I've been feeling the first twinges of soreness in my wrists, so I've started a range of actions to prevent this from getting worse. This includes virtual physical therapy (Sword by Thryve), an ergonomic chair (off Amazon.com), a small standing desk (also from Amazon.com). And way down the rabbit hole, a Corne split keyboard. Which is notable for (1) having only 46 keys, being split, and being column staggered instead of the more traditional row staggered. (sometimes called ortholinear, but that should be used to refer to keyboards where keys are layed out in a grid, not staggered in any way.)
I bought the board and case from YMDK on Amazon.com. As my first split keyboard, I got the most basic version, a Corne v4.1 3 X 6 + 5 key configuration (46 keys total, no screens, encoders, or other options), wired (as opposed bluetooth or 2.4Hz USB dongle) and standard MX switches. In addition I got Oetemu silent tactile switches with low profile keycaps (in purple, Go Northwestern!).
Actually, the first Corne I got I ordered as refurbished (i.e. used). And the right side did not work. There is a well known failure mode and I suspect the person who had this before caused it to fail and returned it, and the Amazon.com people did not know how to test it properly when processing the return. But after some troubleshooting with YMDK I returned it and bought a new one, which worked just fine.
After making sure this worked (there is a general instruction to connect the two parts before plugging in the USB-C cable to connect it to the computer.) Next I added switches, and finally the keycaps. For the keycaps, the way that split keyboards work is many keys are actually accessed through layers (e.g. capital letters through a shift layer, numbers on a layer, symbols on another layer, etc.) I touch type, so I was not concerned about knowing where the letters or default '0' layer are. So I put the keys for the left side numeber layer on the left side, and the right side symbol layer on the right side. Although, this is not much of a crutch as my keycaps are not easy to read if I don't have the RGB lighting on.
So the main layer is mostly the basic letter part of the keyboard, except the top row of numbers and symbols is gone. On the left side, I keep the escape key in the top left corner, and lose the Caps lock key. I get the Caps Lock key through a key combo, tapping both shift keys simultaneously. On the right side, I have h-p then the Backspace key, so I have to move the -/_ and =/+ keys to the symbol layer. Similarly the bracket keys and the backslash key from the next row. The bottom row happens to fit just fine (most keyboards have a wide shift key to take up the space.) The remaining 10 keys on each side are <ctrl>, <layer 1>, <Enter>, <space>, <layer 2>, <Alt> and the four center keys I mapped to <GUI>, Insert, <Menu>, Delete. I also set up homerow mods, where keys would have one function when tapped, but another function when held. So, the four home row keys on each side were (from inside to outside) Layer, Shift, Ctrl, Alt, Menu/GUI, with the layer and menu/GUI keys on the opposite side from where there dedicated key was found. Not sure if I'll use these home row key mods yet (using these dual role keys is called 'tap dancing')
What makes these small keyboards work are the additional layers. I have three: a number layer, a symbol layer, and an Alt layers. For the number layer, I have the left side set up as a numeric keypad on the w-e-r columns. 0-+-- are on the t column, .-*-/are on the q column. The left most column are ~, =, and <-. The <- is because I program in R, the = needed a place, and the ~ was displaced from the number row, and is used to mean approximately or equivalent. On the right side, the top row are the boolean (logic) operators <>$|!, for greater than, less than, AND, OR, and NOT. For the second row, HJKL are navigation arrows for left, up, down, right. These are the keys used by VIM (which I have set up on all of my programming environments). Below these in the NM<> keys are beginning of line, left one word, right one word, end of line. The two keys to the right are page up and page down. To the right of those on the edge are top of document and end of document.
The symbols layer top row are the symbols that are shifted number keys. In the right side, the second row are the keys that were displaced: ` - = [ ] \. The row below them are the shifted values of those same keys: ~ _ + { ] \. These were ordered so that [] and {} were in the same columns as (). The left side second and third row has mouse navigation keys. I actually am not sure how these work, we'll see if I figure out how to use them. :-)
The Alt layer is accessed by pressing the Layer 1 and Layer 2 keys simultaneously. The top row are the Function keys F1 through F10, with F11 and F12 continuing around the corner on the right column. The left side are keys for managing the keyboard. Specifically the keyboard lighting. This is a wired keyboard, so there is no bluetooth to worry about. The top left button is a keyboard reset key. The right side are audio and screen controls. Mute then volumn down and up, then media back, play/pause, media forward. Then screen brightness down and up. Finally Print Screen, Scroll lock, and Pause/Break.
The reason for the complications of layers is to reduce finger/hand movement. Specifically, there is no rhyme or reason for the locations of numbers and symbols, which is why people who type a lot of numbers will use a numeric keypad. So I put the numbers and basic arithmetic symbols on a number layer. I don't have a good way of locating symbols, so I basically place them based on their normal location, with the exception of making the sets of brackets in the same columns.
For typing on the split column staggared keyboard, the basic idea is to put your hands on the table, then arrange the keyboard to be under each hand, with the columns aligned to your fingers. However, when I do this my right hand is happy going up and down the columns. But my left hand does not want to, because it is used to having to go to the side when it goes off the home row, so I am still adjusting the left side. The c and v keys seem to be especially problematic (my middle finger drifts right and hits 'v' when I wanted a 'c')
Just started down the rabbit hole of split keyboards., so I'll see how I master the layers. One obvious benefit, I now actually use the media keys on the keyboard, I used to always use the mouse, because I could never remember where the media key were and I did not feel like hunting for them on my keyboard. Know, the keys are in a logical place (for my definition of logical). I still have to think about where symbols are, but I do that for symbols that are not with the letter keys anyway. Navigation keys are easy, because I already use VIM and I did not like using the arrow keys in the lower right corner anyway. Other potential subjects for obsession are the home row mods and key combinations. In addition to the two shift keys for Caps Lock and the F1 and F2 keys for F3, there are also common combinations for *(=[+{ that make it so these common keys can be typed without using the Layer key,
I have a Sofle on the way, and another Kickstarter backed split keyboard that I'm anticipating in November-December. This keyboard is going to be my lower profile, simple keyboard (no number row, no screens, no encoders, no bluetooth/2.4 dongle, and a 3D printed case instead of acrylic sandwhich). I'm also exploring tenting. My simple way to start is Steepy laptop riser stand, which allow for 3 levels of elevation. I'm starting at the lowest elevation, I'll try higher options later.
Now back to work!
