[hoggle]

I've been interested in Kinesis keyboards for a while now but am still undecided because the more I think about the whole problem of HCI from a programmer's perspective the more I question my own assumptions. I'm wondering if something far out like the Twiddler could really work for somebody living in a text editor with vim bindings most of the day. If anybody had to share their experience with it I would be very interested to hear it (e.g. experience working with your legs up).

http://twiddler.tekgear.com

[verisimilidude]

Though I've never used the Twiddler, I did spend about a year using a different one-handed keyboard due to injury. It was a FrogPad. It's a fine device for typing out sentences, but perhaps not ideal as a code editor. I eventually set up a full-sized keyboard right next to the FrogPad because it just felt easier to hit certain keys and chords that way. There might be better one-handed keyboards out there for programming, but I'm a little sour on the whole idea.

During this time, I also did some experimentation with voice recognition. It worked really well when coding in lisps. This was over ten years ago, and I'll bet this would work even better now.

I also have experience with the Kinesis keyboards; I used the Freestyle—not the Advantage featured in the article—following my recovery for about six or seven years. Though it looks like a medical device, the ergonomics are excellent. The Kinesis is a better typing experience by about 1000x. I have since switched to the homemade Ergodox, but still recommend the Kinesis.

[hoggle]

Thank you very much for sharing that, I'll probably get a Kinesis (still would like to at least try the Twiddler - might make sense with VR etc).