tickling the plastics

[Pete]

Hyma - when you say a split keyboard, do you mean one of those "ergonomically" designed keyboards (though I always found them uncomfortable as hell) that became popular at the end of the 1990s and kind of died away? Or is something totally new?

yup
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/keybo ... 7&cl=gb,en
that one there. however i think the ones in the 90s didn't have the hump in the middle? nor did they tilt in the opposite direction.

i've always wanted one for years, i finally decided to splash out when my microsoft keyboard that i got for free from them finally became annoying and the paint wore off the mouse. that keyboard was a curved one which might be more helpful as i have trouble on the straight keyboards at uni.

I'm getting more and more used to it however, and am really liking it. annoyingly, mr hyma had one years ago and can type preposterously fast on it without looking at the screen, i'm still looking at the keys on this one, something i've not had to do for years.

[Nini]

I liked my first Natural Keyboard from way back when... them were the days. Still have one for when I need to write at length as I don't get the same sort of wrist cramp I get when typing on a standard keyboard.

[cdd]

*CORDLESS* keyboards. See, in my view that's just letting yourself in for hassle and lots of it. The stupid thing has to be charged up or have batteries replaced, and it's not like you pick your keyboard up and move it around that often anyway.

Wireless mouses (mice?) are a dream, tho'.

The last ErgoNatrual keyboard thingy I saw was a Microsoft one and I disliked it because it had an ugly ZOOM control right in the middle between the two sides. Considering how infrequently Zoom is used...

[Mr Q]

yup
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/keybo ... 7&cl=gb,en
that one there. however i think the ones in the 90s didn't have the hump in the middle? nor did they tilt in the opposite direction.

That's the sort of thing I was thinking of. I had an old faded white one in my office (being a sessional staff member at uni, everything in the office is old - right down to the dust deeply embedded in the chairs) but chucked it in favour of a normal keyboard that I pinched from somebody else's office. I tried using it for about two days, but found it the most awkward thing to use. All those weird angles - too much for me.

Then again, I don't touch type in the conventional manner, which might explain things as well.

[rts]

The biggest problem for me is going between a laptpop and a PC. I can type looking at the screen, but I think if Gav were to witness me he would have quite a few queries about my technique!

As Hyma said, lots of kids type fast, but not necessarily "correctly".

I had a learn-how-to-touch-type CD-Rom come with a packet of Shreddies donkeys-years ago. I think it had a Lion King theme?

[Gavin Scott]

I think if Gav were to witness me he would have quite a few queries about my technique!

That depends entirely on what I was witnessing.