Poor Man's Kinesis Keyboard: The K'nexis Keyboard

Jon_Aquino writes "For programmers like me with wrist pain (the dreaded Emacs Pinky syndrome), I have made a simple keyboard modification that lets you press the Ctrl, Alt, and Shift keys with your thumbs. Just like those expensive $240 Kinesis keyboards, but made using a $30 K'nex building toy. (K'nex is like Lego but uses rods instead of bricks)."

Comments

You take a block from the bottom

[conteXXt]

and put it on top.

You take a block from the middle and put it on top.

ooops. Soory. wrong permanently embedded jingle.

Such a sad choice of editor...

[Megane]

If he had simply used vi, none of this would have been necessary.

Re:Such a sad choice of editor...

[rainman_bc]

lol you can still get pinky syndrome from having to hit : or -[ or all the time too... Although not as bad as alt.

Re:Such a sad choice of editor...

[alexhs]

Yeah, but he's lost for the geek community anyway :
He's using windows and need that modification just to do ctrl-alt-del, it's written black on white in TFA !

Posting a story on Slashdot acknowledging to use windows ! What a lame guy ! Hopefully for him not everyone is going to read TFA.

*** Yeah so there are only seven letters and that I isn't an I, it's just random bars that happen to form a bogus I ***

Just use vi

[m50d]

Seriously, if your tool gives you that serious problems it's time to use another one.

Re:Just use vi

[timmyd]

If he wanted emacs to act like vi, there's nothing stopping him from customizing it that way or using something like viper-mode.

On the other hand, he's losing some of the greatest benefits of a kinesis keyboard: the keys line up vertically, the right thumb can easily hit the space bar(it's over it) and the enter key, and the left thumb is right over the backspace. For people that enter numbers a lot, there is a foot pedal available that turns the right half of the keyboard into a numeric pad so you can type numbers without your right hand leaving the home row. The more expensive models also support key macros.

Buying a kinesis keyboard was probably one of the best hardware purchases I've ever made.

Re:Just use vi

[TeXMaster]

>If he wanted emacs to act like vi, there's nothing stopping him from customizing it that way or using something like viper-mode.

Only an Emacs user who never actually used vim can think that the viper-mode for Emacs comes anywhere close to something usable.

I had to learn vim because I'm using a laptop, and thus nonalpha keys are clumsy to reach at best. Then I got so used to it I started having hjkldddxxcta things everywhere in other programs :)

Emacs has an enormous appeal for me (for TeX editing, AUC-TeX & friends is awfully close to Nirvana), but I simply can't use it. I value my hands too much. And no, viper-mode, even in the most vi-ish mode, doesn't cut it.

Pinky on the ctrl?

[mrjb]

I use the the 'ball' at the base of my pinky to press the ctrl-key. Leaves the pinky free for all the keys it was intended for: the q, a and z as well as capslock,tab and shift.

Kinesis Rocks

[healy]

As a long time (5+ years) user of a Kinesis Keyboard I can tell you that it's the best keyboard I have ever used. It took me about a week to get used to the new layout (I stayed away from root shells) but once I did, I've never looked back. It's the most comfortable keyboard I've ever tried. I own one for home & one for work. Combined with the Evoluent mouse, my hands are much, much happier now.

Errrr

[amulder]

I looked at the article, and saw the photo's, but it hardly looks comfortable. Seems to me that you'd get in trouble every time you let your wrists down.

Seriously... how many of us have good piano skills and always keep our wrists up? Not me, thats what wrist rests are for...

Don't use Emacs

[goldenratiophi]

No, I'm not going to give you a lecture on why Vi is better. But one editor rules them all.

Ed: your Lord and Master

Google Image search link

[buddahfool]

Finally a Google image search (with safe search off) link that does not bring up any porn in the results!! Work Safe! YIPPEE!!!

HA!

[zappepcs]

A real geek would have built a mechanical keyboard with voice input to eliminate all that nasty keystroking altogether....

Points for effort, but come on, go all the way, the Rube Goldberg keyboard is the one that I want!!

Personally...

[DarthVain]

The cheaper it is, and fewer options the better.

I would rather a 10 buck clickity clack than a 100$ wireless, usb, internet, media, programmable, glow in the dark, led indicators, blue tooth, ergonomic, natural, quiet, windows, etc...

So long as it interpretes typing. I am so sick of the varients. Wireless might be ok in some applications (media center for example), but is half this stuff ever needed or used.

The last two stupid ones I bought (they were the cheapest I coudl find in a pinch), were a media one and an Internet one.

They both sucked, half the time you would inadvertantly hit a button while doing something else. Let me tell you hitting the "internet" or "Media Player" button while playing a FPS online will make you curse.

It is also all the more screwy buttons my cat can walk over and activate. So the next morning I can see several dozen apps started, or the computer put into standby or shutdown.

Another positive with the cheapo keyboard is the ability to just toss it if you accidently spill crap on it.

I am really just writing this to see if I get first post... :)

It's obvious

[fiori]

Keyboard manufacturers are VI users...

nice

[ate50eggs]

I just wish pages for complicated mods had such detailed instructions with so many pictures. This one I think could have been described in a sentence or two.

Answers!!

[Eunuch]

Yes, there is a USB version. The only bluetooth prototype fell in the toilet so it will be awhile before that is available. Dvorak is integrated on all of them.

Your hands are your career

[maynard]

I bought a Kinesis split bowl keyboard five years ago and haven't looked back since. It's still in use, and as sturdy as ever. While the article in question may offer a cheaper alternative, frankly I consider the ~$300 I spent on that keyboard worth every penny. It saved me from countless hours of finger and wrist pain while keeping me on the job when I might have been further injured. $300 is chump change compared to a career. I'd still gladly recommend the Kinesis, especially if you're beginning to feel keyboarding pain after a days work. --M

Once again: Bind CAPSLOCK to Control

[tezza]

1. Use Sharpkeys
2. Put a mapping from Caps Lock to Left Control
3. Use new capslock instead
4. No more Emacs wanky or whatever you said.

You won't remember life before this change. And no having to use vi ;)

emacs or xemacs?

[porky_pig_jr]

hey, he says 'emacs, emacs, emacs is the greatest editor', and then he shows up the display with --- God forbid --- XEmacs.

Bloody hypocrite.

Thanks Captain Obvious...

[Stevyn]

"This eliminates the physical pain, but it does add financial pain: $240 US -- double that if you need one for home and one for work."

Sure Sign of a Fanatic

[scotch]

Beware of endorsements from people who say "I've never looked back." There is no surer sign of fanatical devotion to a particular technology than that phrase. You will usually find "I've never looked back" after an anecdote justifying said fanatics use of the technology and especially their decisions to purchase fringe technology for relatively high prices. Ironically, "I've never looked back" is offered to endorse the fanatics chosen poster gadget, yet the phrase, if evaluated honestly, clearly says more about the purchasers fanaticism than it does the quality of the gadget. Indeed, the rational consumer always looks back and re-evaluates purchases, technological trends, long-term quality and alternatives that have come on to the scene; the fanatic, on the other hand, clings to his decions against all evidence and data. Please, if you see or hear "I've never looked back", run away from the source as fast as you can, and do not look back. Thank You.

Re:Sure Sign of a Fanatic

[CommieOverlord]

"I started using an electronic can opener, and I've never looked back!"

"I've switch from a 286 to a Xeon, and I've never looked back!"

"I upgraded to a 19" monitor, and I've never looked back!".

The "I've never backed phrase" indicates that the new way is better than the old way, and there are no-second thoughts about the decision. How is that fanaticism?

It doesn't mean that I'm going to use a Xeon forever, or never investigate other options. It just means that the Xeon is better for my needs and I have no cause to switch back.

Re:Excuse me.

[HillaryWBush]

I moved to Canada after the last elective castration. I haven't looked back either.

More painful?

[NekoXP]

I can't see how this is ergonomically better than his current keyboard or up
to par with the $230 one.

Probably he will end up crippled all for the want of being a cheap-ass. Such is
the hippy FLOSS way, right?

GOD FIXING THIS IS SO EASY

[Anonymous Coward]

I DONT KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE SO MUCH TROUBLE WITH I JUST LEAVE CAPS LOCK ON ALL THE TIME AND IT WORKS FINE FOR ME I ALSO DONT USE PUNCTUATION ANYMORE

GOD I DO HATE THIS FUCKING FILTER THOUGH IT GIVES ME PROBLEMS SOMETIMES

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Re:And you call yourself a geek!

[interstellar_donkey]

Actually, I'm pretty sure all of the moving parts inside a Lexmark are K'nex.

Re:erm

[idonthack]

If you're keeping your palms on your desk (or wrist rest in front of your keyboard) you're asking for problems.

Actually, the wrist rest is there so you don't have to exert any effort to keep your hands in the air. (If you don't have one, you have to support the weight of your entire arm. You're not just holding up your wrists.)

The lowered-wrist position is what is bad for your hands, not the fact that they rest on something... if your wrists are slightly elevated, it doesn't matter if they're touching anything or not.