonomic shapes and better tactile feedback than the common muck that is usually bundled with a new computer. Mechanical keyboards also have keys and switches as discrete components, which has made development of mech keyboards more accessible to hobbyists.

There are now dozens of different homebrew, custom and kits out there for mechanical keyboards -- with columnar layouts. Split, contoured, "orthonormal" grids, shifted columns, etc. Many of them are Open Hardware.
The most famous is the ErgoDox, which is manufactured by multiple companies. It has also got several successors, with different tweaks to the physical layout.
While mainstream hardware manufacturers are now making keyboards with mechanical switches (for "gamers" ... ) you don't see many "ergonomic" keyboards in the mainstream any more, which is a shame.

If you are even considering an ergonomic keyboard, look at the Kinesis Advantage. It takes a fairly short time to get used to, but it's worth it. My only complaint is that you need to toggle the right side keys for the number pad, or buy one separately.

I don't do much gaming or any serious coding anymore, but I found it to be excellent for gaming. And the keys can be remapped and you can create macros. I think I paid an extra $10 to have keys with both Qwerty and Dvorak labels as you can toggle between them. I still haven't gotten around to learning Dvorak, but I keep telling myself that I will.

Real hacker's dream keyboard: https://www.kinesis-ergo.com/s...

Seriously, why is your 'ultimate hacker's keyboard' just a split version of an 1860's typewriter?????

I use the Kinesis Advantage (w the foot pedals for the modifiers). I have three of them already, but all of them are the standard model (1 in storage). This article convinced me to buy their new Low-Force version, which uses the Cherry MX Red switches. I'm hoping it helps with my arthritis. Its a recent addition to the Kinesis Advantage family, and one that wasn't available when I purchased my current HID. L~

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

How 'ergo' you looking for?

Kinesis, who makes the Advantage series (crazy bowl shaped keyboard that I'm typing on right now and love to pieces) also makes the Freestyle (two halves), and they make the latter in a Bluetooth configuration. Amusingly, a wireless keyboard with a wire (between the two halves).

https://www.kinesis-ergo.com/s...

For anyone who wants a keyboard like this right now, there is the Kinesis Advantage.

If one is interested in the "Easy access to arrow keys without position change?! Mind blown." aspect mentioned on the page, this can be easily done on your current keyboard. You can use xmodmap on Linux or AutoHotKey on Windows to make Caps Lock a modifier key that you press down with your left pinky to make all navigational keys appear under your fingers. I couldn't live without it anymore. Here is a AutoHotKey (Windows) version for qwerty.

I'ved used my Kinesis Advantage keyboard since 2004, but I know it saw some use before I took ownership of it.

It's my trusted keyboard that I've brought along different jobs. I have my friends and former coworkers to thank for in turning me onto this device.

I believe every touch-typist use the CAPS LOCK key, if they ever write text in upper case. For example, C macros, Java constants or Bash environment variables are all written in upper case by convention.

If I would use the SHIFT key, then I have to press the LEFT SHIFT, then the RIGHT SHIFT for the next letter, and so on, depending on whether the letter to be typed is on the left or the right side of the keyboard.

By the way, basic touch typing can be learnt in ten minutes on a non-staggered keyboard layout, like Kinesis Advantage or the Maltron keyboards.

Here you go

They even have two different styles of mechanical keys to choose between, Cherry Red or Cherry Brown.

You can use a Kinesis Advantage keyboard. First, important keys are pressed with the thumb, not the right fingers (Enter, Ctrl, Backspace). Second, the keyboard is programmable, so you can map all problematic keys to the left side and type them together with AltGr (right ALT). I am already using this method, because our national characters take the place of almost every symbol characters, which are important for coding. It is working well.

Keinesis contoured keyboards. A little relearning necessary, but much faster in the end. You can even get them with DVORAK layout, I believe.

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

They sell lots of ergomatic stuff. Look for the keyboards with two wells of keys, one for each hand.

... and get a Kinesis Advantage.. One of it was in my drawer for two years, when I finally brought it out, and to my biggest surprise I was able to touch type English letters within two minutes. It is ergonomic; narrow enough to reach the mouse easily; still your arms can keep a longer, natural distance; there are many thumb keys so there is no need for keys which are very far from your fingers; etc.

But its most important property, which is not even listed in its description, is that the keys are in a diagonal layout. The fingers move straight up and down, this means that finding the keys without looking at the keyboard is almost natural. After trying for ten years without any success, it took me only two days to get back my original (non touch typing) performance, and two months to get proficient in touch typing. And I can tell you that it is a huge difference.

I also used a keyboard with a layout similar to Microsoft Natural keyboard for several years. I do not know which Kinesis you referred to, but now I am using the Kinesis Advantage, and it was a pleasant surprise. The Kinesis was in a drawer for two years, because I was afraid that it took months to learn it. Quite the opposite, I was never able to learn touch typing with my old keyboards, but after I brought the Kinesis out I touch typed English letters within 10 minutes. It took me about 2 months to get proficient in touch typing, but I think I reached my original performance within a few days.

http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=KS&Category_Code=PGFS2

I use this keyboard at work and at home (I bought the second one for work after I tested it out at home). The Maxim has individual mechanical switches too - and better yet allows me to use in ergo mode - and then close up the clam shell whenever the desktop support guy happens to need to monkey with my machine at work.

As for the QWERTY issue - I just shrug my shoulders. I learned to touch type at 18, so like you I have many years of muscle memory that would have to be retrained out of me. Could I do it? Sure. Would it be painful? Absolutely.

The following equipment saved my career. You likely cannot imagine the amount of agony I was in at one point until I aggressively moved to using ergonomic equipment and making sure that my work environment was set up ergonomically. E.g., having the monitor directly in front of my, rather than off to the side.

The most important piece of ergonomic equipment was the Kinesis Contour Keyboard:

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

A typical keyboard seems designed to destroy your hands. The Kinesis keyboard, on the other hand, is not. It has a quite a few refinements that make it much easier on the hands than a typical keyboard. I feel that without this keyboard, I would have ended up on disability.

Another change that was required was a very adjustable chair. Most chairs that you will find in a work place are not adjustable to your individual body. Also many chairs have inadequate lumbar support. If the chair you are given just so happens to be right for you, then you are lucky, but most likely it is far from optimal. If the chair does not fit you properly, you should get a chair that can be adjusted so that you can always sit in it with a good posture.

Chairs, however, are more personal than keyboards. I think that the Kinesis keyboard mentioned above is perfect for almost everyone. For chairs, you might want to visit a store that has many different models that you can try out. This is the chair that I ended up with, and I also credit it with saving my career:

      http://www.ergogenesis.com/2507.php

BodyBilt makes very adjustable chairs. Unfortunately, such adjustability does not come cheap. I purchased this chair with an inflatable lumbar support, which lets one adjust precisely how much lumbar support it provides. I also purchased it with "linear tracking arms", which are a huge win, especially for using the mouse. I don't know of any other chair that has such arms as an option.

The linear tracking arms are shown on this page. You'll have to scroll down a bit:

      http://www.ergogenesis.com/arm_options.php

These armrests have low-friction ball bearings in them and they slide and rotate effortlessly to follow your arms around. This greatly reduces stress on your back and shoulders, while still allowing you to move your mouse around freely.

It is also important that your desk be at the right height. The standard desk height is designed for someone who is six feet tall. This is fortunate for me, as I am six feet tall. If you are not this height, however, it makes sense to get an adjustable height desk. E.g., something like this:

      http://www.shopbrodart.com/furnishings/tables/computer/_/Balt-Ergonomic-Split-Level-Tables

I have a desk like this one. (Though the one I have is made by KI.) I got it so that my girlfriend and I can both use the same desk. (Not at the same time!) The heights of the two different levels adjust independently via a crank.

Another thing that I needed was physical therapy to strengthen my back muscles. Certain muscles in my back had so atrophied after 12 years of hunched over a keyboard, that it had become impossible for me to maintain a posture that was healthy for my back.

It's been about 19 years since making the above changes, and I've been fine since.

|>ouglas

The backend is just catching up to Debian/yum, but the front end is way ahead.

The interfaces for Windows and OS X may be way ahead for people who point-and-click, but for people such as myself, whose fingers rarely leave the home row, window managers such as awesome and xmonad are way ahead of anything produced by Microsoft and Apple.

I'm not a fan of Microsoft (though they make THE best keyboard with their Natural Ergonomic 4000),

And it only took them how many years to make the "Natural" keyboards more or less right? The original had the home row keys higher than the surrounding keys, forcing your finger to actually move farther than on a normal keyboard. Besides, this is the best keyboard.

I find that a trackball and one of these work just fine. As an added benefit, it keeps most bystanders off your computer.

Forgot about these?

Savant Elite Programmable USB Foot Switches

http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/fs-savant-elite.htm

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

The Kinesis ergo contoured is a split concave keyboard that uses cherry brown mechanical key switches. The key layout is programmable, ex to move the right thumb spacebar. This is my work keyboard. I do not know what key switches the other kinesis keyboards use.

In the non split variety that I have and use,

• Filco Majestouch fkbn104m/eb, brown step cherry, my gaming keyboard
• scorpius m10, blue cherry, server room keyboards, inexpensive and I can tell
• topre realforce, some custom mechanical, laptop/traveling keyboard
• some original ibms

The best a man can get...

I don't think so. The best one can get in my opinion would be a Cherry G80-5000, but that's out of production for 10 years, and like-new second hand ones sell on ebay for up to US$700, if they are available at all. The cheaper alternative (I've bought 2 new for 9.99 each) are the Fujitsu-Siemens KBPC-E, sold in the US as the Kinesis Maxim, but they are rather fragile in comparison to the Cherry, have cheap dome switches and have key caps that need to stay lubricated (or they will jam, so you can't throw the whole plastic top assembly in the dishwasher when it's dirty).

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

I've also been using the Kinesis coutoured keyboards for many years, and couldn't live without them (I own three and use one at work).

I use a normal ol' IBM something or other, but I don't do any programming these days - mostly just normal writing, which a flat keyboard and good posture works fine enough for.

My husband, though, has two Kinesis Advantage Pros that he picked up about a year ago - one for home, one for work. It looks really strange, but he swears by them. They're fully programmable (he's loaded a different layout onto his, though damned if I can recall the name of it), handle key-activated macros, and have footpedals too.

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

Granted, by default they have stuff done with your right thumb, but I believe the keyboard is fully remapable, so you can fix that. They don't say what kind of switches they use, but they are very clicky, with a nice feel. I have used them for years, and really like them.

Buying a new keyboard and mouse is hardly a hardship compared to a new monitor - which as you pointed out, worked.

When its a $ 350 Kinesis Advantage Pro keyboard.

Why am i going to buy a new keyboard when it works wonderfully and is ergo (Have you tried finding a GOOD ergo keyboards now) ?

1. Get a Kinesis Countoured keyboard: http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/contoured.htm
2. Suffer for a couple of weeks since it feels like starting all over again.
3. Enjoy typing a lot faster than before.

I did it. It works, provided you don't give up during step 2.

At the end of my college career, I noticed my hands and wrists were getting strained, so I spent my last semester switching to Dvorak, Emacs and the Kinesis Ergo Contoured keyboard from qwerty, vi and the Microsoft Natural keyboard.

There's endless debate about these things, and apparently some questions about Dvorak's research methods. There's also new keyboard layouts that are supposedly about as good as Dvorak without sacrificing usability and faster to learn (I'm talking about the Colemak specifically). Ultimately it is very hard to make a strong recommendation for any of these switches based on a solid, unarguably scientific basis.

However, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that most people who switch to Dvorak and the Kinesis keyboard experience some combination of reduced hand strain and faster typing. My personal impression is that the Kinesis does more for strain and Dvorak does more for speed and comfort. I personally had reached a plateau in the 75-90 WPM range with qwerty and now I think I'm in the 110-125 WPM range. I don't think Emacs had anything to do with the changes. The control/alt/etc. keys are hit with the thumbs on the Kinesis, and the escape key is still in Siberia, but in practice I don't think either one has any tangible ergonomic charm once you're using Dvorak.

Lately I have noticed that there are some keys which I type strangely. But I was taught on a typewriter and I learned the classical method--I even continue to find use for the caps lock key, a victim of a lot of unnecessary derision in the programming community. I sometimes hit keys that should be hit with the pinky with my ring fingers. I don't think it's worth worrying about too much if you're not looking at the keyboard, it doesn't feel uncomfortable, and it's not slowing you down. The greatest danger, IMO, is discomfort, followed by speed and accuracy problems. Accuracy is the least of my concerns, really. I can usually feel when I've typed something wrong and I correct it often without looking at it.

If you're looking at the keyboard, you would probably benefit from starting over from scratch, and if you're going to do that, it would probably help to switch keyboard layouts at the same time. It'll prevent you from getting more frustrated at the relearning process.

A few years ago I experimented with the Kinesis "Advantage" keyboard, trying to alleviate some wrist discomfort I had been experiencing. I never did warm up to that keyboard, but my fingers did travel less than with a standard layout. If you're trying to eke out that extra word or two per minute then it might be worth evaluating. Kinesis keyboards are expensive, but they have a generous 60 day eval policy.

If your workaday typing includes a fair amount of code, then I'd recommend you use a really capable editor - and I'm thinking emacs here. I've yet to master the art of emacs-fu, but I have watched those who have, and it's purely astonishing how much code can appear on a screen so quickly, with so few keystrokes, and no mouse movement. Unobvious and arcane keychords are the name of the game, bolstered by your personal arsenal of editor macros. After your fingers learn the landscape they become buzzsaws.

If you're going to mention alternate keyboards, the Kinesis Contoured is no joke. It's freaking comfortable for anything besides games. Granted, it's expensive, but for hardcore development, you'll stick with it.

I was appalled when I first saw one at age 19, but by age 25 I owned two...modified them...and had them repaired.

Now I'm looking at trackballs, and chorded, "game-controller" type keyboards. The flat Qwerty is a joke for anything but casual...and Slashdot qualifies as causal (hello Qwerty!)

Hi there! I've been using a Kinesis Advantage keyboard for years now for exactly the first reason you listed (very little use of thumbs). On the Advantage, your thumbs operate: Backspace, Delete, Space, Enter, Ctrl, Alt, PgUp and PgDn. It's fantastic, helped me speed up my typing speed and also cut the annoying wrist pain. (Note: I don't work for them, own stock in them or anything. I just really like the keyboard).

The keys are also all remappable so you can turn it into a dvorak keyboard if you prefer.

Sadly, it is not perfect. The function keys on the top row are difficult to touch type. And I was forced to use duct tape to put a usb numeric keypad in the middle of the keyboard.

If the function keys were real sized keys above the number row then I'd consider it near perfect.

What would make a difference would be to make sure that you can press Control, Shift, Alt and at the same time press another key without dislocating your fingers. And to have an ergonomic layout of the surrounding keys (cursor movement, backspace, etc.)...

Take a look at the contoured keyboards by Kinesis, which position all the useful keys around your thumbs, although shift is still in the same spot. I can very comfortably mash CTRL-ALT with one thumb (either) and press another key with my free hand. They're reprogrammable too.

That, or finally introduce foot pedals....

Same company makes foot pedals which integrate into the keyboard and are similarly programmable.

Likewise. I am a fluent touchtypist on both layouts, and I find dvorak to be both faster and more comfortable.

I also find the difference to be significantly greater on a keyboard with sound ergonomic layout and minimal finger travel, like the kinesis contoured. Though I'm a programmer and not a trained typist, just from use I can pretty easily type around 100wpm on a kinesis + dvorak.

Glad someone mentioned the Happy Hacking keyboard, which I happen to be using right now.

I've also heard good things about the Kinesis ergonomic keyboards.

...the Kinesis contour keyboard (http://kinesis-ergo.com/). I have about three of these and they're really comfortable. My arms reach straight out so the wrists don't have to bend out awkwardly, the keys are aligned vertically, the backspace/ctrl/alt/del/enter keys are right under my thumbs so my pinky doesn't get stretched out of place, and they have dvorak/qwerty switchable models... They are expensive at $300+ usd but if you spend all day on a computer like me I'm not sure why you would want to live with a $20 keyboard.

There is a huge market for ergonomic keyboards which the article completely avoids. It is these keyboards, rather than the ones which they present, which offer substantial differences in the typing experience.

I can think of two good examples off the bat. The Kinesis contoured keyboard is what I use, which includes palm rests and vastly different shape which reduces the distance your fingers travel, and takes a lot of strain off your arms. It's also programmable, which is a life-saver for devs. It comes PS/2 or USB, querty or dvorak switchable (i.e. in-keyboard switchable, with dual letter cues), and is solidly constructed.

The SafeType keyboard instead has two vertical parts of a split keyboard, so that your arms have a similar shape when typing as they would holding a large ball by the sides. This is supposed to reduce strain in your arms, by removing some torsion and keeping them in a more natural position. Some keys devs might need (arrow keys) are in a regular, central part of the keyboard. If you need these constantly, it could limit the benefit of changing your hand posture. Still, vim users (for example) wouldn't be affected. Ideally, you'd also get the Evoluent Vertical Mouse to match, so your mousing is also done with your hand in a handshake position.

As someone who's had RSI for a long time, I can tell you that none of the keyboards reviewed in the article are much better, or even significantly different from one another, compared with the difference with real ergonomic keyboards.

I've been using a Kinesis Advantage keyboard for several years now and I have to say it's probably one of the best out there, specially if you have issues with RSI.
I ended up getting two; one which I leave at home on my workstation, and one that I have at work.

Programmable, very good tactile feedback (almost as good as the Model M), can be switched to Dvorak, and their support staff is phenomenal.
It will take you maybe a week or so to get accustomed to the key positions, but once you get the hang of it, you'll never go back.

If you're in the market for a good keyboard that will last you years, definitely have a look at these. They're a little pricey (about $300 or so, depending on the model), but they'll be the best money ever spent on a keyboard.

Not many people use a gamepad in FPSes on PCs. That's true.

There are special gamer keyboards. The Wolfclaw, the Pro Gamer Command Pad, the DX1, Themaltake Flare, and more offer a different setup of keys that some gamers really find advantageous. They can be really nice for a serious RTS player, too, despite being marketed mostly for FPS players.

There are special mice just for gamers. Take a look at Trust's Gamer Mouse, the Razer Copperhead, and even the Zalman pistol-grip mouse.

I have a flight stick with seven buttons, trigger, a top hat, and throttle. I use it for flight games, and I like it much more for Mechwarrior 4 or many other vehicle-combat games than a keyboard and mouse.

I have a racing wheel and pedal set for car games. I have a game pad for my PC for the PC versions of Madden-type games. There are even more ways to command a PC, though.

Some gamers use a voice command system for some functions, although that can interfere with speaking to your teammates through Teamspeak or Ventrilo.

Some use things like the Fragpedal from Good Work Systems. It lets you have four extra buttons (two per pedal and two pedals) you can use without moving your fingers. I've considered buying that one specifically for fall prone/get up, crouch, reload, and strafe. There are also the Kinesis foot switches, although each USB connection with those is only good for up to three buttons. Perhaps I'd leave reload on the mouse or keyboard with the Savant Elite Triple Action. You can hook up multiple Savant Elite pedals, but the Fragpedal is less expensive already. Maybe I'll just see if I can get used to my car game gas and brake pedal set for FPSes before making such an investment. There are even more expensive versions of this concept out there, mostly meant for people with disabilities or to cut down on wrist strain. They could certainly be useful in gaming, though.

In the PC world, you're expected to invest in the level of game play you are after. Some people are quite competitive with a decent stock keyboard and a two-button mouse. A scroll mouse is a very cheap and now standard device and is much better for most games. A little better keyboard can go a long way to help. Every little bit can help, though. If you lose to a guy who has bought a fancier controller, you either shrug it off as okay or you go an invest in a fancier one yourself.

The DataHand: http://datahand.com/overview/photos.htm

Unfortunately they have stopped making those too. The next best thing
(that I have tried) is the Kinesis:
http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/classic.htm

I haven't tried the freestyle (maybe for the next one) but I positively, absolutely recommend the Kinesis Maxim I've used these for years.

BodyBilt makes the most ergonomic chairs I've ever seen. They're rather pricey, but I developed terrible carpal tunnel syndrome and back problems more than a decade ago. I thought I was going to have to go on disability, but a BodyBilt chair with "linear tracking arms" and a Kinesis Contour Keyboard completely saved my ass. They brought about a near complete recovery, and I've had few problems since.

If it were up to me, these chairs and keyboards would be legally mandated equipment!

|>oug

It's true that microsoft sells ergonomic keyboards. I think their most famous ones are the "split" or "natural hand" boards (that's the ones I know, and the names I know them under), i.e. the one I linked to.

The problem is that it's not a good keyboard design. If we stick to a (roughly) flat board with buttons on it, you first of all want more space between the hands, since that's how you hold them naturally. Second of all, you want vertically aligned keys (the unaligned keys is a holdover from typewriter manufacturing constraints).

Third of all, you want something that takes the shape and anatomy of the human hand into account. Your fingers don't have equal length. When you rest your palm, you tend to want to let your fingers "hang", being in rest at a lower place than the palm. Your thumb can do useful work besides just hitting the space bar.

Kinesis has made a quite good keyboard, taking the above considerations into account.

If you want to move away from the board-with-buttons, I've heard many good things about the datahand (sorry, couldn't find a picture from the makers).

On top of picking a good keyboard, you may want to pick a good keyboard layout. I'm very happy using dvorak, and I hear that people with RSI can type with less pain (some with no pain at all) on dvorak. Comparison: on qwerty, you move your fingers 15-20 miles per day, compared to 1 mile on dvorak for (I assume) the same workload.

For a longer explanation about dvorak, see dv zine. It's in my experience well worth the time spent learning a new keyboard layout.

So yeah, microsoft sells ergonomic keyboards, but you can get better elsewhere. I've tried both a microsoft ergonomic board and the kinesis, and the kinesis definitely wins any comparison hands down; except when you spill coke into one and not the other.

It's true that microsoft sells ergonomic keyboards. I think their most famous ones are the "split" or "natural hand" boards (that's the ones I know, and the names I know them under), i.e. the one I linked to.

The problem is that it's not a good keyboard design. If we stick to a (roughly) flat board with buttons on it, you first of all want more space between the hands, since that's how you hold them naturally. Second of all, you want vertically aligned keys (the unaligned keys is a holdover from typewriter manufacturing constraints).

Third of all, you want something that takes the shape and anatomy of the human hand into account. Your fingers don't have equal length. When you rest your palm, you tend to want to let your fingers "hang", being in rest at a lower place than the palm. Your thumb can do useful work besides just hitting the space bar.

Kinesis has made a quite good keyboard, taking the above considerations into account.

If you want to move away from the board-with-buttons, I've heard many good things about the datahand (sorry, couldn't find a picture from the makers).

On top of picking a good keyboard, you may want to pick a good keyboard layout. I'm very happy using dvorak, and I hear that people with RSI can type with less pain (some with no pain at all) on dvorak. Comparison: on qwerty, you move your fingers 15-20 miles per day, compared to 1 mile on dvorak for (I assume) the same workload.

For a longer explanation about dvorak, see dv zine. It's in my experience well worth the time spent learning a new keyboard layout.

So yeah, microsoft sells ergonomic keyboards, but you can get better elsewhere. I've tried both a microsoft ergonomic board and the kinesis, and the kinesis definitely wins any comparison hands down; except when you spill coke into one and not the other.

I've tried most of the keyboards shown (I like input devices). I'd rate them as follows, where '10' is a regular keyboard.

Combimouse -- 0/10. This is the one I haven't tried, but I simply don't see how it can possibly work.
Evolution -- 11/10. This was intended to be used in conjunction with an entire ergonomic environment. It's like a regular keyboard but with touchpads. Yay.
Wearable -- 1/10. This is nothing like as good as a chording keyboard such as the Twiddler.
Optimus Maximus -- 12/10. I've only ever used it very briefly and since it's exactly like having a regular keyboard (except that you can put pictures on the function keys) I'd say it has mainly coolness value. But a *lot* of coolness value.
Virtual Keyboard -- 3/10. Lack of tactile feedback renders this horrible to use.
SafeType -- 6/10. This is one of the many easy-to-make, hard-to-use ergonomic keyboards that came out around the time RSI got to be big news. It's a pain. I think it used to come with little mirrors so you could see what you were doing.
Tidy Tippist -- 1/10. I've never seen this before but *look* at it.
AlphaGrip -- 9/10. It's nice to use, but there are two problems; first, it's fussier and slower than the Twiddler. Second, the keys can't be remapped or assigned macros at all.
ElekTex -- 3/10. No tactile feedback, and easy to rumple it up inadvertently.
TouchStream -- 16/10. This is fascinating to use. As a keyboard, it sucks because you can't tell what key you pressed (if any). However, the gesture system is fascinating, intuitive, and extendable. The small version of the TouchStream, used in conjunction with a regulare keyboard, is fun; but if you do that you can't type and gesture in the same place which takes away most of the fluidity of the full sized TouchStream.

I'd say people have had a lot of trouble coming up with designs that really improve on the IBM-style keyboard. The Kinesis Advantage I'm using is the only unusual keyboard I've ever had that I thought it was worth switching to, and it must be about 12 years old by now; since then almost every 'advance' has involved either not having keys (no tactile feedback, impossible to know where your hands are and whether you pressed a key) or else cutting a keyboard up and bolting junk to it (a la Evolution and Combimouse).

The Kinesis Advantage is remappable, programmable, pedal-compatible for those who just have to be like that, it saves my fingers a few miles of movement a day and it lets me use the cursor keys and backspace without having to drag my whole hand off the home row and over to some other part of the keyboard. But I note that the Evolution (also from Kinesis) outsells the Advantage, because it's got gadgets and rounded edges and looks space-agey when bolted to your executive chair. That's the trouble with keyboards as a market -- since flat keyboards are pretty much good enough, any extra money that gets spent tends to go on bells and whistles rather than on advancing the basic design.

The Kinesis Advantage is the king of keyboards, by the way.

You can't forget about Kinesis's Contour. The weirdest yet most comfortable keyboard I've ever used. (Looked weird enough that MIB used it as Zed's keyboard at the office.) Saved me from carpel tunnel surgery about 5 years ago and I"m pain free to this day. http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/contoured.htm A little pricy ($300) but much cheaper than surgery.

Having used (blissfully) a Kinesis Contour for half a year now after a bout with nasty RSI.....I think PC manufacturers still have a long, long way to go. And yes, Dvorak is better than Qwerty (switched shortly before buying the Kinesis). http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/contoured_usb.htm