I'm curious if anyone here has tried the TypeMatrix keyboard
(http://www.typematrix.com/). If so, is it nice to use? I've been
considering getting two -- work/home -- but $150 is a bit pricey for
something I haven't had a chance to site down with a try.
Likewise, I don't really want to get one, just to find out I like it,
get accustomed to it and then be switching between work/home with
different keyboard layouts.
Jeff M.
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"Jeff" <·······@gmail.com> writes:
> I'm curious if anyone here has tried the TypeMatrix keyboard
> (http://www.typematrix.com/). If so, is it nice to use?
A guy I work with got one of these recently (the EZ-Reach). Like most
of these unusual keyboards, it took him a couple of weeks before his
typing speed picked up again. When I last asked him how he was liking
it, he was full of praise.
The keyboard is small and light enough to allow him to easily tote it
between work and home, thus speeding up the adaptation period.
--
Steven E. Harris
Steven E. Harris wrote:
> "Jeff" <·······@gmail.com> writes:
>
> > I'm curious if anyone here has tried the TypeMatrix keyboard
> > (http://www.typematrix.com/). If so, is it nice to use?
>
> A guy I work with got one of these recently (the EZ-Reach). Like most
> of these unusual keyboards, it took him a couple of weeks before his
> typing speed picked up again. When I last asked him how he was liking
> it, he was full of praise.
That's nice to hear. The overall purpose is to reduce typing strain. If
you still work with this person, I would very much be interested in
whether or not this was a benefit.
The other purpose would be the key placements -- multiple placements
for common keys like BS and tab and moving awkward keys that are too
close to each other (like caps lock/tab and r-shift/enter). Heh, and to
move/get-rid-of the frustrating Windows key ;)
Jeff M.
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"Jeff" <·······@gmail.com> writes:
> Steven E. Harris wrote:
> Heh, and to move/get-rid-of the frustrating Windows key ;)
Hey, you can use them as <super>, <hyper> nad <mete> keys ;-)
Andreas
--
Wherever I lay my .emacs, there's my $HOME.
"Jeff" <·······@gmail.com> writes:
> The overall purpose is to reduce typing strain. If you still work
> with this person, I would very much be interested in whether or not
> this was a benefit.
I just spoke with him. He reports that while he is enjoying the
keyboard with no noticeable strain, he did recently come back from a
long vacation so it's hard to tell how much not typing at all for a
while helped as well.
> The other purpose would be the key placements -- multiple placements
> for common keys like BS and tab and moving awkward keys that are too
> close to each other (like caps lock/tab and r-shift/enter).
The flexibility in repetition is an asset. My colleague here was
complaining that he finds the control key locations to be
problematic. He'd like the big one on the left to be swapped with the
Fuction key below it, and the smaller control on the right is
difficult for him to find. Finally, he'd like the embedded arrow keys
to be situated on the home row rather than one row below.
--
Steven E. Harris
>>>>> "Jeff" == Jeff <·······@gmail.com> writes:
Jeff> Steven E. Harris wrote:
>> "Jeff" <·······@gmail.com> writes:
>>
>> > I'm curious if anyone here has tried the TypeMatrix keyboard
>> > (http://www.typematrix.com/). If so, is it nice to use?
>>
>> A guy I work with got one of these recently (the EZ-Reach). Like
>> most of these unusual keyboards, it took him a couple of weeks
>> before his typing speed picked up again. When I last asked him how
>> he was liking it, he was full of praise.
Jeff> That's nice to hear. The overall purpose is to reduce typing
Jeff> strain. If you still work with this person, I would very much be
Jeff> interested in whether or not this was a benefit.
[...]
One piece of advice: if you're interested in reducing typing strain, do
not get a keyboard that has a rectangular layout. All of those keyboards
will sooner or later kill your wrists, take it from someone who knows.
The test is easy: position your hands on the keyboard, in your normal
typing position. Your wrists should be perfectly straight, just like
they are when your arms are hanging loose. If your wrists are bent, you
*will* experience problems.
There are many keyboards which did not have this rectangular layout. The
cheapest option is probably the Microsoft natural keyboard, there are
also the Kinesis keyboards, TouchStream keywords, and other split
designs.
And one final thing. Problems, when they come, appear very quickly and
unexpectedly. Don't ignore them, and don't think it cannot happen to
you.
--J.
Jan Rychter wrote:
> One piece of advice: if you're interested in reducing typing strain, do
> not get a keyboard that has a rectangular layout. All of those keyboards
> will sooner or later kill your wrists, take it from someone who knows.
The cheapest option to try out this theory is to buy an extra, normal,
keyboard (make sure both have about the same softness), and plug both in
and type on both simultaneously, one with each hand. Make sure that your
wrists and arms are in natural positions (though your shoulders may be a
lot further out that usual). It feels much better.
And one thing I always do is type with the keyboard in my lap. This allows
me to keep my elbows at 90 degrees and close to my sides. My wrists are
completely straight, and my arms form about a 25 degree angle with each
other. When I'm using a normal keyboard, this feels much better than
anything else, and in fact doesn't really cause me much pain, but I still
prefer to use my Touchstream LP. The two sides are angled to be in line
with my arms, and the flexible cord connecting them allows me to adjust the
angle slightly. (The cord that comes with it is about two inches--much to
short, in my opinion. If you want real flexibility, you can get a longer
cord for it and position the two sides wherever you want.)
Chris Capel
Quoth Jeff on or about 2004-11-10:
> I'm curious if anyone here has tried the TypeMatrix keyboard
> (http://www.typematrix.com/). If so, is it nice to use? I've been
> considering getting two -- work/home -- but $150 is a bit pricey for
> something I haven't had a chance to site down with a try.
>
> Likewise, I don't really want to get one, just to find out I like it,
> get accustomed to it and then be switching between work/home with
> different keyboard layouts.
As it happens, I haven't tried that keyboard. However, let me
substitute a mild rant:
You cannot properly evaluate a keyboard without *personally* using it
for at least an hour's solid typing. Anecdotes are near useless. If you
can't borrow the same / a similar model, you might as well consider $150
the cost of a trial-run.
OTOH, it's bloody important to find the keyboard that's `just right' for
you; maybe a trial-run is worth $150, if you think you may have found it.
One other caveat: if you have to regularly use other people's machines
(e.g. when I'm helping students in a lab), an uncommon layout may not be
a good idea.
-trent
Trent Buck wrote:
> Quoth Jeff on or about 2004-11-10:
> > I'm curious if anyone here has tried the TypeMatrix keyboard
> > (http://www.typematrix.com/). If so, is it nice to use? I've been
> > considering getting two -- work/home -- but $150 is a bit pricey for
> > something I haven't had a chance to site down with a try.
> >
> > Likewise, I don't really want to get one, just to find out I like
> > it, get accustomed to it and then be switching between work/home
> > with different keyboard layouts.
>
> You cannot properly evaluate a keyboard without personally using it
> for at least an hour's solid typing.
Yes, this is a definite concern.
> One other caveat: if you have to regularly use other people's machines
> (e.g. when I'm helping students in a lab), an uncommon layout may not
> be a good idea.
No. Not much of a worry, but I wouldn't want a different keyboard at
work and home.
Jeff M.
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Jeff wrote:
> Trent Buck wrote:
>
>> One other caveat: if you have to regularly use other people's machines
>> (e.g. when I'm helping students in a lab), an uncommon layout may not
>> be a good idea.
>
> No. Not much of a worry, but I wouldn't want a different keyboard at
> work and home.
>
I am not so sure. Using different layouts like that might help reduce RSI...
or not. I really wish we understood it better.
Trent Buck <··············@bigpond.com> writes:
> One other caveat: if you have to regularly use other people's machines
> (e.g. when I'm helping students in a lab), an uncommon layout may not be
> a good idea.
I find that it's usually better to enter thing in their brain to let
them do their own typing. People can't follow your typing and mousing
movements. It's much slower to explain them what to type and what to
clic, but they learn better.
--
__Pascal Bourguignon__
Quoth Pascal Bourguignon on or about 2004-11-10:
> > One other caveat: if you have to regularly use other people's machines
> > (e.g. when I'm helping students in a lab), an uncommon layout may not be
> > a good idea.
>
> I find that it's usually better to enter thing in their brain to let
> them do their own typing. People can't follow your typing and mousing
> movements. It's much slower to explain them what to type and what to
> clic, but they learn better.
That's how I prefer to do it, but a small minority haven't enough clue
to understand explanations. There are also, obviously, time constraints
for labs.
Actually, we're encouraged to respond with questions rather than answers
(e.g. `why doesn't this work?' --> `Does -Wall give any warnings?').
-trent
On Wed, 10 Nov 2004 00:56:14 GMT, <·······@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm curious if anyone here has tried the TypeMatrix keyboard
> (http://www.typematrix.com/). If so, is it nice to use? I've been
Personal rant: I hate keyboards where the number pad is part of the
letters, it's two extra keystrokes for alphanumerics. Your fingers
only have so much "mileage" on them before joint problems begin...
As suggested, you need to try it (via a return policy most likely).
--
Brownian motion is correctly colored.
"Jeff" <·······@gmail.com> wrote in message news:<······················@attbi_s51>...
> I'm curious if anyone here has tried the TypeMatrix keyboard
> (http://www.typematrix.com/). If so, is it nice to use? I've been
> considering getting two -- work/home -- but $150 is a bit pricey for
> something I haven't had a chance to site down with a try.
Brian Mastenbrook bought 2 recently and posted his impressions on his weblog:
http://www.iscblog.info/blog/display/11
--
Bill Clementson
"Jeff" <·······@gmail.com> wrote in message news:<······················@attbi_s51>...
> I'm curious if anyone here has tried the TypeMatrix keyboard
> (http://www.typematrix.com/). If so, is it nice to use? I've been
> considering getting two -- work/home -- but $150 is a bit pricey for
> something I haven't had a chance to site down with a try.
I've used TypeMatrix keyboards for more than a year, at work and at
home. I was fortunate enough to order my first two during a "2-for-1"
special, so I ended up not needing to drag one keyboard between work
and home.
I had used other so-called "Ergonomic" keyboards before, including the
Microsoft Natural Elite and the Belkin Ergoboard. After a while I
began to tire of the staggered-key layout, since my fingers and wrists
were becoming sore.
As other users have noted, the transition was a bit of a challenge.
For nearly half my life I had become accustomed to the staggered keys,
and I made *loads* of typos for the first week, especially in the
contentious center-key area. However, the placement of the Enter,
Tab, and BackSpace keys grew on me, and I found myself missing these
when I had to use somebody else's computer.
I now have four TypeMatrix keyboards - the original two (model
EZR-2020) in QWERTY, another with dual-labeled QWERTY/Dvorak keycaps
(which my company bought for me) and the latest is the new model
(EZR-2030) in black and silver, with Dvorak.
I could go on and on about the merits and drawbacks of these
keyboards, but I'll post a link by another user that echoes my
feelings about the EZR-2020 model:
http://incise.org/papers/typematrix.html
The layout of the EZR-2030 model has been refined a bit. It now has
dedicated keys for Home/End/PgUp/PgDn, which were only accessible as
'embedded' function keys on the EZR-2020. This is a welcome change.
The big drawback is that the center Tab and one of the center
BackSpace keys were removed, in order to condense the width and bring
the hands slightly closer together. The same goes for the spacebar,
which has been reduced to a single wide key. Having two spacebars on
the EZR-2020 was really nice, just like two BackSpace keys, since I
was used to alternating between both hands for repeated keypresses.
(Saves a bit of wear on the thumbs and indexes.) Design is always a
compromise. But that's okay, the new model is still wonderful, and is
probably more attractive to new users.
In summary, the TypeMatrix is my favorite mechanical** keyboard. I
haven't used any of the higher-end monsters like Maltron or Kinesis -
but the TypeMatrix works very well and is designed to fit the needs of
most typists.
** Clarification: I am currently using a FingerWorks TouchStream
input device and haven't really used my TypeMatrix keyboards for a few
months. I still think very highly of the TypeMatrix keyboards, but
the TouchStream has all kinds of mousing and gesturing capabilities
that really make my work easier. But still, for flat-out typing
comfort with real keys, the TypeMatrix can't be beat.
Another side note - TypeMatrix is a small company, with outstanding
customer service that really surprised me. When my first keyboards
arrived, I noticed that one of the 'Start' keys (you know, the key
that would have a Windows logo on a lesser keyboard) had managed to
pop loose after a few weeks of use, and wouldn't go back normally. It
wasn't a big deal - I hadn't yet remapped my KDE configuration to make
heavy use of this modifier key - so I just learned to live with it. A
few days later, I got a call from the co-owner of the company, asking
how I was getting along with the keyboards, and had a friendly chat
about the keyboard and its merits. As the conversation ended, I
casually mentioned the broken key, and she immediately said she'd try
to send me a replacement. Three days later, I show up at work and
there's a Priority Mail envelope sitting on my desk, containing a
replacement 'Start' key, which she took from *her own* keyboard and
sent to me.
Now that's service, and that's why I'm a repeat customer. If you end
up ordering one, take the time to call in and ask for Mary, and tell
her I sent you. :)
> Likewise, I don't really want to get one, just to find out I like it,
> get accustomed to it and then be switching between work/home with
> different keyboard layouts.
Where do you live? E-mail me with your address - I have an extra one
that I can probably loan you. :)
- Matt