Split Keyboards Are Superior And The Reason I’m The Writer I Am Today.
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you can make a ferris sweep. you would just choose which side you'd want and setup your layout with QMK. If you want Bluetooth, just use the nice! Nano controller. A coworker built one. It's tiny, about the size of your hand. He would also carry it around in his pockets and connect through USB to his phone for emails.
The only problem is he customized the hell out of the layout. I think he used Colemak. His layers kinda looked like this:
He said he had trouble using regular keyboards after getting used to it. He always had to carry it around with him.
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Aren't there hundreds? Like this one? Or maybe I don't know what you mean by "chord" keyboard, or you want more tiny?
A chord keyboard uses combinations of keys, like chords on a piano.
You have fewer keys so you can type with one hand.
I'm not 100% serious about it, learning curve would be horrendous. But it would be interesting to try. I used blackberry for a long time and I hate screen keyboards.
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Aren't there hundreds? Like this one? Or maybe I don't know what you mean by "chord" keyboard, or you want more tiny?
(tangent to your question because someone already answered)
I think that courtroom stenographers (people who type up what's said) use special chording keyboards. I've also been to a few events where there has been someone transcribing things in real time for accessibility purposes, and they also use a cool looking chording keyboard. It takes some learning, but the max typing speed is way faster than any conventional keyboard could manage — which is why skilled people use them for transcribing stuffA brand that I'm aware of that does them is Charachorder.
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Where's the rest of the keys? Also these things give off Nintendo Power Glove vibes.
I love the Power Glove... It's so bad.
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Hear me out, take the optic sensor from a mouse and put it on the bottom of one of those boards. Then you wouldn't have to move your hand to use a mouse.
Bruh what are you doing posting million dollar ideas like this on a public forum?!
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(tangent to your question because someone already answered)
I think that courtroom stenographers (people who type up what's said) use special chording keyboards. I've also been to a few events where there has been someone transcribing things in real time for accessibility purposes, and they also use a cool looking chording keyboard. It takes some learning, but the max typing speed is way faster than any conventional keyboard could manage — which is why skilled people use them for transcribing stuffA brand that I'm aware of that does them is Charachorder.
There are also machines that type things in braille that I believe use chords. I dated this crazy girl who had one and it was actually really cool.
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You will encounter this man at work.
They will ask for your help with something on their workstation, and it would be faster for you to drive with them watching over your shoulder, but this cryptic thing is their keyboard.
Instead, you will be forced to sit behind them like Patrick Swayze guiding Demi Moore at a throwing wheel. You will eventually take your shirt off, launch Unchained Melody in Spotify, then slowly guide them through a system setting panel.
You will notice how soft their hands feel. The hyper-ergonomic keyboard has allowed their fingers to move with minimal effort, allowing the skin to remain as supple, smooth - almost unused.
You will ask yourself, “Is he right?” How could a keyboard be so aggressive and wrong, and yet, support something so gentile.
You try to deny the feeling. Your friends and family will mock you like your uncle Dvorak. Maybe you start with a trackball and see if being naughty feels right.
Imagine having a keyboard like this, and still needing to be guided through a system settings menu.
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Imagine playing Dwarf Fortress in a recliner with a pair of these.
As someone who has only played since the Steam version, I don't know how you people did it with the ASCII graphics and lack of mouse support.
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I was the lucky owner of a rare FingerWorks Touchstream keyboard for many years. If you don't know it, it's the precursor to the keyboards used in Star Trek Enterprise.
It's a keyless keyboard. Two large flat mousepads with a keyboard layout printed on top, and you type by pure touch. There's no mouse; the surface just cleverly detects when you are doing mouse gestures. Or a lot of other gestures.
Trekkie joke aside, it's actually the magic tech that made the iPhone possible. Of course Apple didn't invent anything, they bought existing future tech.
I miss that keyboard. They still sell on ebay, for 1400$!
You mean I can have all of the worst aspects of modern smart phone keyboards with my desktop? Sign me up!
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Many, many moons ago (must have been around 2006?) I managed to procure a FingerWorks. It was magic, like holding a piece of computing history!
It allowed a lot of the gestures we take for granted, to switch applications or workspaces, to go back a page, etc. But it also had really cool stuff.
You could bind gestures like twisting your fingers clockwise to open a file (just like opening a jar!) or counterclockwise to close it. Pinch and zoom for copy and paste.I was only able to get a hold on a Dvorak copy. And because the key labels were printed on the board, you couldn't really change the layout. Getting used to a split layout, no keys and Dvorak at the same time was too much and I had to sell it again. But I've been using split keyboards ever since!
Seems cool but kind of gimmicky (particularly the twist gestures to open files). I'll take actual tactile feedback over gimmicky features.
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Hear me out, take the optic sensor from a mouse and put it on the bottom of one of those boards. Then you wouldn't have to move your hand to use a mouse.
Or just get one that has a trackball/touchpad/trackpoint, like https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/
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I just want The Wheel.
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You will encounter this man at work.
They will ask for your help with something on their workstation, and it would be faster for you to drive with them watching over your shoulder, but this cryptic thing is their keyboard.
Instead, you will be forced to sit behind them like Patrick Swayze guiding Demi Moore at a throwing wheel. You will eventually take your shirt off, launch Unchained Melody in Spotify, then slowly guide them through a system setting panel.
You will notice how soft their hands feel. The hyper-ergonomic keyboard has allowed their fingers to move with minimal effort, allowing the skin to remain as supple, smooth - almost unused.
You will ask yourself, “Is he right?” How could a keyboard be so aggressive and wrong, and yet, support something so gentile.
You try to deny the feeling. Your friends and family will mock you like your uncle Dvorak. Maybe you start with a trackball and see if being naughty feels right.
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I love the Power Glove... It's so bad.
Every Power Glove sold should have come with one complimentary Fred Savage
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One of Jobs' many failures was not getting this into market.
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That's ok, insanity comes in many forms.
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Here's what I want: tiny, one handed bluetooth chord keyboard.
For typing on my phone. Can someone make one?
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As long as it's got mech switches and can run a qwerty layout I'm happy
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I've used plenty of ergo keyboards and fancy layouts, but as soon as I try to use a regular keyboard I have to re-learn how to type and it really halts any productivity.
This sort of thing may be nice if you only ever use one computer or you're willing to pack around your keyboard.
Even still, I never liked ergo boards enough to think it's worth the effort, especially considering being useless on other keyboards once I'm used to ergo.
Now I just stick to a 75% or TKL. Keeps me versatile.
I don't have this experience, I am briefly confused for a second and then it's fine, are you sure this lasts more than like 30 seconds?
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I built and configured an Arkenswoop some time in 2023. It's really nice. However... I have gotten quite fast on a conventional keyboard just by using it over the years, and re-learning that is just so tedious. Every time I try, something with a deadline comes up, and I switch back "temporarily".
Anyone have experience overcoming this?
I'm going through this currently trying to find a privacy respecting Android keyboard.
Latest effort is Futo, recommended by a coworker. So far, I don't like it.
