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You might like the VE.A keyboard ( https://www.massdrop.com/buy/v... but at this point you're looking at second hand) or the clone that is readily available (if you're slightly adventurous) on TaoBao ( https://item.taobao.com/item.h... ) -- It was the first mechanical keyboard I moved to after years using MS Natural keyboards. I have since moved on to using a self-made ReDox keyboard https://github.com/mattdibi/re... but that might be a step too far for you at this stage.

I use a keyboard that uses hall effect (magnetic) sensors instead of physical contacts. Theoretically it is nearly waterproof and won't wear out, with an exception for the bamboo version.

Hall effect, capacitive sensing, or opto-mechanical are all viable options for keyboards that are more robust than traditional rubber dome keyboards. If there were only a company that prided itself on innovation. It could perhaps make a thinner and lighter version of these designs.

* 10 mm CCAW double cavity driver | * Eardrum Bionics Technology diaphragm | * Titanium housing
* Sensitivity: >102 dB @ 1 kHz | * Impedance: 16 Ohms +/- 15%
* Frequency response: 20 Hz - 20 kHz | * Distortion: < 1% 110 dB (@20μpa)
* Channel imbalance: Rated power: 10 mW
* 4.43 ft environment-friendly antibacterial TPU cable

Best IEM's I've had. Even blocks the "scraping sound" of the cable rubbing against clothes.

Comfortably stays in your ears without using the over-the-ear hooks as the cable is firm enough to wrap around your ears. The headphones sit upside-down (in your ear) compared to other IEMs.

10 mm CCAW double cavity driver
Eardrum Bionics Technology diaphragm
Titanium housing
Sensitivity: >102 dB @ 1 kHz
Impedance: 16 Ohms +/- 15%
Frequency response: 20 Hz - 20 kHz
Distortion: Channel imbalance: Rated power: 10 mW
4.43 ft (1.35 m) environment-friendly antibacterial TPU cable

I have ordered a couple variants of these; haven't received either of them yet. But it sounds good in theory. And there are no IP issues: it's an open-source design, with open-source firmware, completely programmable so that each user can customize his own layout. (For the first time I'll have a keyboard I really "own".) The keyboard can still be made flat (although usually the two halves are positioned independently), so any laptop manufacturer could even start shipping with this kind of layout. I hope that will happen at some point.

The main points are that the two halves are rotated to a better angle to reduce strain, and also that the thumbs are able to operate several keys each, not just the spacebar.

What to do with capslock is such a minor issue compared to everything else that's wrong with QWERTY. This is why, despite being quite a fast typist, and not suffering particularly much wrist pain, I nevertheless feel that it's time to try something more efficient. I do have some shoulder pain sometimes, so figured maybe that's from having to hold my hands too close together in front of me. It's worse when I use a laptop too much, whereas at work I've been using an old Microsoft 4000 ergo keyboard for years.

Now if they would just ship... ;-)

An similar alternative is keyboard.io. From one side, I wish I'd waited for their crowdfunding campaign to get started, because it's gorgeous, and I love the wooden-case idea. From another side, I think theirs is going to be less customizable: every key has a different shape, so you can't have printed rearrangeable keycaps, e.g. if you want to try colemak you have to ignore the legends on the keys, or get keys without legends. And they are definitely not going to ship until the middle of next year, either.

This keyboard at Massdrop is offered with Matias switches. All you need is a soldering iron and an hour.

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/i...

Sorry for the link, it requires an account, but mechanical keyboards are an important legacy to continue, at least so future generations can enjoy carpal-tunnel-free computer usage.

Massdrop just started another run on the ergodox that will be ending in about a week, anyone interested in this keyboard would probably want to check that out.
I've never used anything but standard cheap keyboards but I'll be trying the ergodox on this latest run. At a glance they appear very similar. I like this guy's thumb layout better, though I'd prefer the board was split into two pieces one for each hand.

We're planning to launch a crowdfunding campaign this fall. But we'd rather delay the campaign than launch something that we're not confident we can deliver and be proud of.

Initially, we intend to ship fully assembled & working keyboards. We believe pretty strongly that open hardware shouldn't require users to pick up a soldering iron. But we know that some folks _want_ a kit and we hope to get there eventually. If you're looking for something sort of like a Keyboardio keyboard in kit form, check out the ErgoDox on Massdrop: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/ergodox. (They require login before you can see things. It's unfortunate.)