[melling]

Do the "wells" offer any real benefit over a regular split keyboard? Also, the idea of a split keyboard was popular some time ago. Is it still considered important? From the reading that I've done, it seems like the mechanical switches (e.g. Cherry Browns and Blues) are the big win. Rubber dome and scissor switch keyboards are just harder on the hands.

[O____________O]

Do the "wells" offer any real benefit over a regular split keyboard?

In my opinion, yes. The keys conform to your hands, rather than the other way around.

Also, the idea of a split keyboard was popular some time ago. Is it still considered important?

Again, in my opinion, yes. Absolutely. I'm sure this varies to some degree by body size, but I find it profoundly irritating to have to shove my hands together.

Mechanical keys are great (which the Kinesis uses -- Cherry brown or red -- aside from the previously mentioned, horrid F-key row), and a few keyboards royally screwed up by purporting to be ergonomic by shape, but using really awful keys. Specifically, the Microsoft 'Natural' was an ergonomic nightmare. Every key was a simple friction post-mount, including wide keys like shift keys. This meant that you'd type along and occasionally hit a really high resistance key. This flared my tendinitis up like you wouldn't believe.

So, yes, consistent, reasonably light key pressure is absolutely critical, but in my opinion the separation of hands AND the additional employment of the strong thumbs for more than space is a great idea.

Oh, and by the way, note that on the Kinesis the arrow keys are just below the primary keys (up/down are right hand, left/right are left hand). You don't have to move your hands from their home row position to use directional keys. In my opinion, this is the correct solution to the problem that vi/vim solved by using h/j/k/l for navigation, at least for non-gaming applications.

[platz]

totes agree, the "wells" is basically the key feature that makes the idea of parting with the kinesis hard for me to entertain.

[hibikir]

They are very different ergonomically. A good friend of mine swears by it, but for me it was very uncomfortable. I have pretty broad shoulders, so my typing position in a MS split keyboard is very comfortable. The Kinesis wants my hands aligned with each other at a set distance. To do that I have to bend my wrists outward a whole lot, so they actually hurt after enough typing.

It'd make more sense to me if the keyboard was actually split in half, so that I can have the two wells be as far or as close from each other as I see fit, but as it is, the Kinesis is actually worse for my wrists than even a laptop keyboard.

[sooheon]

No experience with it, but I also fail to see why they need what looks like 750g of dead weight plastic just to hold the two sides rigidly parallel to each other. I thought their whole point was to have the keyboard conform to your body? I could also see wanting to put a trackpad or the like in between the halves.

[O____________O]

The Kinesis wants my hands aligned with each other at a set distance.

I just looked at my wrists and hands on my Kinesis. While, yes, the keys are aligned along a single axis[1], my wrists don't bend at all. It's not like you have to align your wrists with the keys, your fingers do the aligning.

[1] for the inner keys on each side. The outer columns are dropped down to accommodate the shorty pinky finger.

[mavrc]

So much, yes.

I have an Ergodox at home and a Kinesis at work, and I almost universally prefer the Kinesis. I type faster and make less mistakes, and my hands seem to be less fatigued over long periods when working on the Kinesis.

Like others, I also wish the Kinesis seperated into two halves, because I think it'd be even better if you could tilt each hand out a bit. This is complicated due to the controller placement in the Kinesis, but that could be fixed through some creative restructuring. Well, that and the fact that if you screw it up, you just broke a $300 keyboard...