Question

After using “normal” OEM keyboards for more than 20 years me and my wrists are looking for a good way to continue to program for at least 20 more years.

So I wonder if anyone at stackoverflow have tested the Typematrix 2030 keyboard ?

http://www.amazon.com/Typematrix-Reach-2030US-Keyboard-Qwerty/dp/B000B57K7K

Answer 1

I have been using a TypeMatrix keyboard for more than 3 years now, and it has been a great experience. I am feeling much better in my left hand than before (my right hand is still a bit painful at times because of the mouse). Actually, the learning experience of going Dvorak has been particularly interesting, as you can feel how the brain is rewiring, and how your mental model of the keyboard evolves.

Since the Typematrix keyboard wires Dvorak at the device level, I have found particularly efficient to setup the keyboard in the operating system as US-International, allowing me to type almost any accent. À, ë, Ö, are all much easier this way.

I think the skin is pretty good, making the touch softer, and the keyboard much easier to clean. I did not feel it was slowing me down in any way.

A word of advice, though: if you intend to go the whole Dvorak way, it takes some time (about 1 to 2 months) to come back to full speed. And it becomes much harder to type on others computers, or on laptops. I actually bought two keyboards, one for home, and one for work, and it works pretty well as I very rarely need to type on anything else, but for other usages it might become more problematic.