It's hard to imagine a better day-to-day keyboard to put in front of a serious work computer. The Happy Hacker keyboard skips some of the novel innovations of other alternative designs, and focuses instead on two simple things: keeping as many useful keys as possible as close to the hands as possible, and relocating Control and Escape to positions useful for Emacs and Vim users. But those two things alone make this a super-natural keyboard to use for extended periods.

Read the rest at www.therandymon.com, aka my website.

So on a lark, I decided to try out the TypeMatrix 2030 keyboard as well.

The thing costs less so it is no surprise to see it is not as well made as either the Totally Ergonomic Keyboard (TEK) or the Kinesis Ergo. But it's not a piece of junk, either: the keys are about the quality of a 2000-2003 era laptop, each slightly sculpted, with dimples on their surface to help your fingers find their way to important locations, like the home position. I typed on similar keys very happily on the Compaq Presario I used from 2000 to 2008, and while there are better alternatives now, the new fad with totally smooth, featureless, almost-slippery chiclet keyboards makes this a superior experience. That said, these are scissor-mechanism keys, not fully mechanical keys, and there's no question it doesn't feel quite as nice as a real mechanical keyboard like the TEK or anything sporting something like Cherry switches. On the other thing, this is my quietest keyboard, nice for when the kids are sleeping just behind me. Using either of the other two keyboards at night with sleeping kids nearby is a non-starter because of their clickiness, and this thing is silent by comparison – moreso with one of the skins in place!

I very much like the grid (non-staggered) layout, and the more I use my three fancy keyboards, the more I find it an improvement over the classic layout. {Read the rest at http://therandymon.com/index.php?/archives/295-The-TypeMatrix-2030-Ergonomic-Keyboard.html}

When you've bought your third expensive keyboard it's time to admit you have a fetish. Or that you spend most of your day glued to the business end of a computer. Or both! But face it: if you spend a lot of time writing, a decent keyboard is worth more than its weight in gold, for reasons of efficiency, health, and comfort alone.

I was in the mood for a keyboard built around a linear (not-staggered) layout, and a few reviews of the TEK ("Totally Ergonomic Keyboard") made it seem appealing. So I bought one and have used it for the past couple of weeks. Here are my conclusions, and a few notes of comparison with the Kinesis Ergo keyboard, which I also like and use daily.