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- Microsoft ergonomic keyboard support attachment software#
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The Matias Ergo Pro, for example, places the Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down keys below Right Shift.Ĭhanges to the keyboard layout increase the learning curve, but they can make for a better experience over time. Normally, the letters remain in the QWERTY layout, but frequently used keys like Control, Alt, and the Windows/Apple key may get moved around. Last, some ergonomic models take the drastic step of rearranging the keys. In addition to rotating and tenting, some ergo keyboards will set their keys at different depths to adjust for the different lengths of your fingers. Having a pad that supports your wrists and forearms helps you maintain a comfortable position for an extended period of time. Every good keyboard will also come with a well-padded wrist rest. This angle, known as reverse tilt, is also better for your wrists: From a natural position, the front end of the keyboard should meet your wrist. Speaking of feet, a good ergonomic keyboard will feature feet beneath the near side of the keyboard, not the far. A few keyboards require an optional attachment to set up tenting we recommend spending the extra money if the keyboard otherwise meets your needs. Others use folding feet, similar to the ones you'll find under a standard keyboard, to prop up the middle or inside edges. Some keyboards do this by curving the chassis of the keyboard up into an arc. Typing on an angled surface reduces how far your wrist needs to twist to lay flat on the keys.
Most also use some means of "tenting," reshaping the keyboard so it's higher in the center, with the keys falling away on either side. Split keyboards, which spread the keyboard across two halves or chassis, give you the ability to customize your rotation by placing the two sides of the keyboard as far apart as you'd like. Rotating the keys allows your arms to approach the keyboard from a more natural angle. Most ergonomic keyboards split the letter keys into two halves, rotating the keys so they point down toward the lower corners of the keyboard. To fix these problems, ergonomic keyboards reimagine the keyboard in ways that minimize or take these strenuous twists and bends out of the equation. Bringing your arms together in front of you to reach your default typing position also involves flexing muscles in your shoulders and back. If you lay your wrists flat on a table in front of your keyboard, you’ll have to bend your wrists up for them to reach the keys. Depending on the width of the keyboard, you may reach laterally, twisting your wrist in an unnatural way and overextending your fingers, to hit certain keys. First, you twist your arms so they lay flat, parallel to the keyboard.
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Typing on a keyboard forces you to make a series of unnatural movements. To understand how ergonomic keyboards improve things for you, it helps to talk about all the ways that using a keyboard can cause RSIs.
Ergonomic keyboards theoretically reduce that damage by eliminating some of the unnatural and, whether you notice it or not, strenuous motions involved with typing, gaming, and otherwise using a keyboard. If you sit at a keyboard and type all day, five days a week, some damage is likely, if not inevitable. Repetitive stress injuries (RSIs), which are caused by making the same motions over and over again over a long period of time, are endemic to using a keyboard and mouse. Ergonomic boards are designed to mitigate the damage that using a keyboard does to your hands, wrists, and shoulders after years of daily use.
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That extra learning time and money required, while worth the effort with the right device, is more of an investment than most people are willing to make in a keyboard.īut investing in an ergonomic keyboard is more than a technical upgrade it’s an investment in your health. Aside from a couple of notable exceptions, ergo keyboards also tend to be considerably more expensive than the average office-focused model.
It can take several weeks to reacquire the muscle memory needed to type quickly on one, whether you buy a curved unibody model or a two-piece split keyboard. Switching from a conventional to an ergonomic keyboard is, quite frankly, a bit of a leap.
Microsoft ergonomic keyboard support attachment software#
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